Paul V Greene describes top 20 reasons why you need a business plan.
1. To prove that you’re serious about your business. A formal business plan is necessary to show all interested parties — employees, investors, partners and yourself — that you are committed to building the business.
2. To establish business milestones. The business plan should clearly lay out the long-term milestones that are most important to the success of your business.
3. To better understand your competition. Creating the business plan forces you to analyze the competition. All companies have competition in the form of either direct or indirect competitors, and it is critical to understand your company’s competitive advantages.
4. To better understand your customer. Why do they buy when they buy? Why don’t they when they don’t? An in-depth customer analysis is essential to an effective business plan and to a successful business.
5. To enunciate previously unstated assumptions. The process of actually writing the business plan helps to bring previously “hidden” assumptions to the foreground. By writing them down and assessing them, you can test them and analyze their validity.
6. To assess the feasibility of your venture. It involves researching your target market, as well as the competitive landscape, and serves as a feasibility study for the success of your venture.
7. To document your revenue model. A critical question to answer in writing, for yourself and your investors. Documenting the revenue model helps to address challenges and assumptions associated with the model.
8. To determine your financial needs. Purposes of a business plan is to help you to determine exactly how much capital you need and what you will use it for.
9. To attract investors. A formal business plan is the basis for financing proposals.
10. To reduce the risk of pursuing the wrong opportunity. The process of creating the business plan helps to minimize opportunity costs. Writing the business plan helps you assess the attractiveness of this particular opportunity, versus other opportunities.