Profits

• The first and most important goal of any private business is to achieve profitability. This may seem obvious but in truth, it is a difficult goal to achieve. The reason for any business plan is to identify a path to profit. Most business ventures start out in considerable debt. It is necessary to reassure both the investors and the creditors of a business venture by creating a detailed business plan demonstrating the path out of debt.
  
  

Risk

• Risk is a natural part of the business world. Every business venture includes necessary risk. A good business plan, whether for a large business or a small business, will take unforeseen events into account and provide steps to deal with certain contingencies. Larger businesses are able to take on a greater amount of financial risk than smaller ones because they can afford to lose more. Small businesses must be careful when planning for risk and contingencies.
  
  

Goals

• In both small business planning and large, it is necessary to identify specific goals. This is the only way to evaluate a company's performance and decide whether a business plan is succeeding or not. Specific goals could include gaining a certain market share or selling a certain amount of a product. A plan must be concrete and detailed if it is to be used in the everyday reality of the business world.
  
  

Change

• Implementing change is a particular challenge for large businesses that already have a certain organizational culture and way of doing things. Restructuring can be especially painful for a large organization. Smaller businesses often use this as an advantage over their larger rivals by more quickly adapting to changing circumstances. A business plan can often be a good way for a business large or small to force necessary change against a resistant culture and organization.