To have or not to have a business plan?
To have or not to have a business plan? That is the question. And the answer of an Entrepreneur magazine writer is that "Writing one is seriously a joke. Seriously". (Read the article here ).
Seriously, in my opinion, she completely missed the mark. A business plan is not a bunch of pieces of paper stapled together to please an individual or an entity. A business plan is a blueprint of your vision. It forces you to clarify the vision and to determine the best path to make that vision a reality. A business plan is a living, breathing document. It is your measurement stick of where you are vs. where you said you are going to be; of what path you are on vs. the one you said you want to be on. It is the best filter to evaluate new opportunities that come your way. It keeps you focus on your path and off the scenic and experimental paths.
You have to know what your vision, what your market is, who your customer is, what your product is, how do you get the product to the customer, and how much this whole process is going to cost you. Putting all these on paper not only that clarifies them on your mind, but it also gets them imprinted on your mind. As the saying goes, "If you don't know where you are going, it doesn't matter what path you take, how long it's going to take to get there, and how much will cost you".
If you want to succeed, dedicate some time to write a solid business plan. You won't regret it.
Posted by Terra3.0 at 1/27/2011 5:56 AM 
Categories: Entrepreneurship, Business Planning
Tags: Business Planning Entrepreneurs
Categories: Entrepreneurship, Business Planning
Tags: Business Planning Entrepreneurs
This is true. The best business plan is the one you write for yourself.
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