Preventing Business Rubble

November 16, 2007

It doesn’t matter if you’ve been in business for a year or several years; or if you’re just coming up with the idea to have a business: all businesses should have a well written business plan.  You don’t necessarily need to have the traditional, 35 page business plan that follows a very specific format; but having an outline of your basic business goals and plans is necessary to the ongoing success of your company.  Why?

A business plan provides direction.  Whether it’s a solo-operated business or you have a few employees, having a business plan helps everyone work towards a single purpose and goal.  A business plan forces you to define your company’s goals and create your own competitive advantage- what makes you unique?

Establish checkpoints.  With a business plan, not only will you know exactly what goals you are striving for, but it serves as your road map for how to get there.  Many start up businesses fail because they are simply running their businesses on the initial idea and haven’t worked out the future growth and operations of the company.  Without checkpoints, it’s not possible to know whether you’re reaching your goals.

Force you to research instead of guess.  When you have to formulate specific information on a piece of paper in your business plan, you are forced to research real data for market, or product research.  Guessing information about your target market is not going to give you the same results that actually putting in the research will give.

Show me the Money. Many businesses will eventually need some sort of financing.  If you expect someone or company to invest in your business, they’re going to want to see that you’ve researched it thoroughly and have a concise plan for making the business successful.

Business plans are the foundation to your “building”.  A house will not last if the foundation isn’t strong, and will soon crumble into tiny pieces of rubble.  Do you want your business to crumble into pieces of rubble all around you?  Of course not.  Take the time to plan out your business and create a strong foundation, and like a well planned and built house, your business will stand the test of time.

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