QUESTION: Do You Need a Business Plan?

Hi,

That’s a wonder full write up. Thank you.

Sticking to business plans does help. But you got to innovate and adapt too. Above all else you should set the industry standard. You must create, do or introduce some thing that becomes the trend in the Industry.

That proves your leadership. If you follow that 1970 garage startup you will realize even now they are setting the trends. The rest just follow them.

We created a business plan when we started. We needed it for a lot of reasons - not just to know what we wanted to do and how we wanted to do it. But a lot of suppliers, investors, even potential employees wanted to see it - they wanted to know we were organized, ambitious, realistic and determined. The business plan helped them see where we wanted to go and decide if they believed we would get there. Each year, we would revamp it, update it, change it. We weren't wedded to it - it was a "plan" not set in concrete. But it enabled us to communicate one way and set the tone with one strategy. It worked for us. 

When I have written business plans, I borrowed an idea I learned during a brief stint at a literary agency. When writing a non-fiction book, most publishers want to see a proposal (not a written manuscript yet), and one of the biggest sections in the proposal is "Competition Evaluation" or, why are you writing another book about diets, happiness, child rearing, etc.??

Forcing yourself to look hard at the similar competition and describe WHY you're different, WHAT you'll add to a crowded market, HOW you'll fill a particular niche, and WHO will this speak to who isn't already being addressed, and the WHEN being why is this imporant at this specific point in time, really forces you to understand your business, the market and your customer. I found it a great place to start. 

By all means a business needs a business plan. It's how you organize your organizations and communicate what your intentions are, the scope of your work, and what success looks like for your efforts. Business plans also can stop you from making mistakes that could doom the success of your business - like failing to pay yourself, or taking too much money out of the business for personal expenses. 

Your business plan should grow and change with your business. Nothing is carved in stone. 

A business plan demonstrates financial literacy and competency. It demonstrates that you understand where money needs to go, and how to project income. How can you expect anyone to lend you money or extend credit if you can't demonstrate adequate planning skills and money management?

We have many wonderful business plan and choose best to execute to get the better result, but sometime we are not satisfy from our decision. We learnt somethings from that decision and create a story to share with friends and partner to don't repeat in future. 

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@EmilyCowan wrote:

We all love stories about scrappy entrepreneurs who got their start by happy accident - a chance meeting, a burst of inspiration, a technological advance in, ahem, a 1970s garage. But then what? How did these successful innovators set smart goals to take their idea to the next level? Is there a sweet spot somewhere between strategy and seat-of-the-pants? We'd love to hear from you....

 

Do you have (or think you need) a business plan? If you've created one, are you sticking to it?

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@EmilyCowan wrote:

We all love stories about scrappy entrepreneurs who got their start by happy accident - a chance meeting, a burst of inspiration, a technological advance in, ahem, a 1970s garage. But then what? How did these successful innovators set smart goals to take their idea to the next level? Is there a sweet spot somewhere between strategy and seat-of-the-pants? We'd love to hear from you....

 

Do you have (or think you need) a business plan? If you've created one, are you sticking to it?

Hi, 

I think that's my biggest problem start a business without a profesional plan.

I just did it with the confidence of my experience, (big mistake) and now trying to recompose my direction and looking for advise before is too late.

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@EmilyCowan nobody should go into business without first creating a business plan!! It is so important to have a road map for success and get your vision on paper. More importantly, the business plan will be necessary for many business reasons, such as getting start-up or working capital loans if need be. I won't continue to reiterate how important a business plan is, because a lot of awesome points were already made in this discussion!

Likewise, SMART goals are uber important to a person's success. That is why they are a mainstay in business and management courses! Who will be more successful; The person that says "I have a goal of $500k in revenue this year", or the person that makes the same statement, but put in the work to make the goal specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, & time-based? SMART goals are a great tool for any aspect of life/business that needs to be improved!