why do you need business plan

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Everything you need to know about UAW's targeted strike plans — and possible lockouts

• The United Auto Workers union said it was prepared to conduct targeted strikes against the Detroit automakers if the sides failed to reach new deals by 11:59 p.m. ET.
• UAW President Shawn Fain called the plans "historic," but there are potential risks regarding what the union is calling "stand-up" strikes.
• The targeted strikes could have unintended ripple effects for members and open the door for the companies to hire permanent replacement workers and even conduct plant lockouts.

In this article

DETROIT – The United Auto Workers union said it was prepared to conduct unprecedented, targeted strikes against Ford Motor , General Motors and Stellantis if the sides failed to reach new deals by 11:59 p.m. ET Thursday.

Targeted, or bottleneck, strikes are an alternative to national actions in which the union only strikes select plants. They're different from when members walk out of all factories and onto picket lines, like what occurred four years ago during the last round of UAW negotiations with General Motors.

Targeted strikes typically focus on key plants that can then cause other plants to cease production due to a lack of parts. They are not unprecedented, but the way UAW President Shawn Fain plans to conduct the work stoppages is not typical. They include initiating targeted strikes at select plants and then potentially increasing the number of strikes based on the status of the negotiations.

"We will strike all three companies, a historic first, initially at a limited number of targeted locations that we will be announcing. Then, based on what's happening in bargaining, we're going to announce more locals that are going to be called to stand up and strike," Fain said Wednesday during a Facebook Live .

Fain referred to the union's plans as a "stand-up strike," a nod to historic "sit-down" strikes by the UAW in the 1930s.

While "historic," the targeted strikes could have unintended ripple effects. It's not clear how one plant will impact on others. The actions could also potentially send non-striking union members to unemployment lines, if their state allows them to collect any benefits due to being out of work as a result of a strike.

What about lockouts?

The stoppages also more easily open the door for the companies to hire permanent replacement workers and even conduct plant lockouts, according to labor experts.

The UAW's strategy puts "some heat on the companies," but it also gives the companies "much more ability" to use such tactics, said Dennis Devaney, senior counsel at Clark Hill who formerly served as a board member of the National Labor Relations Board.

Read more about the Detroit labor showdown

"I think that obviously is not a good thing from the UAW's perspective," said Devaney, who also formerly served as an attorney for GM and Ford.

Plant lockouts, in which companies don't allow workers into a facility, are more common overseas than in the U.S., but they have occurred.

For example, there was roughly a 10-month lockout of workers at an Exxon Mobil refinery in Texas that ended last year upon union ratification of a new agreement. The company said it was done in response to a strike notice issued by the union during negotiations in January 2021 for a new contract.

Automakers, however, may want to continue producing parts and vehicles at plants for as long as they can in the event of the strikes intensifying, especially following years of supply chain disruptions due to parts shortages and the coronavirus pandemic.

There are "significant, important factors" that companies need to take into account to determine if such "actions might be legal and appropriate," said Jeffrey S. Kopp, a corporate labor attorney with 26 years of experience and a partner at Foley & Lardner.

The UAW knows lockouts are an option, citing "everything's on the table" for both sides if it comes to striking under the expired deals, said a person familiar with the union's plans.

Expired deals

The UAW hasn't conducted a strike like this before because under terms of the union's national contracts with the Detroit automakers, strikes at individual plants must be over local contracts, not national issues. But Fain said the UAW will strike at local plants over national issues.

(For context, the UAW as an organization has an "international" unit that operates a leader, or umbrella, for local UAW units that all have their own contracts in addition to a national agreement.)

Typically, such actions would be breach of the contracts and could lead to litigation or a complaint with the NLRB. In 1998, for example, GM filed a lawsuit against the UAW claiming a bottleneck strike at two Michigan plants that affected dozens of other company facilities was illegal.

However, according to the union, this rule no longer matters because members are working under expired contracts that nullify those terms.

Ben Dictor, who serves as legal counsel for the UAW, said most of contracts such as wages and working conditions are still in effect but the "no strike, no lockout clause" expires. That means the union can strike, but it also opens the door for the companies to potentially lock out workers.

"As part of the stand-up strike, some of us will be working without a contract. This is an essential part of our strategy to keep the companies off balance by calling locals out on strike based on what is happening in negotiations," Dictor said in a video posted online Thursday by the union. "That will keep them guessing and turbocharge your national negotiators in bargaining with the big three."

Strike fund

Conducting targeted strikes can be complex, as it's not clear how one plant will impact on others. The actions could potentially send non-striking union members to unemployment lines, if their state allows them to collect any benefits due to being out of work as a result of a strike.

Targeted strikes also will save the union cash, as it won't have to give "strike pay" to as many members from its $825 million strike fund.

The fund pays each eligible member $500 per week, which would mean it has enough cash for roughly 11 weeks if all members went on strike. However, that doesn't include health-care costs that the union would cover, such as temporary COBRA plans, which would likely drain the fund far more quickly.

When asked about the ability for the strike fund to support the union, Fain has regularly referred to how past union leaders conducted work stoppages without pay and how UAW members need to stick together.

"Nobody's coming to save us. Nobody can win this fight for us. Our greatest hope, and or only hope is with each other, standing together," Fain said. "I'll tell you this, I'm at peace with a decision to strike if we have to because I know that we're on the right side of this battle."

20 Reasons Why You Need a Business Plan in 2023

Written by Dave Lavinsky

What is the Purpose of a Business Plan?

The purpose of a business plan is to provide a clear roadmap for the company’s future. It outlines the vision, goals, and strategies of the business, guiding entrepreneurs and stakeholders in understanding its operations and objectives. A well-crafted business plan helps attract investors and funding by showcasing the potential for profitability and growth.

Top 20 Reasons Why you Need a Business Plan

1. to prove that you’re serious about your business.

A formal business plan is necessary to show all interested parties — employees, investors, partners and yourself — that you are committed to building the business. Creating your plan forces you to think through and select the strategies that will propel your growth.

2. To Establish Business Milestones

The business plan should clearly lay out the long-term milestones that are most important to the success of your business. To paraphrase Guy Kawasaki, a milestone is something significant enough to come home and tell your spouse about (without boring him or her to death). Would you tell your spouse that you tweaked the company brochure? Probably not. But you’d certainly share the news that you launched your new website or reached $1M in annual revenues.

3. To Better Understand Your Competition

Creating the business plan forces you to analyze the competition. All companies have competition in the form of either direct or indirect competitors, and it is critical to understand your company’s competitive advantages. And if you don’t currently have competitive advantages, to figure out what you must do to gain them.

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4. To Better Understand Your Customer

Why do they buy when they buy? Why don’t they when they don’t? An in-depth customer analysis is essential to an effective business plan and to a successful business. Understanding your customers will not only allow you to create better products and services for them, but will allow you to more cost-effectively reach them via advertising and promotions.

