Business Plans = Business Fantasy
This article discusses why startup business plans should be short and action oriented. It is mostly intended for new entrepreneurs wondering ‘what makes a good business plan?’
The Hockeystick. My favourite work of fiction.
There’s no such thing as a perfect business plan, but that’s ok. You’re not going to win or lose on the back of it. All you really need is to describe your situation and what you plan to do. The intention is to organise your thoughts, and make sure you’re clear about what you want. Many academics and business analysts will have you believe that your plan should be 100+ pages long, define multiple scenarios, provide detailed resource allocations, and include hundreds of statistics or fancy charts from authoritative sources. This is a colossal waste of time for most if not all small startups. If you don’t have teams to coordinate and millions to spend, you’ll be better served by a lean simple plan.
It’s a business fantasy
By its’ very nature a startup business plan is attempting to predict the future; and we all know the future is unpredictable. So whilst it feels reassuring to write an enormous plan, the first two things you should consider are:
- No matter how hard you work on it or how much time you spend, your plan is fictitious. It’s just the story you’ll tell yourself and others.
- It can never include all possible outcomes or details.
- It is neither right nor wrong. Don’t get fixated by striving to make your plan ‘right’. Likewise, don’t worry about things not going as predicted. Remember it’s just a story, it’s too early to know if it will work as planned. Read the rest of this entry