Business Plan or Not?
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| Business Plan |
"If
you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into
someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much." ~Jim Rohn
Entrepreneur.com describes a business plan as "A written document describing the nature of the business, the sales
and marketing strategy, and the financial background, and
containing a projected profit and loss statement". Whether or not one needs a business plan, can be a hot topic of discussion. The article, "Write a Business Plan or Not? 2 Experts Debate", David F. McShea--partner at a law firm in Seattle, Washington and Will Hsu--co-founder of LA-based MuckerLab, a start up accelerator are at odds as to whether or not one should create and utilize a business plan.
Yes!
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| Business Plan |
- - the "hard-headed research, analysis and thinking" will create wiser businesses decisions.
- - "it is the margin between success and failure"
- - it allows on the the opportunity to be better prepared in creating the clear picture for investors.
Of Course NOT!
On the other hand, Will Hsu disagrees completely. Hsu company MuckerLab is a 3 to 6 month program that includes up to $21k in funding,
office space, access to world-class mentors, and hands-on product,
marketing, legal and fundraising support.
Will suggests that an entrepreneurs time should be dedicated toward whether or not the target market will utilize the service or purchase the product you're offering. Hsu mentions that cutting out the time to do research will allow the entrepreneuruer the time to gain advantage over the competitor.
He also mentions, instead of creating a concrete business plan--utilize a whiteboard. The whiteboard should list all of the tenets of a business plan; a brainstorm of a couple of days will allow the flushing of "failed" ideas. The whiteboard acts as a living business plan--one that is easy to amend.
After completing this step, Hsu recommends focusing on building and selling the product to consumers. If there are any problems along the way, go back to the "drawing board' and make the need adjustments.
Conclusion
Overall, the difference between the two views involves risk. What type of risk and time do you have to take toward your business. There are some basic tasks that must be completed to begin a business, however a business plan, for some, may be a thing of the past.
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| Competition |
He also mentions, instead of creating a concrete business plan--utilize a whiteboard. The whiteboard should list all of the tenets of a business plan; a brainstorm of a couple of days will allow the flushing of "failed" ideas. The whiteboard acts as a living business plan--one that is easy to amend.
After completing this step, Hsu recommends focusing on building and selling the product to consumers. If there are any problems along the way, go back to the "drawing board' and make the need adjustments.
Conclusion
Overall, the difference between the two views involves risk. What type of risk and time do you have to take toward your business. There are some basic tasks that must be completed to begin a business, however a business plan, for some, may be a thing of the past.
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/plan.html