5. To Enunciate Previously Unstated Assumptions

The process of actually writing the business plan helps to bring previously “hidden” assumptions to the foreground. By writing them down and assessing them, you can test them and analyze their validity. For example, you might have assumed that local retailers would carry your product; in your business plan, you could assess the results of the scenario in which this didn’t occur.

6. To Assess the Feasibility of Your Venture

How good is this opportunity? The business plan process involves researching your target market, as well as the competitive landscape, and serves as a feasibility study for the success of your venture. In some cases, the result of your planning will be to table the venture. And it might be to go forward with a different venture that may have a better chance of success.

7. To Document Your Revenue Model

How exactly will your business make money? This is a critical question to answer in writing, for yourself and your investors. Documenting the revenue model helps to address challenges and assumptions associated with the model. And upon reading your plan, others may suggest additional revenue streams to consider.

8. To Determine Your Financial Needs

Does your business need to raise capital? How much? One of the purposes of a business plan is to help you to determine exactly how much capital you need and what you will use it for. This process is essential for raising capital for business and for effectively employing the capital. It will also enable you to plan ahead, particularly if you need to raise additional funding in the future.

9. To Attract Investors

A formal business plan is the basis for financing proposals. The business plan answers investors’ questions such as: Is there a need for this product/service? What are the financial projections? What is the company’s exit strategy? While investors will generally want to meet you in person before writing you a check, in nearly all cases, they will also thoroughly review your business plan.

10. To Reduce the Risk of Pursuing the Wrong Opportunity

The process of creating the business plan helps to minimize opportunity costs. Writing the business plan helps you assess the attractiveness of this particular opportunity, versus other opportunities. So you make the best decisions.

11. To Force You to Research and Really Know Your Market

What are the most important trends in your industry? What are the greatest threats to your industry? Is the market growing or shrinking? What is the size of the target market for your product/service? Creating the business plan will help you to gain a wider, deeper, and more nuanced understanding of your marketplace. And it will allow you to use this knowledge to make decisions to improve your company’s success.

12. To Attract Employees and a Management Team

To attract and retain top quality talent, a business plan is necessary. The business plan inspires employees and management that the idea is sound and that the business is poised to achieve its strategic goals. Importantly, as you grow your company, your employees and not you will do most of the work. So getting them aligned and motivated will be key to your success.

13. To Plot Your Course and Focus Your Efforts

The business plan provides a roadmap from which to operate, and to look to for direction in times of doubt. Without a business plan, you may shift your short-term strategies constantly without a view to your long-term milestones. You wouldn’t go on a long driving trip without a map; think of your business plan as your map.

14. To attract partners

Partners also want to see a business plan, in order to determine whether it is worth partnering with your business. Establishing partnerships often requires time and capital, and companies will be more likely to partner with your venture if they can read a detailed explanation of your company.

15. To Position Your Brand

Creating the business plan helps to define your company’s role in the marketplace. This definition allows you to succinctly describe the business and position the brand to customers, investors, and partners. With the industry, customer and competitive insight you gain during the business planning process, you can best determine how to position your brand.

16. To Judge the Success of Your Business

A formal business plan allows you to compare actual operational results versus the business plan itself. In this way, it allows you to clearly see whether you have achieved your strategic, financing, and operational goals (and why you have or have not).

17. To Reposition Your Business to Deal with Changing Conditions

For example, during difficult economic conditions, if your current sales and operational models aren’t working, you can rewrite your business plan to define, try, and validate new ideas and strategies.

18. To Document Your Marketing Plan

How are you going to reach your customers? How will you retain them? What is your advertising budget? What price will you charge? A well-documented marketing plan is essential to the growth of a business. And the marketing strategies and tactics you use will evolve each year, so revisiting your marketing plan at least annually is critical.

19. To Understand and Forecast Your Company’s Staffing Needs

After completing your business plan, you will not be surprised when you are suddenly short-handed. Rather, your business plan provides a roadmap for your staffing needs, and thus helps to ensure smoother expansion. Importantly your plan can not only help you understand your staffing needs, but ensure your timing is right as it takes time to recruit and train great employees.

20. To Uncover New Opportunities

Through the process of brainstorming, white-boarding and creative interviewing, you will likely see your business in a different light. As a result, you will often come up with new ideas for marketing your product/service and running your business. It’s coming up with these ideas and executing on them which is often the difference between a business that fails or just survives and one that thrives.

Business Plan FAQs

What is a business plan.

A business plan is a document that details your business concept and strategy for growth.

A business plan helps guide your company's efforts and, if applicable, gives investors and lenders the information they need to decide whether or not to fund your company. A business plan template helps you to most easily complete your plan.

Why Do You Need a Business Plan?

A business plan provides details about your company, competition, customers and industry so that you make the best possible decisions to grow your company.

What is the Importance of a Business Plan?

The 3 most important purposes of a business plan are 1) to create an effective strategy for growth, 2) to determine your future financial needs, and 3) to attract investors (including angel investors and VC funding ) and lenders.

Why is a Business Plan Important to an Entrepreneur?

Business plans help entrepreneurs take their visions and turn them into tangible action plans for success.

About Growthink

Since 1999, Growthink’s business plan experts have assisted more than 4,000 clients in launching and growing their businesses, and raising more than $2.5 billion in growth financing.

Need help with your business plan? 

Speak with a professional business plan consultant from our team.

Use our simple business plan template .

Check out our business plan examples .

Or, if you’re creating your own PPM, you can save time and money with Growthink’s private placement memorandum template .

Learn more about us via our Growthink Business Plan Review page

The World’s #1 Business Plan Template

Would you like to know the quickest and easiest way to create a winning business plan?

And how to use it to raise funding, improve your strategy, or both?

Well, we’ve developed the ultimate business plan template to help you do this. Simply click below to learn more.

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15 Reasons Why You Need a Business Plan in 2023

Posted january 21, 2022 by noah parsons.

As a small business owner or aspiring entrepreneur, a business plan can seem more like a hurdle you have to overcome than a useful tool. It’s a barrier that’s keeping you from moving forward with your business. Maybe the bank won’t review your loan application without a business plan or a potential investor has asked to see your business plan before they will meet with you. 

But, writing a business plan doesn’t have to feel like a homework assignment. Instead, think of writing a business plan as an investment in your business. It’s a tool to figure out a strong and financially viable strategy for growth. And, it’s even been scientifically proven that planning will increase your chances of success and help you grow faster. 

Still not convinced? Read on for our definitive list of reasons why you should write a plan for your business.

What is the key purpose of a business plan? 

Imagine you’re setting out on a journey. You know what your final destination is, but you haven’t figured out how to get there. While it might be fun to just start driving and figure things out as you go, your trip will most likely take longer than you anticipated and cost you more. If you instead take a look at a map and chart the best way to get to your destination, you’ll arrive on time and on budget. Planning for your business isn’t that much different. 

