Did you have a business plan before starting your own business?

But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane

In proving foresight may be vain:

The best laid schemes o' mice an' men

Gang aft a-gley,

An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,

For promised joy. -Robert Burns

Amazing how many things won't go according to that plan.

More important, I think, are contingency plans for everything you can think of that might go wrong... and the ability to think on your feet when all else fails.

I had a business plan when I started. Initially, I didn't think it really mattered as it was mostly for investors.

I did get the investors - partially because of my business plan.

Once I started - I didn't use the business plan and admittedly went off track.

After much pondering (and struggling) - I reviewed my business plan and realized how brilliant it really was.

It's like a road map. The more often you look at it - the more likely you will end up where you initially intended or better.

I surprise myself to admit that.

You can visit SCORE to obtain a business template. Click Business Tools.

I would say it didn't help me because I and my business partner / significant other already knew what we wanted to do and how. We weren't planning on getting any loans either, so it felt really dumb to us.

However, we still took the advise. If anything it helped us in our marketing strategy, of what we were bringing to our customers and why.

So I would say it is useful for having it spelled out in Black and White in front of you. However, if you plan on using very little capital to start up I don't see a need to spell out every detail of your budget/profit forecast (future projected earnings).

I think it is VERY important when doing a big scale business, or incorporating, or when submitting for a grant or a loan.

A business without a plan is simply a plan to fail.

Banks will require a business plan for any type of financing/loans you need for start-up.

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