The Myth of the Business Plan

Interesting!

She is probably against long winded 100 page business planes.

I agree, 100 pages = waste of time.

But a 1 page business plan would be worth it, and it is probably worth writing one each month.

• What you plan to do (1 sentence)
• The proof that there is a big enough market for what I do (1 sentence)
• The cost in time/money for developing the idea, breakdown
• The cost in time/money for marketing the idea, breakdown
• The cost in time/money for maintaining the business, breakdown
• The cost in time/money for supporting the customers, breakdown
• The revenue expected and when it will come in
• How I will test the market? (1 sentence)
• Cash flow projection - could I run out of cash at any point along the way?
• Time flow projection - could my business fall apart due to my time getting sucked up because I can't or wont outsource?

I probably missed something but this is how I will do it.

Could be done using a pen and A4 sheet, and perhaps a calculator.

I'm sitting there beside you Will. That said, IMHO, it becomes much more important to have it all "down" when there are employees, etc. and survivability of the business after the founder is gone becomes a concern.

I agree with the OP. A comprehensive business plan is just a waste of paper and ink. Just a simple one-page summary of plans and goals is enough for me.

Genuine question - are you serious? :confused:

I am a HUGE advocate of the business plan and here's why:

I research my market
I know what they buy
I know how much they will pay
I know where they go to buy

Now I can be sure to have what they buy and advertise in the places they go to buy it, at the price they will pay for it.

Now I know I have a definite stream of income (cashflow, bread and butter) that will sustain the needs of the business (i.e, operational costs like hosting, Internet access bill, phone bill, etc.)

From the research on how much I can project to gross and net, I can effectively know exactly when I want to outsource something, buy another domain name, invest in another course.

I don't find myself wandering around, willy nilly, looking for the next bright shiny object that promises to make my business grow.

When I see something I want, I can determine when I should and will buy it.

For example, I want two products in the WSO section right now. I know nothing about one and a little bit about the other. I already spent money for the month on things I wanted to learn/implement, and I'm in the process of implementing.

If I stop to read something else, and then start trying to do that, guess what! I stop working on what I have already started and it doesn't get finished.

I have a plan for what projects I want to do each month and quarter, for the whole year.

I look at it every 2 weeks, (when I do payroll, because I do give myself a 'salary') and if I want to adjust, or replace that book I planned to buy with a different book, I analyze the situation and decide.

That's how I stay focused. So, I say, have a business plan.

-Dani

Scott,
The most important thing a business plan does for me, is give me insight into my market so that I know what my 'bread and butter' product/service is. This is the one thing, (with research) that I know I will make x amount of sales of, day in and day out, to cover my operating costs and provide for funds for the rest of the businesses growth.

-Dani

There are two kinds of business plans. The kind you show bankers and potential investors, and the kind you use to guide your business.

That monstrous work of fiction in the pretty binder essentially ceases to exist the moment there's a thumbs-up or thumbs-down on the money. At least until it's time to show a business plan to the next banker/investor.

The business plan you use to run your business is a living document. As many have testified above, it need not be lengthy and complex. But it should be real. What value do you plan to provide, and how do you plan to provide it? Who will be most likely to benefit from what you offer? How will you present your offer to them? What's next? Where do you go from there?

Focusing on that plan can go a long way to easing the information overload stress and shiny object syndrome. It's something you can change based on your actual results, but you should have a good reason for changing - not simply being dazzled by Joe Gooroo's copywriter...

So, is a traditional business plan needed? Not until you need to seek traditional financing.

Is a working business plan necessary? For most new business owners, and even most veterans, damn straight it is...

Fist of all, thanks for everyone's contribution to this thread.

When I hear the term "business plan" or "you need a business plan", my mind automatically jumps to the idea of a long, drawn-out formal business plan.

I think TonyMontana (post #2) and theemperor (post #6) and some others have the kind of plan that I can work with. A short outline, a list of bullet points, etc. that gets tweaked as experience, knowledge, and income increases.

For the most part, most Internet Marketers do not know enough to start with a formal business plan. My recommendation is not to let that hold them up from getting started.

Anyhow, below are a couple of threads that got me to thinking about business plans for Internet Marketers.

http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...marketing.html

http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ingamajig.html


Happy Holidays,

Joe Mobley

Once again, John McCabe said it better than I ever could.

I didn't read the article, but based on the feedback in this thread, I'm going
to guess that the author is not an advocate of writing out a long winded
dissertation on what and how you're going to put food on your family's
table.

I agree and don't agree.

If all you want to do is make a few grand a month, a simple outline of how
you're going to do it is all you need.

If you want to run a multi million dollar a year business, good luck with that,
because that's what you're going to need...luck.

It will be 8 years this January 1 since I started my home business. I have
learned so much during these 8 years that I wouldn't even know where to
begin to stress how important it was for me to at least come up with a
simple business plan to FINALLY get my business to where I wanted it to
be.

Without one, you're groping in the dark and hoping for the best. If you
have a family counting on you, I don't recommend it. Sure, if you're single,
have no responsibilities, and would rather spend your time surfing with
J-Mo, then yeah, take your business plan and stuff it. You can probably
figure out something to do to make you a few bucks if you have any
kind of head on your shoulder.

Me? I know every little thing that I'm going to be doing next year, including
what products I'll be creating, how much I'm going to spend on services
and how many hours I'm going to put in.

I can even tell you, almost to the dollar, how much I'm going to earn.

This year, my projection was only off by about $6,000.

I underestimated by that much.

I'll take a business plan over no business plan any day of the week.

But yes, I'll admit, it's not for everybody and not a must to make money
online.

You just won't catch me dead without one.