The primary purpose of a business plan is to help you figure out where you want to go with your business and how you’re going to get there. It helps you set your direction and determine a winning strategy. A solid business plan will set your business up for success and help you build an unbeatable company.

If you start off without a plan, you may go down some interesting detours, but you’re unlikely to grow quickly or stick to your budget.

Why do you need to write a business plan?

Establishing a strategic roadmap for your business is the primary benefit of writing a business plan. But what does that really look like for you and your business? Here are our top 15 reasons why you should write a business plan.

1. Reduce your risk

Writing a business plan takes some of the risk out of starting a business. It ensures that you’re thinking through every facet of your business to determine if it can truly be viable. 

Does your solution fit the market? Are your startup or operational costs manageable? Will your proposed business model actually generate sales? What sort of milestones would you need to hit to achieve profitability? These are all questions associated with business risk that you can answer with your plan.

For those already running a business, writing a plan can help you better manage ongoing risk. Should you bring on a new employee? What does cash flow look like for your next month, quarter, or even year? Are you on track to meet your milestones or do you need to change your focus? Keep your plan up to date, review it regularly and you can easily answer these questions and mitigate risk.

2. Uncover your business’s potential

Writing a business plan helps you think about the customers you are serving and what their needs are. Exploring those customer needs will help you uncover new opportunities for your business to serve them and potentially expose new products and services that you could offer. When you use your business plan to manage your business, you’ll be able to see the parts of your strategy that are working and those that aren’t. For example, you may have invested in new marketing efforts to sell one of your products, but that strategy just isn’t working out. With a business plan in hand, you’ll be able to see what’s going to plan and where you need to make adjustments to your strategy, pivoting to new opportunities that will drive profitability.

3. Test a new business idea

When you have a new business idea, it really helps to spend a little time thinking through all the details. A business plan will help you think about your target market, your budget, how much money you’ll need to launch, and how your idea will actually work before you spend any real money. A business plan will also help you easily share your idea with other people to get input and feedback before you get started. 

We recommend using a one-page business plan to test ideas quickly and easily. 

4. Attract investors and get funding to start and grow your business

Sharing your business idea with investors requires a business plan. Now, you probably won’t share a long, detailed business plan to get investors interested, but you probably will share your executive summary — which is an overview of your business plan. Investors may never actually ask for your full business plan, but they will certainly ask you questions that you’ll only be able to answer if you’ve taken the time to write a plan. 

At the very least, they’ll want to see your financial forecasts , so you should be prepared for this. If you end up pitching your business to investors, whether in-person or remotely , having a business plan written makes it much easier to translate the right information into a pitch deck. In short, you’ll have all of the right information ready and available to show why your business is worth investing in.

5. Plan for different scenarios

Even if you have a plan in place, things rarely actually go to plan. The world is always changing, customer tastes change, and new competitors arrive on the scene. Having a plan allows you to experiment with different scenarios to see how changes to your business will impact your forecasts, budgets, profitability, and cash flow. 

6. Research shows that business plans definitely work

A Journal of Management Studies study found that businesses that take the time to plan grow 30% faster than those that don’t. Our own 2021 small business research study found that 58% of small business owners that have or are working on a plan feel confident in their business, even amidst a crisis. And a study in Small Business Economics found that entrepreneurs that write business plans for their ideas are 152% more likely to actually start their businesses. There’s plenty of additional research that links planning with success, so it’s a proven fact that you won’t be wasting your time when you write your plan.

7. Build a better budget and a financial forecast

A core component of any business plan is a financial forecast. When you take the time to plan, you’ll have to think through your expense budget, your sales goals, and the cash that it’s going to take to keep your doors open, purchase inventory, and more. 

The beauty of incorporating forecasts into your business plan is that you don’t need to have the exact numbers to start. You can work with general assumptions and compare against competitive benchmarks to set a baseline for your business. As you operate and collect financial data you can then begin to update your forecasts to generate a more accurate view of how your business will operate.

8. Determine your financial needs

Without a business plan, it’s impossible to really know how much money it’s going to take to start and run your business. You don’t just need money for your initial purchases. You need to have enough cash in the bank to keep your business afloat while you get fully up and running. A plan will help you determine exactly how much money you’ll need and help you keep track of your cash flow and runway .

9. Attract employees

Especially if you’re a young startup company, attracting employees can be hard. Without a proven track record, why should someone take a risk to work for you? Having a business plan can help solve that problem. Your plan can help a prospective employee understand your business strategy and plans for growth so that they can feel confident joining your team. It’s also incredibly useful in determining when and if it’s feasible for you to bring on more employees . 

10. Get your team all on the same page

A great strategy for your business can only be successful if your team understands it. By documenting your strategy with a business plan, you can easily get everyone on the same page, working towards the same goals. It’s even better if you regularly review your plan with members of your team. This ensures that everyone is consistently going back to the core strategy documentation, analyzing it, and exploring how it impacts individual and team goals .

11. Manage your business better 

A business plan is all about setting goals for your company — both financial goals and milestones you hope to accomplish. When you use your plan to regularly check in on your business to see how you’re doing and what your progress is, you’re managing your business. Regular review , ideally monthly, will help you build a strong, resilient business.

12. Understand your market and build a marketing plan

No matter how good your idea is, you have to figure out who your ideal customers are and how you’re going to get the word out to them. That’s where a marketing plan comes in. It can be an indispensable tool for figuring out how you get your first customers as well as your thousandth customer. 

13. It’s easier than you think

You may be procrastinating in writing a business plan because it sounds like a lot of work. The truth is that planning is much less complicated than you think. Start small with a one-page business plan that you complete in half an hour . From there, refine your plan until your idea is solid. At that point, you can invest a little more time in a more detailed business plan. Just start with the basics and expand from there.

14. You’ll sleep better at night

When you have a plan for your business, you have peace of mind. You know that you’ve invested the time to figure out a business model that actually works and you’ve considered different financial scenarios so you can handle the unexpected. And, you’ve got a management tool to run your business better than your competitors. 

15. Effectively navigate a crisis

Having a business plan not only helps you create a roadmap for your business but also helps you navigate unforeseen events. Large-scale economic downturns, supply shortages, payment delays, cash flow problems, and any number of other issues are bound to pop up. But, you can be prepared to face each crisis head-on by leveraging your business plan.

A plan helps you assess your current situation, determine how the crisis will alter your plan, and begin to explore what it will take to recover. With a little planning, you can even prepare your business for future downturns with this same process. It’ll make crisis planning easier and ideally recession-proof your business by having the right plan and processes in place.

