Why a Business Plan is Important for Success and Where to Start

You have a big idea for a start-up that feels new and exciting. You know in your heart that it’s meant to be a reality. You picture others raving over your service or products. The crowd is going wild. Five-star reviews flood the internet. You’re ready to do whatever it takes to get things rolling.

You dive into the research on how to start a business, enter the world of entrepreneurialism, and more than likely come across what is called the “business plan.”

Dun dun duuuun.

You read a lot of business jargon you’re not entirely familiar with, and soon your invigorating dream turns into a confusing and looming list of “To-Dos.”

But hang on! Before you let your nervous system jump into overdrive, let us share with you why writing up a business plan isn’t as unsettling as it seems. And it could even be – dare we say – fun?

Business Planning e-Learning Course

If you’re new to business plans and want to find a simple, exciting way to build this foundational element in your business, you’re in the right place!

Planning is a crucial step in building a business. It sets you up for success and acts as an essential guide when making important decisions for your company, both in the start-up phase and once you’re up and running.

What is a business plan?

Let’s start with looking at what a business plan is in a nutshell.

A business plan contains the guidelines and direction for your business. It’s essentially the blueprints or roadmap for how you will start and manage your company.

It gives you a clear view of your business’s objectives, goals, vision, and how to achieve them. It can also be used to provide future investors, lenders, and business partners with a comprehensive and quick snapshot of what your business is, what it offers, and what it stands for.

Think of it as a dating profile for your business. It tells you, and others interested in forming a relationship with your business, what it’s like and what makes it unique!

Why is a business plan important? 

At first, sitting down and creating a business plan may seem daunting. And you might start to wonder if you even need one for your business to succeed. As tempting as it is to skip over this step, business plans are highly beneficial to both new and existing businesses.

The experience of writing out the business plan is arguably more important than the physical document itself. Visualizing and planning get you into a strategic headspace that can stimulate the mind to discover new ideas, solutions, approaches, and more.

This is where the fun comes in.

To create a successful and working business plan, you MUST use your imagination.

It’s true! Picture it like a game of Pretend you played as a kid. You’re creating an alternate reality for yourself as a booming business owner. You get to decide:

• What your business will feel like, sound like, be like,

• What it will offer people,

• How it will help others,

• Who your ideal clients will be,

• If your income will be $50,000, $100,000, over $500,000,

• What it will be like in one year, two years, five years…

You get a birds-eye view of how your entire business will look.

Overall, your business plan provides a realistic view of how you will start and run your business and brings your attention to any weak spots in your strategy. It gives you an effective method for growth and allows you to track the progress of that growth so you can keep tabs on any objectives you may be falling behind on.

You have a system set in place, directions to follow, a sense of support, and you’re able to start your business with confidence, a clear vision, and fewer unknowns.

Going into your business with a plan, rather than blindly grasping at each step, prevents you from wasting time and money in the long run.

And running a business is all about the long game, right?

Where do you start?

You now know what a business plan is, why it’s so vital to your business, and that it doesn’t have to be as intimidating as it once seemed.

But what are the basics? Where do you start?

Business plans aren’t a “one size fits all” deal. They can be as long or as short as needed with no strict format that needs to be followed. Meaning, this business plan is specific to you and is tailored to your business.

Go ahead and breathe a sigh of relief; the pressure is off.

While they may contain some individual components, most business plans often have general elements found across each.

It’s best to start with the basics when creating your first business plan. There’s no point in outlining your marketing strategy before knowing what you’re offering or what your business stands for.

The process of creating your first business plan may look something like this:

• Start with your imagination! Visualize and write down everything about your business. Don’t go into the “hows” yet; see what your business looks like; lean into the emotions the visions bring up for you. Have fun with this!

• Create your company’s mission and vision statements and determine how you will achieve them.

• Set goals for your business, both short-term and long-term.

• Plan your income, set your pricing, and plug it all into a formula to ensure you know exactly what you need to do to receive your desired income goal.

• Start dreaming about your ideal clients and the audience you wish to sell to. How will you sell to them? – Over social media? Cold calling? Through a natural market?

• And finally, create the ideal calendar that keeps you organized and on track to achieving your goals. What does a week in the life of you as a future business owner look like?

A business plan containing the information above will provide you with a solid foundation to begin building your business with certainty and excitement. Whatever direction your heart is pulling you in, whatever you desire – put it into a business plan and see how you can turn this dream into a reality.

Albert Einstein, a strong proponent of using one’s imagination, once said, “Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life’s coming attractions.”

Remember, the process is more important than the product. This is your chance to dream BIG.

Now you can get started on creating your own! Let your imagination and dreams run wild.

Check out our course designed to guide you through creating your first business plan!

Written by Lara Carney