with this overpriced paperweight.
Our plan was 70 percent focused on what we would eventually do, 20 percent focused on our industry and partner bios, and only 10 percent focused on what we could currently do.
We focused too closely on the plan’s grammar and formatting, and not enough on the actual business’s sales and production efforts.
From parents to advisors, we revised our plan based on every single reader’s comments—without regard as to whether they were qualified to offer such advice.
We spent weeks designing the plan to make it look “pretty”—a move that resulted in our spending $50 to $65 in ink, bindings, and supplies whenever we needed a copy.
We failed to do real-world tests when trying a new marketing tactic before we revised the almighty plan.
The financials were laughably inflated; they predicted unachievable revenues of $200 million by year three.
Suffice it to say, this archaic, inane, and time-consuming process did nothing more than cripple our productivity, divert our attention from our start-up, and bury us in minutia and busy work. Outside of the partners, our families, and paid advisors, only five other people ever read the final document—none of whom became clients or investors.
So nothing gets my blood boiling more nowadays than listening to dinosaurs who are 50 years my elder rant about the importance of a traditionally structured business plan. In a day and age where banks refuse to lend to start-ups and the Internet can render the printed word obsolete before it hits the printer, it boggles my mind that any sane individuals still tout this old-fashioned, rigid process as relevant or even useful. Traditional cookie-cutter business plans—as we know them today—are impractical exercises for start-ups. They do nothing but fuel procrastination and scare aspiring entrepreneurs into purchasing overpriced textbooks and software. Sure, it’s indisputably true that business planning is essential for any start-up; however, the tools and materials you produce need not be remnant of the business world circa 1985.
It’s time to strike a match and host a business plan book-burning party!
Business planning is not a revenue-generating activity. Rather, the actual money-making exists in the plan’s execution. Therefore, it is imperative that business planning generates the action plan you need as quickly as possible—so you can start selling immediately. Unlike creating a passive, static traditional business plan that might as well get shoved in a dresser drawer, the tools you will produce will provide you with living, breathing, and fluid action plans that you can use daily. This methodology will keep you thinking on your feet and help you to plan your business strategy as you move your start-up forward.
TOSS THE OLD-SCHOOL BUSINESS PLAN
The first step to overcoming your business plan dependency is realizing that traditional business plans are not synonymous with success. Similarly to how your mentors failed you by selling you the whole “work hard, go to college, get a good job and a good life” dream, a parallel group is trying to convince you that writing your untested, unsubstantiated idea in a specific format will make your company a viable business and/or eligible for investment money.
You must rid yourself of the nonsense you’ve been spoon-fed by pundits, professors, and business plan “experts.” Instead, focus your efforts on building a solid business, rather than writing the perfect plan.
Avoid business plan books and software like the plague . Publishers, software developers, and corporations generate millions of dollars peddling business-planning books, products, and programs to aspiring and amateur entrepreneurs. They also reinforce their business plan manifesto at every opportunity, because they need to suck us in and keep us addicted.
Let me save you a trip to the garbage
Our plan was 70 percent focused on what we would eventually do, 20 percent focused on our industry and partner bios, and only 10 percent focused on what we could currently do.
We focused too closely on the plan’s grammar and formatting, and not enough on the actual business’s sales and production efforts.
From parents to advisors, we revised our plan based on every single reader’s comments—without regard as to whether they were qualified to offer such advice.
We spent weeks designing the plan to make it look “pretty”—a move that resulted in our spending $50 to $65 in ink, bindings, and supplies whenever we needed a copy.
We failed to do real-world tests when trying a new marketing tactic before we revised the almighty plan.
The financials were laughably inflated; they predicted unachievable revenues of $200 million by year three.
Suffice it to say, this archaic, inane, and time-consuming process did nothing more than cripple our productivity, divert our attention from our start-up, and bury us in minutia and busy work. Outside of the partners, our families, and paid advisors, only five other people ever read the final document—none of whom became clients or investors.
So nothing gets my blood boiling more nowadays than listening to dinosaurs who are 50 years my elder rant about the importance of a traditionally structured business plan. In a day and age where banks refuse to lend to start-ups and the Internet can render the printed word obsolete before it hits the printer, it boggles my mind that any sane individuals still tout this old-fashioned, rigid process as relevant or even useful. Traditional cookie-cutter business plans—as we know them today—are impractical exercises for start-ups. They do nothing but fuel procrastination and scare aspiring entrepreneurs into purchasing overpriced textbooks and software. Sure, it’s indisputably true that business planning is essential for any start-up; however, the tools and materials you produce need not be remnant of the business world circa 1985.
It’s time to strike a match and host a business plan book-burning party!
Business planning is not a revenue-generating activity. Rather, the actual money-making exists in the plan’s execution. Therefore, it is imperative that business planning generates the action plan you need as quickly as possible—so you can start selling immediately. Unlike creating a passive, static traditional business plan that might as well get shoved in a dresser drawer, the tools you will produce will provide you with living, breathing, and fluid action plans that you can use daily. This methodology will keep you thinking on your feet and help you to plan your business strategy as you move your start-up forward.
TOSS THE OLD-SCHOOL BUSINESS PLAN
The first step to overcoming your business plan dependency is realizing that traditional business plans are not synonymous with success. Similarly to how your mentors failed you by selling you the whole “work hard, go to college, get a good job and a good life” dream, a parallel group is trying to convince you that writing your untested, unsubstantiated idea in a specific format will make your company a viable business and/or eligible for investment money.
You must rid yourself of the nonsense you’ve been spoon-fed by pundits, professors, and business plan “experts.” Instead, focus your efforts on building a solid business, rather than writing the perfect plan.
Avoid business plan books and software like the plague . Publishers, software developers, and corporations generate millions of dollars peddling business-planning books, products, and programs to aspiring and amateur entrepreneurs. They also reinforce their business plan manifesto at every opportunity, because they need to suck us in and keep us addicted.
Let me save you a trip to the garbage
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