Don’t wait, start writing your business plan today

There are plenty of reasons to write a business plan, but the real reason is about finding success for you and your business. Taking the time to plan is an investment in yourself and your business that will pay dividends, whether you’re starting a new business or taking your existing business to the next level. 

You can jump-start your business plan writing process with our article covering how to write a business plan in as little as 30-minutes .

If you’re looking for a tool to help you get more from your business plan, we recommend trying out LivePlan . Our business planning and management tool will guide you through the entire process, including all of your financial forecasts, without ever requiring that you open a spreadsheet.

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Noah Parsons

Posted in business plan writing, join over 1 million entrepreneurs who found success with liveplan.

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Unity plan pricing and packaging updates

Effective January 1, 2024, we will introduce a new Unity Runtime Fee that’s based on game installs. We will also add cloud-based asset storage, Unity DevOps tools, and AI at runtime at no extra cost to Unity subscription plans this November.

As many of you know, the Unity Engine is in fact two substantial software components – the Unity Editor and the Unity Runtime. The Unity Runtime is code that executes on player devices and makes Made with Unity games work at scale, with billions of monthly downloads.

We are introducing a Unity Runtime Fee that is based upon each time a qualifying game is downloaded by an end user. We chose this because each time a game is downloaded, the Unity Runtime is also installed.  Also we believe that an initial install-based fee allows creators to keep the ongoing financial gains from player engagement, unlike a revenue share.

Thresholds for revenue and installs

Games qualify for the Unity Runtime Fee after two criteria have been met: 1) the game has passed a minimum revenue threshold in the last 12 months, and 2) the game has passed a minimum lifetime install count. We set high revenue and game install thresholds to avoid impacting those who have yet to find scale, meaning they don’t need to pay the fee until they have reached significant success.

Only games that meet the following thresholds qualify for the Unity Runtime Fee:

• Unity Personal and Unity Plus: Those that have made $200,000 USD or more in the last 12 months AND have at least 200,000 lifetime game installs.
• Unity Pro and Unity Enterprise : Those that have made $1,000,000 USD or more in the last 12 months AND have at least 1,000,000 lifetime game installs.

Flexibility and discounts for Unity Personal, Pro, and Enterprise

With this new policy, as of January 1, 2024, we will offer Unity Personal to anyone regardless of how much revenue they make to provide more flexibility in how creators manage their licenses. Once a game passes the revenue and install thresholds, the studio would pay a small flat fee for each install (see the table below).

To adjust for scale, Unity Pro and Unity Enterprise subscribers will be eligible for volume discounts that rapidly reduce the per-install cost of the Unity Runtime Fee. This means that in addition to other benefits, the cost of Unity Pro and Unity Enterprise licenses can be offset by the savings as the game grows.

Finally, we structured our fees so that they take into account the variability of game monetization between more established regions like North America and Europe versus emerging gaming regions such as India. A breakdown of the pricing and discount structure is below. See the FAQ for additional details.

Fee reduction for use of Unity services

Qualifying customers may be eligible for credits toward the Unity Runtime Fee based on the adoption of Unity services beyond the Editor, such as Unity Gaming Services or Unity LevelPlay mediation for mobile ad-supported games. This program enables deeper partnership with Unity to succeed across the entire game lifecycle. Please reach out to your account manager to learn more.

New services and tools. No seat price changes.

This November, we will update some of the Unity subscription plans to add extra value. New capabilities include better collaboration (Unity DevOps), cloud-based asset management (Unity Asset Manager), role and access controls (Team Administration), and the ability to add AI functionality at runtime (Unity Sentis). These new tools and services will come with no increase in seat prices as we continue to help creators adapt to the growing complexity of game development. Here’s a breakdown:

• All Unity plans will get Unity Sentis , which enables you to embed a running AI model in the Unity Runtime, inside your game or application, without needing to pay additional cloud-compute costs or introducing latency.
• Unity Personal will include the Unity Asset Manager free tier (10GB storage total), a maximum of 3 Unity DevOps seats featuring 5GB of storage and 200 Windows build minutes, and Team Administration base roles.
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What is a business plan?

• Why you need a plan
• Scientific benefits of planning
• When should you plan?
• Length of your business plan
• Business plan outline
• Operational and strategic plans
• Business plan vs business model

Why do you need a business plan?

14 Reasons Why You Need a Business Plan

10 min. read

Updated June 12, 2023

There’s no question that starting and running a business is hard work. But it’s also incredibly rewarding. And, one of the most important things you can do to increase your chances of success is to have a business plan.

A business plan is a foundational document that is essential for any company, no matter the size or age. From attracting potential investors to keeping your business on track—a business plan helps you achieve important milestones and grow in the right direction.

A business plan isn’t just a document you put together once when starting your business. It’s a living, breathing guide for existing businesses – one that business owners should revisit and update regularly.

Unfortunately, writing a business plan is often a daunting task for potential entrepreneurs. So, do you really need a business plan? Is it really worth the investment of time and resources? Can’t you just wing it and skip the whole planning process?

Good questions. Here’s every reason why you need a business plan.

On this page

1. Business planning is proven to help you grow 30 percent faster

2. planning is a necessary part of the fundraising process, 3. having a business plan minimizes your risk, 4. crafts a roadmap to achieve important milestones, 5. a plan helps you figure out if your idea can become a business, 6. you’ll make big spending decisions with confidence, 7. you’re more likely to catch critical cash flow challenges early, 8. position your brand against the competition, 9. determines financial needs and revenue models, 10. helps you think through your marketing strategy, 11. clarifies your vision and ensures everyone is on the same page, 12. future-proof your business, 13. tracks your progress and measures success, 14. your business plan is an asset if you ever want to sell, writing your business plan.

Writing a business plan isn’t about producing a document that accurately predicts the future of your company. The  process  of writing your plan is what’s important. Writing your plan and reviewing it regularly gives you a better window into what you need to do to achieve your goals and succeed. 

You don’t have to just take our word for it. Studies have  proven that companies that plan  and review their results regularly grow 30 percent faster. Beyond faster growth, research also shows that companies that plan actually perform better. They’re less likely to become one of those woeful failure statistics, or experience  cash flow crises  that threaten to close them down. 

One of the top reasons to have a business plan is to make it easier to raise money for your business. Without a business plan, it’s difficult to know how much money you need to raise, how you will spend the money once you raise it, and what your budget should be.

Investors want to know that you have a solid plan in place – that your business is headed in the right direction and that there is long-term potential in your venture. 

A business plan shows that your business is serious and that there are clearly defined steps on how it aims to become successful. It also demonstrates that you have the necessary competence to make that vision a reality. 

Investors, partners, and creditors will want to see detailed financial forecasts for your business that shows how you plan to grow and how you plan on spending their money. 

When you’re just starting out, there’s so much you don’t know—about your customers, your competition, and even about operations. 

