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Or, to put it more succinctly, I can't get where I'm going if I don't know where it is!
Seriously, they help direct your activities day in and day out. The old "working ON your business, not IN your business".
I love business planning. How much of my annual sales will go back into marketing? How much resource labor do I need to accomplish a growth goal? Who is my ideal customer? Great questions but the answers change sometimes daily! I'd love to have competition that use a paper plan. :)
Business planning gives me an education into the current marketplace, so I can set goals for how my business will perform. Having goals keeps me inspired to be as productive as possible and measuring myself against those goals lets me know where my planning was strong and what needs improvement.
It's impossible to share a vision without knowing how to get there. Planning and sharing the goals to attain the vision are important. But. . .
A business plan needs to be flexible enough to allow reaction to new opportunities and market changes. I never want to be held hostage by a piece of paper.
Business plans introduce a formality-first level of planning. I understand that plans need to be "churched-up" before seeing funding etc, but too often it seems that the core purpose of the plan gets overshadowed by the layout and formatting etc.
Business planning on the other hand is a wonderful experience. I have numerous reference charts, cost evaluators and pro-forma spreadsheets that I update each month when I do my monthly billing. I use these as my check-and-balance method to make sure we are still on track.
I use these references religiously, however, because they are used so often, the contain my notes and lack the formatting I would use for a business plan.
http://workbench.ducttapemarketing.com/kickapps...
Randy
DTMAC, Fort Worth, TX
...A business plan feels so final and concrete, but planning is a process that allows change.
The 'idea' is great, but it's not gonna get made by itself, so I need a plan to keep things in perspective while working towards the final product. The plan part is not fun, it's boring and filled with lots of things I don't want to think about. But that's precisely why I need it - it's the details about cost and management and cutting the extras down to the necessities - that keep me on track, giving me more room to shape and experiment until the final outcome is ready.
Business plans attempt to predict the future with a set, sometimes stagnant, vision, where as business planning is knowing the facts of your business, the industry, and all the other variables - allowing you to adapt and adjust to the ever-changing market.
It's exciting to create something to fill a need. Figuring out the who and what... and then the *how* drives me, inspires me and thrills me. (It's also fun to look back in six months, a year etc, and see how it's matching up and tweak if necessary.)
it allows me to visualize where I want to take my business and establish a concrete plan to get there. Business planning always helps me realize crucial elements about my customers and how to address their needs.
Otherwise, if you don't know where you are going, any train will get you there.
- D3
I hate business plans but I love business planning because....its gives me goals and motivation. Without some type of planning I wouldn't have anything to strive for. The plan can be extremely broad and open and even if I end up somewhere I had no intention of being it will be because I had an idea or dream at some point.
"failing to plan, is planning to fail."
Business planning is like writing, even if I don't refer to it again, the act of clarifying makes it stand out stronger in my mind.
I love business plans because they provide a record of intention at the time.
So often there is this huge gap between what we say we will do, what we do and what results we get.
A business plan gives you the chance to look back and reflect on why things didn't go as you expected.
A business plan gives you a chance to learn and adapt your future behaviour.
A business plan stops your mind playing tricks on you as each day your plan evolves and you forget what you thought.
A business plan captures some of those brilliant ideas that you still haven't put into action so that you can bring them back to the table.
I love business plans, I love business planning...I hate people failing to take purposeful action.
I hate it when people won't decide on where they want to go and drift aimlessly.
I hate it when people don't measure and monitor the business.
What do you really need to know from a business plan? I need to know right now what I need to do now, to make my business succeed. Because all you ever have is now. Perhaps planning is the best use of now.
Frank Dobner
www.thestartupsource.com
Yes today most of the businesses failed, because no one gave importance to learning; only having a good idea is not always enough. Learning is the everlasting process.
I totally agree with you, it is not necessary if you have a solid idea then you will succeed. There are so many things you have to look when you are starting any new venture, just having an good idea is not enough, you need to have knowledge and strategies and proper strategy execution is far important then just having a strategy under your belt, and most crucial part is you have to craft yourself according to the needs of the market and without learning its not possible.
I personally like your post; you have shared good insights and experiences. Keep it up.
Business Plan Writers