Were you aware that an entrepreneur should have their business plan writer prepare their business plan in four different formats? Depending on the audience and nature of the presentation, different styles of business plans serve different needs. Even though everything is based on the same business plan, the purpose the need for differing formats is undeniable.

The four main formats an entrepreneurial business plan can take are:

1. The "elevator pitch".  An elevator pitch is a three minute summary of the business plan's executive summary. At three minutes long, much of the plan is left unknown which is why this format is also known as a teaser. This is a quick way to gauge if there is any interest in the investing community or potential strategic partners without tying up a lot of their time or your resources.

2. The oral presentation. The oral presentation should be an entertaining narrative which serves to trigger conversation and generate interest in the full business plan. Oral presentations ideally cover the executive summary and graphs depicting financial trends and key decision making benchmarks.

3, The written presentation for external stakeholders. This is a detailed, comprehensive professionally prepared full business plan. This is what you are hopefully being asked for after making an oral presentation or elevator pitch.

4. The internal operational plan.  This is a business plan aimed at management and key personnel within a business. The internal plan is often more informal in the manner it lays out a roadmap for upcoming moves and generally contains information of little interest to external investors.  

With so many different uses for business plans and formats they can take, it is often highly advisable that any entrepreneur looking to make a serious business launch consult a professional business plan writer to ensure that they get the best bang for their buck.