As a business owner, you signed up for some of that uncertainty when you started your business, but there’s a lot you can  do to reduce your risk . Creating and reviewing your business plan regularly is a great way to uncover your weak spots—the flaws, gaps, and assumptions you’ve made—and develop contingency plans. 

Your business plan will also help you define budgets and revenue goals. And, if you’re not meeting your goals, you can quickly adjust spending plans and create more realistic budgets to keep your business healthy.

A business plan is like a roadmap for your business. It helps you set, track and reach business milestones. 

For your plan to function in this way, your business plan should first outline your company’s short- and long-term goals. You can then fill in the specific steps necessary to reach those goals. This ensures that you measure your progress (or lack thereof) and make necessary adjustments along the way to stay on track while avoiding costly detours.

In fact, one of the top reasons why new businesses fail is due to bad business planning. Combine this with inflexibility and you have a recipe for disaster.

And planning is not just for startups. Established businesses benefit greatly from revisiting their business plan. It keeps them on track, even when the global market rapidly shifts as we’ve seen in recent years.

To turn your idea into reality, you need to accurately assess the feasibility of your business idea.

You need to verify:

• If there is a market for your product or service
• Who your target audience is
• How you will gain an edge over the current competition
• If your business can run profitably

A business plan forces you to take a step back and look at your business objectively, which makes it far easier to make tough decisions down the road. Additionally, a business plan helps you to identify risks and opportunities early on, providing you with the necessary time to come up with strategies to address them properly.

Finally, a business plan helps you work through the nuts and bolts of how your business will work financially and if it can become sustainable over time.

As your business grows, you’ll have to figure out when to hire new employees, when to expand to a new location, or whether you can afford a major purchase. 

These are always major spending decisions, and if you’re regularly reviewing the forecasts you mapped out in your business plan, you’re going to have better information to use to make your decisions.

The other side of those major spending decisions is understanding and monitoring your business’s cash flow. Your  cash flow statement  is one of the three key financial statements you’ll put together for your business plan. (The other two are your  balance sheet  and your  income statement  (P&L). 

Reviewing your cash flow statement regularly as part of your regular business plan review will help you see potential cash flow challenges earlier so you can take action to avoid a cash crisis where you can’t pay your bills. 

Competitors are one of the factors that you need to take into account when starting a business. Luckily, competitive research is an integral part of writing a business plan. It encourages you to ask questions like:

• What is your competition doing well? What are they doing poorly?
• What can you do to set yourself apart?
• What can you learn from them?
• How can you make your business stand out?
• What key business areas can you outcompete?
• How can you identify your target market?

Finding answers to these questions helps you solidify a strategic market position and identify ways to differentiate yourself. It also proves to potential investors that you’ve done your homework and understand how to compete. 

A vital part of starting a business is understanding what your expenses will be and how you will generate revenue to cover those expenses. Creating a business plan helps you do just that while also defining ongoing financial needs to keep in mind. 

Without a business model, it’s difficult to know whether your business idea will generate revenue. By detailing how you plan to make money, you can effectively assess the viability and scalability of your business. 

Understanding this early on can help you avoid unnecessary risks and start with the confidence that your business is set up to succeed.

A business plan is a great way to document your marketing plan. This will ensure that all of your marketing activities are aligned with your overall goals. After all, a business can’t grow without customers and you’ll need a strategy for acquiring those customers. 

Your business plan should include information about your target market, your marketing strategy, and your marketing budget. Detail things like how you plan to attract and retain customers, acquire new leads, how the digital marketing funnel will work, etc. 

Having a documented marketing plan will help you to automate business operations, stay on track and ensure that you’re making the most of your marketing dollars.

In order to create a successful business, you need a clear vision and a plan for how you’re going to achieve it. This is all detailed with your mission statement, which defines the purpose of your business, and your personnel plan, which outlines the roles and responsibilities of current and future employees. Together, they establish the long-term vision you have in mind and who will need to be involved to get there. 

Additionally, your business plan is a great tool for getting your team in sync. Through consistent plan reviews, you can easily get everyone in your company on the same page and direct your workforce toward tasks that truly move the needle.

A business plan helps you to evaluate your current situation and make realistic projections for the future.

This is an essential step in growing your business, and it’s one that’s often overlooked. When you have a business plan in place, it’s easier to identify opportunities and make informed decisions based on data.

Therefore, it requires you to outline goals, strategies, and tactics to help the organization stay focused on what’s important.

By regularly revisiting your business plan, especially when the global market changes, you’ll be better equipped to handle whatever challenges come your way, and pivot faster.

You’ll also be in a better position to seize opportunities as they arise.

An often overlooked purpose of a business plan is as a tool to define success metrics. A key part of writing your plan involves pulling together a viable financial plan. This includes financial statements such as your profit and loss, cash flow, balance sheet, and sales forecast.

By housing these financial metrics within your business plan, you suddenly have an easy way to relate your strategy to actual performance. You can track progress, measure results, and follow up on how the company is progressing. Without a plan, it’s almost impossible to gauge whether you’re on track or not.  

Additionally, by evaluating your successes and failures, you learn what works and what doesn’t and you can make necessary changes to your plan. In short, having a business plan gives you a framework for measuring your success. It also helps with building up a “lessons learned” knowledge database to avoid costly mistakes in the future.

Down the road, you might decide that you want to sell your business or position yourself for acquisition. Having a solid business plan is going to help you make the case for a higher valuation. Your business is likely to be worth more to a buyer if it’s easy for them to understand your business model, your target market, and your overall potential to grow and scale. 

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By taking the time to create a business plan, you ensure that your business is heading in the right direction and that you have a roadmap to get there. We hope that this post has shown you just how important and valuable a business plan can be. While it may still seem daunting, the benefits far outweigh the time investment and learning curve for writing one. 

Luckily, you can write a plan in as little as 30 minutes. And there are plenty of excellent planning tools out there if you’re looking for more step-by-step guidance. Whatever it takes, write your plan and you’ll quickly see how useful it can be.

Tim Berry is the founder and chairman of Palo Alto Software , a co-founder of Borland International, and a recognized expert in business planning. He has an MBA from Stanford and degrees with honors from the University of Oregon and the University of Notre Dame. Today, Tim dedicates most of his time to blogging, teaching and evangelizing for business planning.

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10 Reasons Not to Write a Business Plan Writing a business plan isn't for everyone. Here are ten strategies you might be better off trying first.

By Martin Zwilling • Nov 6, 2013

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

If you are one of the new age of entrepreneurs who hates the thought of doing a business plan as a first step in starting your new venture, you will love this message. More and more professionals agree that a better strategy is to explore and fine tune your assumptions before declaring a specific plan with financial projections based only on your dream and passion .

In the process, you may save yourself considerable re-work and money , or even decide that your dream needs more time to mature, before you commit your limited resources, or sign up with investors to a painful and unsatisfying plan.

