Many people don’t go through the trouble of creating a business plan for a variety of reasons.
Some don’t know where to start or think it’s unnecessary, while others believe it’s only needed when you seek outside funding.
While not having one isn’t the end of the world, it is a good idea because it makes you think through each and every step that needs to be taken.
Why a business plan is a good idea
Statistics show that businesses that have a business plan succeed at 2 times the rate of those who don’t have one. And those with a business plan also enjoy 30% more growth potential overall. You are also twice as likely to get funding if you have one.
A well done business plan will also help in several other ways. It will…
- Help you determine your chances of making a good profit
- Give you an accurate estimate of your start-up costs
- Help you make money from the beginning by developing a marketing strategy
- Anticipate potential problems before they do harm to your business
The 2 main ways you can create a business plan
At the end of the day you have 2 choices.
- You can buy a book and learn how to do it yourself
- You can use software that guides you through the process
There are a lot of options over on Amazon for books on creating a business plan. A few of the top rated ones are below.
Crafting a business plan is a lot easier when you take the time to invest in learning how to create one. So if you plan on making one do yourself the favor of learning how to do it right. Making one that isn’t very good will do you more harm than good!
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Awesome information. Thank you 🙂
Hi Tom,
I spent 6-8 months re-writing a business plan. I overthink things. Instead of learning at a meta level, I spent time learning each function of a business while writing my business plan. Do you think I over did it?
Cheers
Brody
Hi BJ! You may have over done it, but now you just need to make the most of it. You obviously learned a lot during that time, and knowledge doesn’t go to waste. So all in all, maybe you are better off, as you learned a lot and know you just have to make that business plan come to life through your actions.
THANKS Laura!
Thank you for encouraging Tom!
I wrote a biz plan which fortunately I have experience doing from “Corp. America.” Problem is/was the plan I wrote was before I completed acquisition of my company . Despite knowledge I had and gained from research, I scrapped it after a 6 weeks. After performing or assisting on every type of job we do, it became a necessity to re-write an effective biz plan as a roadmap. So far so good.
For those who are stuck, there are numerous quality templates on Google. Search “business plan templates”
Thanks for sharing that HW! Much appreciated.