A business without a plan is like a ship without a rudder.

Do you have an idea for a product or service? Would you like to start a business? If so, you will want to read this article. Here’s the good news: every product or service invented by mankind began as an idea. An intangible thought impulse brought to life through the efforts of one or more people working together intelligently and harmoniously. Behind those successful ideas were written plans: business plans that laid the foundation and illustrated the path to success for the business owner and the investors who financed the project. So those plans, along with the entrepreneur’s burning desire to see the project through to completion, is what helps a business succeed. The keywords in this paragraph are idea, plans, burning desire.

Launching a business without a written business plan is like having a rowboat that has no oars, no map, no sextant, and no compass to navigate. The goal of any business is to be successful, right? The final destination is success. But what if you were given the rowboat mentioned just now and told that its destination is a specific pier in France? How would you get there? You have no oars, no maps, no compass, no sextant to guide you. Would you jump in the rowboat, pull away from the shore, and let the current guide you back and forth with no direction? And if it did, what do you think is the probability that the trade winds and currents will carry it safely across the ocean to arrive at that specific dock… at that specific destination? It won’t happen, right?…

It is essential to have a well written business plan to be successful in business. First, it allows you to think through the details of your business and see the roadblocks ahead and minimizes costly mistakes. Most entrepreneurs are big on ideas and small on written plans. Every new business has a level of chaos associated with the start-up; launching and deploying and having a business plan helps minimize this chaos. Writing a business plan is hard work. And most of the time you will get what you put into it. Maps are both logical and emotional. First, a plan must be based on a logical analysis taking a rational, realistic and hard look at the FACTS associated with the business project. There’s no room for guesswork, you want hard data, statistics, market trends, buyer behavior, and demographics, and there’s a lot you need to think about. But once you have the facts to back up your idea, you can excite your plans in a way that will sell your idea to others for their financial stake or investment.

Speaking of financial investment, your ability to find and recruit investors for your business is virtually nil without a well-written business plan that meets the minimum guidelines generally anticipated by investors regarding plan structure and content.

Another interesting phenomenon about writing a business plan is that it takes that intangible thought impulse you have, the idea, out of your head and turns the intangible thought impulse into a “tangible” form that can be understood by others. The business plan brings your idea or project one step closer to reality.

80% of new businesses fail in one or two years. Because? For many reasons, but mainly because entrepreneurs do not plan and overestimate sales and underestimate costs. The best thing you can do to start your project in the right direction is to write a business plan BEFORE you launch into any business venture. There is power in planning and you will find it when you do it.

We have a free business planning eBook called HOW TO WRITE A BUSINESS PLAN THAT WORKS located on our site in the freebies section, which you can download at your convenience. It is the most powerful business planning tool I have ever seen and I have been helping and advising small businesses for over 20 years. I HIGHLY suggest you take advantage of this opportunity and get your copy today. Another Ezine Exclusive!

Copyright © 2006

James W. Hart, I.V.

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