I just finished a new book on this approach, Beyond the Business Plan , by Simon Bridge and Cecilia Hegarty, which outlines tradeoffs and recommends ten principles for every new venture explorer. Here is my edited summary of their ten principles, which might just convince you that you don't need a business plan at all, or at the very least, will help you write a better one later:

1. A new venture is a means, not an end. A new enterprise should be pursued primarily to help you achieve your goals , like providing a better life for others, satisfying a passion of yours, or enjoying the benefits of a technology you have invented. In that context, it could be a social enterprise, or even a hobby, in which case a business plan may not be beneficial.

2. Don't start by committing more than you can afford to lose. New ventures are usually exploratory and risky by nature, so don't let any business plan process convince you to commit more than you can risk as a person, should your exploration fail. Start with an effectual approach, which evaluates risk tolerance, and suggests a more affordable means to an end.

3. Pick a domain where you have some experience and expertise. Don't handicap yourself by starting something for which you have to build or acquire knowledge, skills and connections from scratch. No business plan will save you if you are just picking ideas at random or copying others, just because the story sounds attractive.

#insert related here#

4. Carry out reality checks and make appropriate plans. Before a business plan has any validity, some work is required to validate that your technology works, a real market exists and your assumptions for cost and price are reasonable. Don't be totally driven by your own passions, the emotional enthusiasm of friends or even third-party research.

5. The only reliable test is a real one. Market research techniques for trying to predict the market's response to a new venture can be costly and are often unreliable. Testing for real is the assumption behind approaches such as Lean Startup . It is also what explorers do -- they go and look, instead of trying to predict from a distance what they will find.

6. Get started and build momentum. Too much hesitation will kill any new venture, as markets move quickly and difficulties mount. Getting started helps generate momentum and creates a sense of accomplishment, which can carry your startup through many obstacles. Early perseverance pays off.

7. Accept uncertainty as the norm. You will never remove all uncertainties, so accept them, and plan your activities in an incremental fashion. Too often, a business plan is seen as a mechanism for eliminating uncertainty, lulling the founder into complacency. Eliminate major uncertainties before the plan and update any plan as you learn.

8. Look for new opportunities. Many useful opportunities are either created by what you do early, or are only revealed once you have started and can see out there. So keep your eyes open and respond to new customers, markets and partnerships. You will also find that looking hard helps eliminate opportunities that are not right for you.

9. Build and use social capital. Social capital is people and connections. No entrepreneur can survive as an island. Social capital is as important as financial capital for all ventures. As with all capital, you can use only as much as you have acquired to-date. If you have no social capital, no business plan will likely get you the financial capital you need.

10. Acquire the relevant skills. Three basic skill sets are required for successful delivery of almost every venture. These are financial management, production capabilities and marketing and sales. If you don't have the relevant skills and knowledge, take time to build them or find someone to partner with, before you attempt any business plan.

If you decide to continue building a conventional business after exploring these principles, especially with investors and employees other than yourself, I'm still convinced a business plan is a valuable exercise. You should do it yourself to make sure you understand all the elements of the plan and facilitate communication of the specifics to your team and investors.

In essence, building a complete and credible plan is the final test of whether your venture has legs. The entrepreneur lifestyle is all about doing something you enjoy without undue stress, uncertainty and risk. Are you having fun in your venture yet?

Veteran startup mentor, executive, blogger, author, tech professional, and Angel investor.

Martin Zwilling is the founder and CEO of  Startup Professionals , a company that provides products and services to startup founders and small business owners. The author of  Do You Have What It Takes to Be an Entrepreneur?  and  Attracting an Angel, he writes a daily  blog  for entrepreneurs and dispenses advice on the subject of startups.

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6 Reasons You Really Need to Write A Business Plan

Published: October 14, 2020

Starting a busine ss can be a daunting task, especially if you’re starting from square one.

It’s easy to feel stuck in the whirlwind of things you’ll need to do, like registering your company, building a team, advertising, the list goes on. Not to mention, a business idea with no foundation can make the process seem incredibly intimidating.

Thankfully, business plans are an antidote for the new business woes that many entrepreneurs feel. Some may shy away from the idea, as they are lengthy documents that require a significant amount of attention and care.

However, there’s a reason why those who take the time to write out a business plan are 16% more likely to be successful than those who don’t. In other words, business plans work.

What is a business plan, and why does it matter?

In brief, a business plan is a roadmap to success. It's a blueprint for entrepreneurs to follow that helps them outline, understand, and cohesively achieve their goals.

Writing a business plan involves defining critical aspects of your business, like brand messaging, conducting market research, and creating pricing strategies — all before starting the company.

A business plan can also increase your confidence. You’ll get a holistic view of your idea and understand whether it's worth pursuing.

So, why not take the time to create a blueprint that will make your job easier? Let’s take a look at six reasons why you should write a business plan before doing anything else.

Six Reasons You Really Need To Write a Business Plan

• Legitimize your business idea.
• Give your business a foundation for success.
• Obtain funding and investments.
• Hire the right people.
• Communicate your needs.
• It makes it easier to sell your business.

1. Legitimize your business idea.

Pursuing business ideas that stem from passions you’ve had for years can be exciting, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a sound venture.

One of the first things a business plan requires you to do is research your target market. You’ll gain a nuanced understanding of industry trends and what your competitors have done, or not, to succeed. You may find that the idea you have when you start is not likely to be successful.

That may feel disheartening, but you can always modify your original idea to better fit market needs. The more you understand about the industry, your future competitors, and your prospective customers, the greater the likelihood of success. If you identify issues early on, you can develop strategies to deal with them rather than troubleshooting as they happen.

It’s better to know sooner rather than later if your business will be successful before investing time and money.

2. Give your business a foundation for success.

Let's say you’re looking to start a clean beauty company. There are thousands of directions you can go in, so just saying, “I’m starting a clean beauty company!” isn’t enough.

You need to know what specific products you want to make, and why you’re deciding to create them. The Pricing and Product Line style="color: #33475b;"> section of a business plan requires you to identify these elements, making it easier to plan for other components of your business strategy.

You’ll also use your initial market research to outline financial projections, goals, objectives, and operational needs. Identifying these factors ahead of time creates a strong foundation, as you’ll be making critical business decisions early on.

You can refer back to the goals you’ve set within your business plan to track your progress over time and prioritize areas that need extra attention.

All in all, every section of your business plan requires you to go in-depth into your future business strategy before even acting on any of those plans. Having a plan at the ready gives your business a solid foundation for growth.

When you start your company, and your product reaches the market, you’ll spend less time troubleshooting and more time focusing on your target audiences and generating revenue.

3. Obtain funding and investments.

Every new business needs capital to get off the ground. Although it would be nice, banks won’t finance loans just because you request one. They want to know what the money is for, where it’s going, and if you’ll eventually be able to pay it back.

