Why Is Everyone So Enamored With Business Plans

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In This Episode

Whether you are starting, buying, or running a business, one of the most popular questions you’ll be asked is “What’s your plan?”  Almost like a new college student who is often asked, “what’s your major”, your response as a business owner might be a canned response of saying what you’re supposed to say.  Things like, “we’re planning to grow by 22% this year and double over the next 5 years…”. Or maybe you’ll be a little more honest and say things like, “Yeah, I don’t bother with those business plans.  I spend my time doing stuff instead.”

We hear versions of that last statement more often when we talk with small business owners.  And rightly so.  If you talk with 10 successful small business owners, you’ll be lucky to find more than 1 or 2 who have or had formal business plans for their business.  So what gives?  Is a business plan really necessary?

We’re going to tap into our inner attorney here and borrow a phrase from them, “It depends.”  That’s a broad response but it really does depend.  It depends on what you are trying to do.  For instance, if you’re looking to raise money from someone other than yourself or your closest family and friends, you will need something that lays out what you are trying to accomplish.  This could include everything from going to the bank to secure a loan to visiting with angel investors.  On the flip side, if you’re looking to sell your business you’ll want to have a plan in place that shows the potential of the business going forward.

Let’s make sure we are clear here.  We aren’t saying planning is a bad thing.  In fact we are saying just the opposite, planning your business is a great thing.  The key as a small business owner is to do planning that you can act on and that doesn’t waste weeks and months of your time filling out online forms!

People, Companies and Resources We Mentioned in the Show

 

Join Us Next Time

Join us next week when we will wrestle with the question, How Do I Prove I’m Ready To Take Over?  This show will be geared to those folks considering a transition of management and ownership of their business.  So how do you know when someone is ready?  We’ll give you the framework to use to help answer this perplexing question!

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