Are Business Plans Necessary?
Hello to you and welcome back, as always! I hope you had a great, relaxing holiday weekend. I, myself, had a great one with my family! We did some fun things together and of course we snuck in some good ole’ rest too! So needed!! Today, we’re all back to our regularly scheduled program & I’m sure you are too! 🙂
My title “Are Business Plans Necessary” is one question I had very early on in my journey. Although I was a business major in college and understood the importance of planning I still wondered…do I really need a whole business plan for my business? So, today I want to talk about it and my personal experience with building a business.
Okay, so the short answer is YES!!! You most definitely need a business plan. Now, how much you write or what you want to cover specifically is up to you but you must write a plan! I’m sure you heard the saying “if you fail to plan you plan to fail!” Well, there couldn’t be a more true statement. I mentioned in one of my earlier blog posts that I actually started officially writing my business plan Fall of 2020, after I received clear direction from God to open my own spa from the ground up. {just in case you forgot here’s a reminder…my plan was to go the franchise route} By that time, I knew, immediately, that writing a business plan was the first step I should take. There’s one thing to have a vision in your head, and another thing to have to write that same vision down on paper. Completely different and so necessary! As I began to draft my business plan I realized things involving my business started to become more clear. And, with that same token, it forced me to think about things I never thought of before that moment.
At a minimum, I would recommend any aspiring entrepreneur to have the following included in their plan: Executive Summary (overview of your main points), Financial Plan (at least 3 year projections), and Marketing Plan (how you plan to gain exposure/business from your target audience). As I continue to move forward with building my very own spa business I cannot tell you how often I must refer to my business plan. It serves as a roadmap as I continue to move forward with planning and making decisions. Let’s not mention the fact that it is an absolute must if you’re seeking capital to start. I’ve updated my business plan consistently since conception and when I look back I honestly think to myself…there’s no way I could build a business without one.
So, are business plans necessary? Yes, yes, and yes! Even if you have to hire someone to help with certain sections, do it! It’s the best money you will invest. How you start says a lot about how serious you are in making your dreams become a reality! You may or may not remember me mentioning this a while back but, I hired a financial consultant in 2021 to assist with creating my 3 year projections. He’s now a part of my tribe and he’s been rocking with me since. Yes, it can be a little costly but we must seek help in our weaker areas to produce the resources needed!
I hope you found this post to be helpful in some way! I want to leave you with this key takeaway…no matter who you are or where you’re going WRITE THE VISION AND MAKE IT PLAIN!!! There’s no way around it!
Let’s get to planning! Take care & I’ll see you next week!! ;)