If you want investors to be part of your financing plan, they’ll have questions about your business’ pricing strategies and revenue models. Investors can also back out if they feel like their money isn’t put to fair use. They’ll want something to refer back to track your progress over time and understand if you’re meeting the goals you told them you’d meet. They want to know if their investment was worthwhile.

The Financial Considerations section of a business plan will prompt you to estimate costs ahead of time and establish revenue objectives before applying for loans or speaking to investors.

You’ll secure and finalize your strategy in advance to avoid showing up unprepared for meetings with potential investors.

4. Hire the right people.

After you’ve completed your business plan and you have a clear view of your strategies, goals, and financial needs, there may be milestones you need to meet that require skills you don’t yet have. You may need to hire new people to fill in the gaps.

Having a strategic plan to share with prospective partners and employees can prove that they aren’t signing on to a sinking ship.

If your plans are summarized and feasible, they’ll understand why you want them on your team, and why they should agree to work with you.

5. Communicate your needs.

If you don’t understand how your business will run, it’ll be hard to communicate your business’s legitimacy to all involved parties.

Your plan will give you a well-rounded view of how your business will work, and make it easier for you to communicate this to others.

You may have already secured financing from banks and made deals with investors, but a business’ needs are always changing. While your business grows, you’ll likely need more financial support, more partners, or just expand your services and product offers. Using your business plan as a measure of how you’ve met your goals can make it easier to bring people onto your team at all stages of the process.

6. It makes it easier to sell your business.

A buyer won’t want to purchase a business that will run into the ground after signing the papers. They want a successful, established company.

A business plan that details milestones you can prove you’ve already met can be used to show prospective buyers how you’ve generated success within your market. You can use your accomplishments to negotiate higher price points aligned with your business’ value.

A Business Plan Is Essential

Ultimately, having a business plan can increase your confidence in your new venture. You’ll understand what your business needs to succeed, and outline the tactics you’ll use to achieve those goals.

Some people have a lifetime goal of turning their passions into successful business ventures, and a well-crafted business plan can make those dreams come true.

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Why You Should Write a Business Plan

Susan Ward wrote about small businesses for The Balance for 18 years. She has run an IT consulting firm and designed and presented courses on how to promote small businesses.

To Test the Feasibility of Your Business Idea

To give your new business the best chance of success, to secure funding, to make business planning manageable and effective, to attract investors, frequently asked questions (faqs).

The Balance / Getty Images

A business plan  is the blueprint for your business. Starting a business without a business plan is like building a house without a blueprint. Yet, unlike a house, a business isn't static. We often make the mistake of thinking of a business plan as a single document that you put together once when you're starting out and never touch again. But as the business develops, so should its business plan. In fact, any particular business may have multiple business plans as its objectives change.

Writing a business plan is time-consuming, but it's essential if you want to have a successful business that's going to survive the startup phase.

Key Takeaways

• Writing a business plan reveals how tenable your idea is.
• Updating and amending a business plan as the business develops and its goals change is vital to your success.
• A good business plan helps you define your target market, competitive advantage, optimum pricing strategies, and better prepares the business for upcoming challenges.
• A business plan helps you secure funding and attract new investors.

Writing a business plan is the best way—other than going out and doing it—to test whether an idea for starting a business is feasible. In this sense, the business plan is your safety net. If working through a business plan reveals that your business idea is untenable, it will save you a great deal of time and money.

Often, an idea for starting a business is discarded at the marketing analysis or competitive analysis stage , freeing you to move on to a new (and better) idea.

Unfortunately, many prospective business owners are so convinced that their idea for a product or service is a can't-miss proposition, that they don't take the time to do the necessary research and work through a proper business plan. The more you know about your industry, your prospective customers, and the competition, the greater the likelihood that your business will succeed.

Writing a business plan will ensure that you pay attention to the broad operational and financial objectives of your new business and the small details, such as budgeting and market planning. The process will ultimately make for a smoother startup period and fewer unforeseen problems as your business gets up and running.

The exercise of budgeting and market planning will help you define your  target market , your unique selling proposition, optimum pricing strategies, and outline how you intend to sell and deliver your products to customers. In addition, developing a budget for implementation will assist with determining your startup and operating capital requirements.

According to the Small Business Administration, one of the most-cited reasons why businesses fail is inadequate planning. By starting too soon and without a sufficient plan, your business is setting itself up for failure.

Most new businesses need startup and operating capital to get off the ground. Without a well-developed business plan, there is no chance of getting  debt financing from established financial institutions such as banks or  equity financing  from angel investors.

Established businesses often need money, too, to buy new equipment or property, or because of market downturns. Having an up-to-date business plan gives you a much better chance of getting the money you need to keep operating or expand.

Even an angel investor will want to ensure their money is going to a business that knows what it's doing. The easiest way to prove this is via a well-developed business plan.

Investors and financiers are always looking at the risk of default, and word of mouth is no substitute for written facts and figures in a properly prepared business plan.

A business plan is essential if you're thinking of starting a business, but it's also an important tool for established businesses. Viable businesses are dynamic; they change and grow. Your company's original business plan needs to be revised as you set new goals .

Reviewing the business plan can also help you see what goals have been accomplished, what changes need to be made, or what new directions your company's growth should take.

Whether you want to shop your business to venture capitalists or attract angel investors , you need to have a solid business plan. A presentation may pique their interest, but they'll need a well-written document they can study before they'll be prepared to make any investment commitment.​​​

Be prepared to have your business plan scrutinized. Both venture capitalists and angel investors will want to conduct extensive background checks and competitive analyses to be certain that what's written in your business plan is indeed the case.

What are the sections of a business plan?

A comprehensive business plan should include the following sections:

• Executive summary
• Company description
• Competitor analysis
• Industry analysis
• Product and services description
• Financial data

What is the purpose of a business plan?

A business plan has four main purposes:

• Tests the feasibility and model of your business idea
• Attracts investors
• Sets a plan for growth
• Identifies capital needs

Small Business Administration. " Selecting a Business That Fits ."

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Why Do You Need a Business Plan

A business plan is very important and for entrepreneurs to secure funding such as bank loans that’s why do you need a business plan. Get some Reasons!

15 Reasons, Why do you need a business plan.

Why should I write a business plan ? If you’re like many entrepreneurs excited to get your idea off the ground, then the idea of sitting down and writing a business plan may falsely look like a waste of time.

Here are some reasons that will help you to understand the importance of business plan. Read the points and gain knowledge regarding business plan needs.

1. A Business Plan Helps you Grow by at least 30%

And for good reason – the process of writing a formal business plan can pull a significant amount of your time and attention away from the actual business. “Do I really need a business plan? Is the tradeoff of my time and energy really worth it?“

• 2x more likely to secure a loan
• 2x more likely to secure an investment
• 49% more likely to grow the business

Other studies back up these results. In a 6-year study on Entrepreneurial Dynamics in the US , researchers found that entrepreneurs who write formal business plans are 16% more likely to achieve viability than the otherwise identical non-planning entrepreneurs.

