One of the things I have done for clients is help them draft business plans. I find that the term “business plan” means different things to different people, so I want to define it.
A business plan is a document outlining in detail the future plans of a business in the following areas: organization, strategy, marketing, operations, and finance.
I believe drafting a business plan is essential, but the benefits of writing the business plan may be limited. What does that mean?
Some research shows that writing a business plan does not correlate to success in business. But it does correlate to starting the business, and I would argue, correlates to starting the business in an organized and well-thought out manner. And while I believe it is very important to take research results with a grain of salt and a hefty dose of skepticism, I also think the results make sense. No plan can predict or guarantee the outcomes of your business (that is what ongoing monitoring is for, to ensure your strategy makes sense as you are implementing it, but there is power in planning, such that it will inspire you to take action.