3 Reasons why business plans get started but never finished
Every time I do a workshop or address a group, the first question I ask people is “How many people have written a business plan?” Approximate 10 percent of those in attendance raise their hands. The follow up question is “how many people have started to write a business plan and did not finish?” I am usually smiling broadly by that point because I already know the answer. Almost all the hands go up. Everyone looks around and we all laugh. At that point I say “you are in the right place”. I don’t speak to that any longer in the workshop because I have content to cover but I will tell you why business plans get started but never finished.
Despite being aware of their value and knowing they need to be doing it, business owners cite the following reasons why they start but don’t complete their plans.
- It seemed too complicated
- It seemed like a lot of work for no reason
- I didn’t understand the questions and how they related to my business.
Let’s explore those reasons
- When you go to a bank for a loan or go to a business agency designed to offer support to businesses, you end up leaving with a link to a document or a hard copy of a document that you need to complete, on your own. It asks you to do things like calculate your ROI, your conversion rates and identifying your USP or your VCP strategy. It’s a different language and you need an interpreter. Business Plan BootCamp can be your guide to explain these terms and help you determine if they are even pertinent to you at this point of your business. Your business plan does not have to be complicated, it has to be useful to you the business owner.
- It is a lot of work but the work is simplified if you’re using the Business Plan BootCamp planning system. If your first impression is that a plan seems like bottomless piles of paper for you to fill out, we show you how to write your plan in a no-hassle, easy to follow, go at your own pace kind of way. The amount of information you need and only what you need is curated for you. Whether your goal is to become the next millionaire or to gain some additional income on the side, Business Plan BootCamp is for you. . Business plans written using this planning system are recognized by investors and banks as credible and a useful tool for the business owner to help them understand all the demands of running their business.
- You should never be asked to do anything that you don’t understand the relevance to helping you reach your goal. Remember how much you loved geometry and Shakespeare in school. You just couldn’t get into it because you kept thinking, I am never going to use this stuff. The same applies to writing a business plan. When you are being asked to complete a statement with an explanation of how it will be useful and how it impacts your business decision and is used in your daily operations you will engage and give it some serious thought. Every statement matters and you will know how and why.
Where are the 100’s of business owners who have written business plans using Opportunity Groups Business Plan BootCamp planning system? Some of them are on extended vacations for the first time in their business lives, or winning awards and recognition in their communities as best new business and most are meeting their sales goals for the first time ever. Writing a business plan does all of this.
