It also helps you attract talent and investors.īut, bear in mind, a business idea or business concept is not a plan. It communicates who you are, what you plan to do, and how you plan to do it. What is a business plan?Ī business plan is a comprehensive roadmap for your small business’ growth and development. Even better-if you’re pressed for time-we’ve compiled the 10 steps and examples into a downloadable (PDF) template: In this post, we’ll cover everything you need to write a successful business plan, step-by-step, and turn your idea into a reality. Perhaps the strongest evidence comes from the Journal of Business Venturing’s “meta-analysis” of 46 separate studies on 11,046 organizations: “Our findings confirm that business planning increases the performance of both new and established small firms.”

Owners with business plans are 2x more likely to grow, get investments, or secure loans than those without.Įntrepreneurs with a plan have a 129% increased likelihood of growing beyond the startup phase and a 260% increased likelihood of growing from “idea” to “new business.” Here’s what they found:īusinesses with a business plan grow 30% faster than those without. It’s more than the old cliche, “A failure to plan is a plan to fail.” In fact, a wealth of data now exists on the difference a written business plan makes, especially for small or growing companies.īplans worked with the University of Oregon to compile and analyze research around the benefits of business planning. Another 1 in 10 aren’t sure if they need a plan. And yet, more than 1 in 10 prospective business owners said they do not intend to write a business plan.

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