Do You Need A Business Plan?

Image by Raymond Yee via Flickr

Business plans are overrated.  In fact, most people that take the time to actually write one never really use it for anything.  So, should you write one at all?

My answer is “yes”, but, not in the traditional sense.  When most people think of a business plan they think of a document, very long in length, that gives detailed information about the industry, their specific business, five-year financial projections, marketing strategies, a mission statement,  vision statement, key personnel and background information, pricing strategies, competition and much more.

The problem is, with that much information, it is easy to lose sight of what the business plan is suppose to be for.  Unless you are submitting it to venture capitalists, banks or angel investors, it is for YOU!

I think you should write a couple of pages that you can sit and read regularly and can easily change as your business changes.  You should describe what your product/service is, who your customers or target customers are, how you plan on getting new business, what you are doing to keep existing customers and some short and long term goals.