| Remember back to your high school days and the | | | | the stakeholders that will help you launch and grow |
| memory of being assigned the task of writing a 30 | | | | your business - suppliers, partners, customers, |
| page term paper in one of your classes. If you were | | | | employees and board members. |
| like most of your peers, the mere thought of this | | | | 4. Helps companies gain a more thorough |
| assignment brought tears to your eyes. | | | | understanding of the opportunities and challenges in |
| Fast forward to today. You are now an entrepreneur | | | | their market and industry, and craft strategies and |
| starting a business or seeking outside capital to grow | | | | tactics that will directly respond to customer needs. |
| your company. You realize with dread that you are | | | | 5. Your company has competition, and ultimately your |
| going to have to write a business plan to advance | | | | success will be determined by how you set your |
| your company forward. In fact, the mere thought of | | | | company apart from that of your competitors. A |
| writing a business plan most likely conjures up | | | | business plan empowers you with valuable competitive |
| memories of your high school days preparing term | | | | insight and enables you determine how to differentiate |
| papers. | | | | your products, services and value proposition. |
| Don't fear. Resist the urge to run. Yes, I admit that | | | | 6. The better you understand your business the more |
| developing a plan is a lot of work. However, the | | | | effective you will be in creating the right management |
| business planning process has so much to teach you | | | | team for your company. The landscape is littered with |
| about your business and the opportunity in front of you | | | | companies with great products and huge markets that |
| that it is well worth the time and effort required to see | | | | either didn't make it or didn't reach their potential |
| the process through to the end. | | | | because the management team lacked the |
| Experience has taught entrepreneurs and small | | | | appropriate skills, talent or experience to capitalize |
| business owners that the benefits of the business | | | | upon its opportunity. |
| planning process include: | | | | 7. A well thought through business plan will lay out a |
| 1. Providing you a 360 degree view of your company, | | | | comprehensive strategy and time-line for |
| allowing you to examine its viability and potential for | | | | implementation and operations of the company in the |
| growth and success. | | | | early and emerging stages of growth. |
| 2. A business plan is powerful tool for ensuring that the | | | | 8. Allows you to examine "what-if" scenarios and |
| founders and management team are committed to a | | | | create back-up plans should your Plan A turn out |
| common set of goals by forcing individuals to reconcile | | | | differently than you originally expected - a situation |
| any differences they may have into a unified plan of | | | | which happens quite frequently. |
| attack. | | | | Enjoy the business planning journey. Take time to write |
| 3. A business plan is an excellent method of | | | | a business plan that you are proud to put your name |
| communicating your vision, mission, values and goals to | | | | on. It is well worth the effort. |