Response from: Will Kamishlian (Check me out!)

I disagree. If we hold business plans to the standard of whether they are followed closely or whether the projections turn out to be accurate, then yes, business plans are a waste of time. Furthermore, using a template **is** absolutely a waste of time.

Business planning, like most planning, is an exercise, rather than a final product. Planning forces thinking and questions. Questions answered up front eliminate a measure of uncertainty later on. Reduction of uncertainty provides greater flexibility later on. Furthermore, good planning often uncovers hidden opportunities. The question is not, "are business plans useful (evil)" Rather, the question is, "For what purposes are business plans useful, and what types of business plans are relevant for different types of entrepreneurs?" Different types of startups require different types of planning. A bootstrapping entrepreneur requires different types of planning as would be the case for a capital intense startup. A bootstrapping entrepreneur may not spend a great deal of time estimating market sizes and shares; however, I feel that one relies purely on luck to succeed without understanding how cash will be generated. Start up effort expended often goes to naught in startups that do no reasonable estimation of potential cash flow. There is irony in the fact that many entrepreneurs who loathe business planning actually make rosy estimates that would put some "academic" research to shame. In December of 1944, General George S. Patton wheeled Third Army on a dime -- despite the fact that they were engaged -- and moved north about 60 miles to engage the Germans at Bastogne. Few realize that the key component to his flexibility was the fact that his staff officers planned, planned and planned all the time. Planning became second nature, and new plans could be completed in short order with important details were accounted for. Staff and line officers were relieved of details and thus could focus on the changing battle scene.

Response from: Will Kamishlian (Check me out!)

FYI: something went horribly awry with the paragraph stops in my post above.

Response from: Shawn Hessinger (Check me out!)

Will,
First, thanks for the comment and don’t sweat the paragraph structure. I’ve always believed that substance is more important than form anyway. Second, I’m not sure an allied army division is a good comparison to a small business start-up. It seems to me that one of the problems with the traditional business plan structure as it exists today is that it is set up with much larger groups in mind precisely because so many of the so-called small businesses the U.S. Small Business Administration is trying to help are bigger with more employees than most start-up entrepreneurs could ever dream of having in the beginning. In fact, the administration’s own Table of Small Business Size Standards allows numbers of employees up to 500 for most commercial printing operations and a revenue level of up to an amazing (from my perspective, at least) $23 million from electronic shopping companies, presumably like an on line merchant, to name only two examples. I picked these two examples, because, obviously both can be operated at much lower employee and revenue levels at the start. But the allowable employee and revenue levels for what the Small Business Administration considers to be a small business are even higher in other industries. The point here is that companies of this size are not start-ups and have been in business for some time so projecting their earnings over the next three years is simply a matter of reviewing historical revenue, the same thing you do when you apply for financing for a car or home based on your current salary. To apply the same kind of planning approach to a start-up entrepreneur with no employees who might be starting a business out of his apartment is ludicrous and, for the beginning entrepreneur, unrealistic. This is not to say that a business (any business) should be started without any plan whatsoever, even if it’s a list of services you expect to offer scribbled on a cocktail napkin. But making lengthy projections about a business or industry you have not even entered yet with an untried product in hand is foolish and self defeating. You make an excellent point about revising plans as more information presents itself. The key for the bootstrapper, or any start-up entrepreneur for that matter, is to develop an open ended plan that is easily amendable as situations arise and new opportunities are uncovered. A traditional plan with break even points and complex cost and earning projections will be too difficult to amend in the scurry of start-up and complicate the making of important decisions and changes of direction when necessary.

Response from: Online Check Systems (Check me out!)

Excellent article, but I would add something about attending to details. Before preparing a business plan, firstly you really need to get a good idea of a business, and figure out, after that, a business plan for a business that really works, must be a easy question.

Response from: Sean Murphy (Check me out!)

I have to agree with Will Kamishlian's comment that there is value in the planning process. In particular a one page plan that documents key assumptions is very useful for getting your team aligned (or at least your own thoughts down on paper): who your customer is, what your product is, what are the key needs you fill, how have customers done without the product to date, how you will reach prospects, and how you will price your offering (relative to the value you offer). If you don't have a simple plan written down you memory can definitely play tricks on you. Another way to consider a startup is as an experiment. At the beginning it's important to document your hypothesis (guesses and assumptions) and outline how you are going to test (prove or disprove them). Many of your original hypotheses may be proven incorrect, and in light of new information you may need to adjust your plan. This is an argument for keeping it simple and revising it frequently, not an argument that plans are evil. Finally the words "business plan" can be used for both "fund raising plan" and "operating plan." If you are bootstrapping you may not have achieved results that justify outside investment, but without an operating plan it's hard to make progress and keep you team on the same page.