I find that a lot of young, ambitious entrepreneurs forego the business planning part of their business venture and head straight to the business venture without realizing they just skipped a huge key to success.
Yes, you do need a business plan. But why? Let’s talk about it!
Why You Need a Business Plan
Business plans help in a lot of ways, more than I could probably think of or name. But there are three really important ones that I think you need to know.
It Can Help Get You Funding
If you want or need to get funding, you need a business plan. There are pretty much no exceptions to that rule. That’s because potential investors need to know that you know what you’re doing.
A plan can help give investors confidence in your business by showing them that you’ve worked a legitimate plan out. It’s your first step to “proving” your business to help you secure the money to create your business!
Steer Your Business
If you want to be successful in business, you need to have a plan and a direction. A plan helps you lay out that direction so you (and anyone else who needs to) knows where you’re headed.
A plan is basically a road map for your business. The best part is, while you need a roadmap to help you navigate, a business plan is a magic road map. They are flexible, dynamic and they grow as you do. So while you’re steering your business, you might also draw a few extra roads.
Lays Out Milestones
Speaking of road maps, your plan also gives you different milestones to achieve. These small milestones help take the bigger picture of your business into smaller, more manageable and achievable steps.
Not only are these milestones great for shorter-term business planning (like yearly business planning), but they help provide you with smaller, achievable steps—this can help you stay motivated. Hitting milestones proves you’re growing and headed in the right direction while you’re trying to achieve bigger things!
Help Give You New Ideas
Creating your plan is a great opportunity to come up with new ideas for your business. I know, I know, you already have THE BEST idea out there, but there is no limit on great ideas and getting down-and-dirty with your business plan might just be the creativity release you need.
Being creative and coming up with new ideas can help you identify and fill gaps in your business you didn’t see before putting a plan together (YES, there are gaps). Which can help you build a fuller, better product or business.
Writing a Business Plan
Writing a plan does not have to be a frustrating or confusing activity. There is no right or wrong way to write one, but if you’re planning on going with a traditional plan there are easy-to-understand structure guidelines and you simply have to fill out sections!
It is your opportunity to get creative, have fun and grow your business in your mind, so you can get to building it and growing it in reality. It might seem like a daunting task, but I bet you’ll love it.
What has your plan helped you with? Share it in the comments below!
Not sure how to write a business plan? Check out these posts:
- An Overview of the Plan
- How To Write a Plan That Gets You Funding
- How to Write an Effective Plan
- How to Generate an Effective Plan
Tae started out as a journalist before following the money into the corporate world. But it turns out that the grass isn’t always greener and now you can find her spending most of her time writing about all the things she loves. Namely, money, travel and business with a hefty dose of self-deprecating humor. She is a podcast fanatic, blogging aficionado and loves to find new ways to turn passions into cold hard cash!