A good friend of UnderstandingMarketing.com, Sarah Shaw - aka The Entreprenette - talks about an interesting topic on whether or not it’s important to have a business plan in today’s small business landscape. The discussion actually stems from one of her visitors who’s been in business for a few years and doesn’t have one (but currently contemplating writing one). Writing a business plan for entrepreneurs does have the tendency to be a very intimidating process.
We’d like to mirror the question and get your take. Do you feel a business plan is critical today for a small business? Especially when you factor in the number of home-based businesses (that don’t need VC funding), we can see where there may not be a need for writing a business plan for entrepreneurs.
However, that doesn’t mean you don’t need any kind of planning, right? No matter how larger or how small, every entrepreneur should have some form of marketing and PR plan put together. We all need a roadmap to make sure we stay focused on projects and goals - both long and short term.
Read the full scenario here. So what say you? Is a formal business plan still a requirement for every entrepreneur out there?
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Every business should have a business plan. Now, every business doesn’t need a full 50 page plan with tons of graphs and financials, but at least an outline so you know the structure of business. This is a topic that is discussed all the time at BusinessPlanCompete.com Resources section. We are in the process of writing an article for internet entrepreneurs who develop websites. Most internet entrepreneurs just jump right into development without a revenue stream idea, which is a big no no. A business plan might just help gather thoughts.