When contemplating a catering business, it is always a prudent idea to develop a catering business plan. Generally, a business plan is a written document which states the indicates the mission of a business and specifies how the goals of the business will be achieved. When developing a catering business, it is advisable to tailor the plan to the unique characteristics affiliated with catering. Thus, one should include market research regarding the type of customer who would utilize the catering, a comparison of similar catering establishments and a unique mission statement which describes how this particular catering business stands out from other ones. Furthermore, the plan should include any long term and short term business goals. Moreover, the plan should indicate the proposed marketing plan for the goods or services offered by the company, any time frames for the implementation of the plan and any details as to the management of the plan. Furthermore, the business plan may contain a financial summary, including a balance sheet, cash flow statement and projections for earnings.