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Okay, hi, I'm Tim Berry
and the question for today is:
What about the idea that you don't need a business plan?
It's very trendy, you can read it here and there.
And let's start with recognizing that
it's more fun to say
you achieved success without a business plan
than it is to say, "Yes, I was planning all the time."
This is something like the psychology of
the people who in their 30s and 40s
were Phi Beta Kappa in college and Fulbright scholarships or what have you,
who will say "Oh, I never studied, I was always dating or drinking or what have you."
And yeah, right. Okay. Do you believe that?
So let me rephrase that, you don't need a business plan
to ask you
what about strategy?
Focus on key target markets?
What about setting down dates,
and deadlines and budgets, and
who's in charge of what?
Do you need that? Do you want that?
What about tracking your assumptions so that as your assumptions change,
you can more easily manage
what you might do differently under the new scenario
than what would have been true under the old scenario?
What about keeping long term goals and objectives
in mind, while you deal with the short term
putting out fires and things like that?
If any of that sounds valuable to you, then the question isn't
"Do you need a business plan?"
It's "Do you want to plan?"
And I think in defense of the trendy
"oh you don't need a business plan" opinion
that keeps coming up,
some of that is because business plans have been given a bad name
by years of people thinking of the plan as document
rather than the plan as part of planning
with course corrections and review.
And if you're not seeking investment
or you're not looking to take out a business loan for your business
you might not, strictly speaking, need
the plan as document to present as outsiders as a summary of your business.
But don't confuse that not needing a formal plan
with not wanting to plan and manage your business better
with business planning,
course corrections, flexibility, reviews...
marking down what your assumptions are so you can track how they change.
That's what business planning is today in the real world.
It's not a big document necessarily,
most business plans are never even really printed.
They're used to mange the company better.
So I would say
please, if you're starting a business,
or if you're running a business
don't decide you don't need a business plan.
Decide you do want business planning.
And think about this:
If you don't want to plan your business
maybe then you better keep your day job.
So thanks,
I'm Tim Berry.