Planning and Your Business

I am in the process of writing a business plan for a new venture with the help of project manager Bryan Kern, also a Biznik member. It is a long process and seems to be a lot of questions and answers that will hopefully prevent me from making a lot of mistakes in my business.

There have been other discussions about business plans before, you should search those for additional info.

I believe that what prevents many of us from writing a business plan is exactly why we should undertake the challenge...that which makes us stronger etc. It is tedious at best, and also quite challenging to come up with answers to scenarios of what might happen if???? I am looking at it as graduate work without the cost of credits.

Ive been in business since 1999 and my business plan has always been in my head. Ive revised it several times but I always know where I want to go and how Im going to get there.

Ive never needed to actually write down a plan on paper as Ive never needed nor wanted outside funding (ie bank loan etc).

I think if you have a comprehensive plan on where you want to go and how to get there and do not need any outside funding then having a business plan down on paper is not necessary.

If your wishy washy or do not have a clear direction then yes, a written plan may be necessary.

I believe business planning is important - but not every plan needs to be a formal one.

I write a new plan each year, and the plan answers all of the basic questions I need to operate successfully.
What do I do? Who do I do it for? What are my annual goals? How do I plan to reach them? What are my financial goals, and how do the link to my activities? How will I reach new clients and continue to better serve existing ones?

I think a business plan works best when it is a "living document" that you turn to often for revisions and tracking. Some people operate just fine without one, but I think for most of us written goals are more likely to be achieved than those that float freely in the mind.

My 2 cents anyway.

When I dreamed up Brake Director, I had 16 years of RD to think about our market and plan. I have written business plans for ourselves and for other inventions, but especially ours didn't fit the usual plan. We have been told there is no market, that our costs would be prohibitive and that we would never sell, let alone succeed. We have also been told we should be a success by now with hundred of sales a month. What we learned: it's not that simple.

Well we are in our 5th year and have sold around the world with 98% happy customers. This is the year we can step up the financial and market side and build some stability.

Now I have no written plan, but I used years of experience and conversations with lots of Experts in many markets. I don't have one plan; I have many plans, scenarios, options that I run out to as far as I can see or imagine, then let the real market determine what I will use and how it will be implemented. But I have thought long and hard about this, read and learned as much as I can.

For over 4 years we meet with a Small Business Development Center Counselor. Michael Franz has watched and helped us in ways again we never imagined. He is not just a sounding board. He is unique. That's why I always carry his business cards with me.

So a Business Plan of some kind is critical to creating and building a business. A written business plan is for someone else, most times looking for investors or venture capital. But writing a plan can help you bring order to your ideas, focus and find the path that works for you.

That's what we are all trying to do, right?