It is a cliche that most, if not all business owners want to ensure profitability and growth in their businesses.
But when five athletes prepare for a race, each has a different unique definition of success. While defending champions such as Usain Bolt would consider the second position as failure, an average obscure sprinter would be grateful to finish third place. Their targets define how long and how hard each of them would train.
So today’s article is dedicated to the struggling start-up who hopes to take over the nation; the thriving medium-scale enterprise who dreams of becoming a multi-national; and the booming multi-national who is not yet tired of making profit.
Why Your Business Needs a Business Plan
When we want to build a house, we usually invite an architect who does a comprehensive cost estimate of what it would take to get the structure ready as desired. Well, what we know is that the construction expert works out the maths and gives us the figures. But what we may not know is how he does it.
A discussion with an architect friend of mine revealed that they actually create an image of the house and then run a calculation, brick by brick, of what it would require to finish it.
The same thing applies to business. Before you start it, sit and calculate what it would take to run the business. Specify certain objectives and goals, both in the short term and long, that you wish to achieve. Explore possible obstacles that may come your way and clearly state how you intend to navigate through them. Now while these may not always work out the way you plan them sometimes, writing them down certainly ensures that you stay on track en route your set goals.
In the simplest of terms, those things you wrote down all come together to form your business plan.
I know you get the gist now so let’s find out why your business really needs one.
Drives You On
When we start up a business, we have so much energy to spend and spare. But as time progresses, we begin to lose faith in what we had hoped to achieve. This may be caused by the brutal realities of failures, disappointments and other socio-economic imperatives. Before we know it, we find ourselves settling for far less than we had dreamt of becoming.
As in a race, many businesses set out to run, but few make it to the very top, and that’s why.
A major reason why you need a business plan is that it keeps your mind focused on what is important – your dreams, your goals. Such that when the turbulent tides of entrepreneurial difficulties sway you up and down, you still hold your ground. A well-articulated business plan even removes the element of surprise from the difficulties. It helps you see the challenges even before they come near you.
Makes You Know What is Important
Different people have different goals. While some business owners just want to dominate their cities and settle down, YOU want more. You want to be the very best in your field of enterprise. You are not just satisfied with the prospect of controlling your national market. You want to be at the very top of your game at the global scene.
Now a business plan helps you achieve this.
Because you want to “be” the lead, you must not see success the same way every normal person does. You do not want to be satisfied with the few medals and plaques you have won around your community. You want to go for more, because there is always more.
So your business needs a fully detailed delineation (business plan) of your short and long-term goals. This will keep you focused on what is important. Being a local champion can seem overwhelming, you know. So you need something to distract you from the distractions. That thing is a business plan.
Gives You a Sense of Urgency
Time is a very important resource in business. But this is for those who understand the value of time. Now a good business plan contains a carefully constructed timeline of what you need to do and when.
Success in business may not often be spontaneous. It takes time to build up. It is usually the summation of the small daily tasks that amount to huge annual achievements.
The journey to business success is not a sprint, it is a relay. So you need a business plan which will keep you on your toes every day giving you a sense of urgency. You need a business plan to remind you that every minute wasted is an important task foregone.
Serves as a Road Map to Your Business
In relation to your business growth, a good business plan answers the questions what, when, how, why and where.
We have established that a good business plan helps you know what you want to achieve (goals) and when you hope to do so (timeline). Now another important thing it does is that it tells you how to do so.
imagine a sailor without a compass or a traveler without a map. Lost, right?
Now that is the same thing that applies to a commercial enterprise without a business plan. You may have all the good plans in your mind but if you do not know how to achieve them, they will be as good as not having existed at all.
So you need a good business plan to help you know how to get to your destination.
Helps You to Attract Investors
There aren’t many people out there who will want to gamble with their money on something they do not really know about. So you need a good business plan that will tell a prospective investor all he or she needs to know about your business.
Moreover, you may not have the means to physically meet all persons who may have interest in your business. Now a well-articulated business plan gives you the opportunity to reach such individuals and convey your business ideas to them as succinctly as possible without necessarily meeting them in person.
Other Reasons Why Your Business Needs a Business Plan Includes:
- It helps you know where to cite your
- It helps you know the risks and prospects of getting into the business
- It helps you make adequate financial projections for your business
- It helps you to ensure controlled spending
- It provides for proper staff remuneration
- It helps you to adequately plan for expansion
Get a Good Business Plan Today!
If you noticed carefully, a major recurring expression throughout the article is good business plan. This is because an ill-crafted business plan can tear your business off the track sheet faster than a tornado. It will make your visions mumbled and present you as an unserious entrepreneur before any investor.
So this is what you should do.
Get a good business plan for your business. If you cannot write one for yourself, hire a professional freelancer online to do the job for you. You can check out the following freelancers online: