A solid business plan is the foundation for your organization. Executed properly it will serve as the basis for data-driven processes, activities, behaviors, attitudes, goals, and strategies for your organization's long-term growth and sustainability. The process can seem tedious or daunting to many entrepreneurs or business owners and may even be overlooked or put on the back burner because of such, I have spent several years developing this process to help simplify putting a plan together with a systematic approach to reviews, edits, and strategic implementation. Stats show that written down goals become reality. Here are 10 reasons you should consider writing a business plan.

#1 It’s an Internal Guide to where you are going

A business plan doesn’t just point you in the right direction, but it lays the foundation for what you will do when you get there, who you will do it with, and where you will do it. 

Imagine you want to go on a vacation, you close your eyes, and you can clearly see the destination. Maybe it’s the tropics or some destination that offers sunshine, sand, waves, and a cool refreshing breeze in the air. It’s so vivid you can almost taste the vibes rolling of your aura just by dreaming. You imagine the person you love the most sitting right beside you, taking in the moment. You imagine the people surrounding you in passing, or maybe the lack of people depending upon your personal preference. Sit there for a moment in this thought, inhale, exhale. Wow it’s as if you are there now. It’s the driving force for your next destination vacation, planning, budgeting, and structuring the journey to get there. 

A business plan does the same thing. It gives you a reference point, a foundation, an image, or desire of where you want to be in the future. When you come back from this internal picture you’ve created you can now use this as a guide for all decisions, motives, planning, budgeting, and structure. 

Why wait? Get started on your 2023 Plan now! Schedule your complimentary consultation to learn more! https://go.thryv.com/site/delightedcoaching/online-scheduling?service=3kihats04ruosnqh

#2 Get it out of your head 

Einstein says that you can’t solve a problem at the same level it was created. If you have a plan that’s in your head, it can be difficult to see the solutions to the problem or come up with ways to handle the situation at a different level if you can’t detach from it. 

Think of the birthing process. A Child incubates in the mother’s womb for approximately 9 months. Gaining the nutrients and viability to grow and develop into a healthy human being. But it isn’t until the baby is birthed into the world that the child begins to breath and exist in the world. The child is no longer hidden away from the world and outside of the gestation period the child can begin to grow and develop far beyond the limitation of the womb. The child is now capable of receiving the outside nutrients and resources to grow and thrive. 

Now apply that to your creative genius and consider what you have been incubating, what is still hanging out in the gestational period that needs to be birthed from you? A Business plan helps get it out of your head and on to paper so that you can begin to call in the necessary resources to help it grow and thrive. 

Why wait? Get started on your 2023 Plan now! Schedule your complimentary consultation to learn more! https://go.thryv.com/site/delightedcoaching/online-scheduling?service=3kihats04ruosnqh

#3 It clarifies processes and strategies for your business

Often, I’m that person saying don’t talk to me until I’ve had at least a cup of my morning Joe. I am eager to face the day more readily available to listen and communicate more effectively when I’ve allowed myself to wake up and process the thoughts running through my brain. On average we process around 60,000 thoughts per day. If we don’t separate those thoughts into outcome producing activities, we tend to keep those thoughts on loop into the next day. Writing our thoughts down on paper allows our mind to free up space to process new information or readily tackle the day that we are currently facing. A business plan helps to remove these thoughts from your mind and put them down on paper in a strategic way. This strategic process frees up the mental blocks and provides us an opportunity to communicate properly to those who will execute on the business plan. 

Imagine how much peace and mental clarity you will have once your business plan does the communicating for you. You will be free to engage in deep meaningful work that produces a much faster return and so will your team members. 

Why wait? Get started on your 2023 Plan now! Schedule your complimentary consultation to learn more! https://go.thryv.com/site/delightedcoaching/online-scheduling?service=3kihats04ruosnqh

#4 Helps set the tone of your business (culture/behaviors/attitudes)

We have all heard about disgruntled employees, horrible bosses, leaks from within a company, and of course the non-compete clause wasn’t created out of thin air. Building an environment that fosters the desired respect between employee, employers, customers, vendors, and the like is one that has long required micro-management, strict enforcement policies, legal fees, and patience like none-other. If perseverance was attached to a business description, culture creation would be one of them. 

Without a clear written code of ethics and standards that govern the way your business is ran, the leader will need to stay in the room to ensure their personality, is mimicked. A clear business plan helps to streamline all relationships and processes to the set standards and expectations on how it will operate and interact in day-to-day operations. 

Why wait? Get started on your 2023 Plan now! Schedule your complimentary consultation to learn more! https://go.thryv.com/site/delightedcoaching/online-scheduling?service=3kihats04ruosnqh

#5 Written down information statistically comes true

It has been said that you are 42% more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down. Writing your goals down not only forces you to get clear on what, exactly, it is that you want to accomplish, but doing so plays a part in motivating you to complete the tasks necessary for your success. 

I have heard so many entrepreneurs talk about the endless number of notebooks filled with ideas, task lists, and other random notes. It becomes overwhelming. Imagine organizing this information so that you have more clarity and focus. This can shift your motivation from I “Have” to mentality to I “get” to appreciation and motivation. 

When you structure your thoughts in writing, such as a business plan, you will start to see those plans unfold. Your direction and steps become easier to recall, and you tend to stay more focused, engaged, and excited about where you are going. This produces the outcome the plan is designed to achieve. Your brain naturally begins to see the solutions and even subconsciously will begin to work towards them. 

Why wait? Get started on your 2023 Plan now! Schedule your complimentary consultation to learn more! https://go.thryv.com/site/delightedcoaching/online-scheduling?service=3kihats04ruosnqh

#6. It’s Biblical 

Habakkuk 2:2 says to write the vision down so that others may run with it. If your dream can be done all by yourself, maybe it’s small and will die out with you. However, for those who are Christian Entrepreneurs, there is biblical responsibility to create legacies far beyond our years. We are called to count the cost before starting or jumping into a project or building. Writing down your business plan creates a structured process of researching and counting the costs of what you are working on building. It also motivates others to come alongside and participate in what you are working towards. If God says it, then we ought to be sure to implement it. 

Why wait? Get started on your 2023 Plan now! Schedule your complimentary consultation to learn more! https://go.thryv.com/site/delightedcoaching/online-scheduling?service=3kihats04ruosnqh

#7. Opens Opportunities to Financial Assistance

Getting the financial assistance, you need to start a company can be a daunting task. Having a business plan that lays out your strategies for production and long-term sustainability offers a peace to those investing in the financial growth of your company. If you have no need for financial assistance, your business plan should incorporate the financial components of your business plan and assist with a picture of the financial health and long-term sustainability of your organization. This financial picture can help you create the right pricing strategies and mixes for your products and services. The best way to identify how much it costs to start, manage, and scale your business is by incorporating the financial picture into your business plan. 

Why wait? Get started on your 2023 Plan now! Schedule your complimentary consultation to learn more! https://go.thryv.com/site/delightedcoaching/online-scheduling?service=3kihats04ruosnqh

#8. Can be converted into operational plans, marketing plans, HR strategies – build job descriptions, tasks duties and responsibilities. 

How many times have you hired someone to learn that they don’t know what they should be doing, and you’re left micromanaging their role, or worse, you end up doing their job and yours because there is lack of direction? With a business plan you can identify the people you need on your team and when you need them. Through the planning process it’s easy to develop your job descriptions with clear benchmarks, roles, and responsibilities and how each team member interacts with others on the team. As well, as you begin to write the outline for your business and develop your go to market models, you will begin to learn how to market your business and launch into the market with a well thought out and developed plan of action, ultimately creating a more successful business. 

Why wait? Get started on your 2023 Plan now! Schedule your complimentary consultation to learn more! https://go.thryv.com/site/delightedcoaching/online-scheduling?service=3kihats04ruosnqh

#9. Creates structured Accounting & Reporting 

We use every component of the business plan to pull data for true reporting. From financial projections to expected expenses, profit and loss statements, balance sheets and more, creating a business plan helps you to know what the numbers are so you can manage your business on a regular basis. This helps you ensure that your business implements the right payment processing methods, expense tracking and reporting. These reports can be used regularly to make business decisions quickly and accurately and prepare for future budgeting and business growth needs.

Why wait? Get started on your 2023 Plan now! Schedule your complimentary consultation to learn more! https://go.thryv.com/site/delightedcoaching/online-scheduling?service=3kihats04ruosnqh

#10. It creates strategic focus 

Have you ever taken a long-distance road trip? When you plan for your trip, you ensure to account for the mileage, fuel, stops, food, and entertainment along the way. You add your destination to the GPS, and you start the journey. However, the focus doesn’t stop there, you use your dashboard to gauge if you are still on track with your destination, and you probably check to make sure you’re still on budget or only using the specific accounts set aside for vacation. A business plan is much like planning for a trip, you identify your destination and then create gauges to track and measure your progress along the way. Each check in allows you time you adjust as needed ensuring you are on track to your destination. 

Why wait? Get started on your 2023 Plan now! Schedule your complimentary consultation to learn more! https://go.thryv.com/site/delightedcoaching/online-scheduling?service=3kihats04ruosnqh

Bonus:  Sets the tone for how you will govern and run your business overall & day-to-day

Communication is very important in any relationship, and business relationships are not excluded from this truth. Writing a business plan ensures that everyone on the team knows where you are going, how you plan to get there, and who is doing what to make it happen. You can set the rules for the way you go about your business and how you expect others to play the game with you. Writing a business plan helps you create daily management objectives and manage your staff and plan effectively. 

Why wait? Get started on your 2023 Plan now! Schedule your complimentary consultation to learn more! https://go.thryv.com/site/delightedcoaching/online-scheduling?service=3kihats04ruosnqh

Download our free guide to writing your business to learn what components to consider when writing your plan. https://mailchi.mp/ba452f6c01e6/p5yo210dvd

Dr. Lauren Burrell, DTh/DMn.

Small Business Consultant & Accountability Coach

NSBA Leadership Council Member

Founder | Visionary | Speaker