So why is this the case? What are the tangible advantages that a business plan can provide? 

2. Vital to Secure Funding such as Bank Loans

If you need financing from banks, a business plan is an absolute must. In fact, many consider a business plan to be a prerequisite before even discussing the terms of a loan.

Banks determine the feasibility of loans through a sophisticated method of analyzing the potential risks and rewards. Without a business plan, this analysis is not possible.

Similarly, many investors want to see a business plan as well. The plan allows them to verify the facts and data that support your business idea , and reassure them that you’ve done your due diligence, left no stone unturned, and are ready to begin scaling your new business.

3. Test the feasibility of your business idea

The best way is to write a business plan to test whether an idea for starting a business is to be feasible or not.

Yes, it makes sense, a plan for the business is your safety net, as well as how to write a business plan step-by-step will save you a great deal of time and money if working through it reveals your business idea is not promising.

4. Develop Contingency Plan for Business 

Creating a business plan  can help you identify problems that may arise in the future and stop them before they become a disaster. This will allow you to visualize success and get in front of problems before they become insurmountable.

5. Estimate Startup Costs

While creating a business plan, you can more clearly determine your startup costs. A strong plan can also help you wisely allocate those funds, get the most out of your money, prepare for future expansion, and save for the unexpected.

6. Helps you Sell your Business 

If you decide to sell your company, your business plan is a great thing to  show potential buyers , because you can write in a well-thought-out exit strategy. A thorough, well-written plan will show buyers how far the business has come since the beginning, layout its potential for future growth potential and much more.

7. Helps you move Strategically

If you prepare the business plan, it will help you to work out the goals you want to achieve and their strategies to achieve .

Your planning process helps you to consider possible bumps in the road and if they do come up, you put a plan in place to manage them better. Once you got a business plan, it is a better idea to regular review and updates it to:

• Remind yourself of your priorities and goals
• Check whether your strategies are working
• Make the newest opportunities as they come your way
• Adapt to any changes in your environment

8. A Business Plan Helps you Grow Faster

One of the biggest pitfalls of new companies is the overwhelming amount of decisions to make on a daily basis.

The business plan functions as the de-facto reference for your company’s major strategic growth decisions. 

It allows you to minimize the number of decisions you need to make on a day-to-day basis and focus on executing your growth strategy correctly.

9. A business plan can highlight new opportunities

It’s true that a business plan takes a lot of time and effort, but in strategic thinking as well as background research in competitor trends, industry trends, and economic trends. Luckily, this effort can be an invaluable source of inspiration for alternative options to grow.

Take for example the famous chocolate manufacturer Hershey’s. The founder, Milton Hershey, had several failed business attempts before finding his footing in making luxurious caramel candies.

It was only after evaluating chocolate as an industry alternative to his products that he decided to make a strategic pivot and devote all his time and energy to making chocolate .

Had he not evaluated the industry dynamics, and instead focused solely on making caramels, he would not have identified this new business opportunity. In that regard, a business plan provides a holistic view of macroeconomic and industry trends, and in doing so provides a valuable tool to evaluate new and promising opportunities.

10. Set Your Goals And Forecast Your Business’s Progress

Set your goals and forecast your business’s progress. By forecasting where your business will be in six months, one year, or five years, you are not only showing potential  investors your plans , buy you are also setting up  realistic milestones  for yourself and your company.

11. Helps to Make Major Purchases

Set your goals and forecast your business’s progress. By forecasting where your business will be in six months, one year, or five years, you are not only showing potential  investors your plans , but you are also setting up  realistic milestones  for yourself and your company.

12. Helps you Measure Business Growth

A proper business plan enables you to compare their business plan versus actual operational results.

And it allows you to properly see whether you have achieved your strategic, operational, and financing goals, as well as why you have or have not. Regularly monitoring your business happenings will help you to identify the good and bad things in your business.

13. Makes Business Planning Manageable and Effective

If you have employees, the planning process will be a good opportunity to get their feedback on possible ideas and improvements. Writing and Researching for your plan gives you the chance to:

• Study about your competitors, industry, and market
• Write down where you are headed and where you are in the market exactly.
• Understand the business finances, which include managing cash flow and determining the break-even point.
• Identify challenges that may come across and work out strategies to avoid them and also try to overcome them.

14. Establish Business Milestones and Develop a Game Plan

Clearly lay out the long-term milestones of your business plan, that are crucial to the success of your business. If you are at a startup, execution is everything, which means you have to set goals and priorities as well as measure performance. You should identify the key questions and their answers, such as

• What features do customers want?
• How much will they pay for our product?
• How can we attract customers?

15. Helps you Develop Marketing Plan for Business

A well-documented marketing plan is essential to business growth. Also need to identify the questions and answers, such as,

• How will you reach your customer?
• What is your budget for advertising?
• How will you retain customers?
• What price will you charge?
• How is a plan to reach the customers?

Need Professional Business Plan Writer

Hire our experienced business plan writers to create a winning business plan to achieve your company’s goals.

A business plan serves as a roadmap for your business. It outlines your goals, strategies, and the steps you need to take to achieve success. It provides a clear direction, helps you make informed decisions, attracts investors or lenders, and keeps you focused on your objectives.

There are several benefits to having a business plan. It helps you:

• Define your business goals and objectives.
• Identify your target market and understand customer needs.
• Develop strategies to differentiate your business from competitors.
• Determine your financial projections and funding requirements.
• Create a framework for measuring progress and evaluating success.
• Communicate your business concept effectively to stakeholders.

Every entrepreneur or business owner, regardless of the size or stage of their business, can benefit from having a business plan. Whether you’re starting a new venture, seeking funding, expanding an existing business, or reevaluating your strategies, a well-crafted business plan provides guidance and serves as a valuable tool.

A comprehensive business plan typically includes the following sections:

• Executive Summary: An overview of your business and its objectives.
• Company Description: Detailed information about your business, its structure, and mission.
• Market Analysis: Research on your target market, competition, and industry trends.
• Products or Services: Description of what you offer and how it meets customer needs.
• Marketing and Sales Strategy: Plans for promoting and selling your products or services.
• Organization and Management: Details about your team and organizational structure.
• Financial Projections: Forecasts of revenue, expenses, and profitability.
• Funding Request (if applicable): If seeking funding, details on the amount and purpose of the funding.

A business plan is not a static document. It should be seen as a dynamic tool that evolves with your business. Regularly reviewing and updating your business plan allows you to adapt to market changes, revise your strategies, and set new goals. This ensures that your business remains relevant, competitive, and aligned with your long-term vision.

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