magnt

I’ve slogged my way through the writing of two 15-20 page business plans in my lifetime and at the end I found myself asking, “Was it worth it?”  Honestly, I don’t think it was.  It seemed like an exercise in frustration as I constantly found myself guessing at futuristic facts and figures that had little to no basis in reality (how do I know revenue three years out) or taking the time to talk about things that seemed as plain as day (yes we have “x” numbers of partners in the business and they’re all very smart).  You spend all this time concocting elaborate pie charts and excel spreadsheets for things that you’re told “simply have to be a part of every business plan”.  However what you don’t realize is that this is the big joke played on noobie entrepreneurs.  Everyone tells you “start with a nice fat business plan laying out every aspect of your company!” but the punch line comes 6 months to a year later when you realize… no one has or will ever read your business plan. This includes the venture capitalist, the small business loan officer at the bank, and your uncle (the stud business man he is) that promised to read it through and give you feedback.  They will never take the time to review your 15-60 page business opus.  A quick scan, and I mean quick, of the executive summary is the best you can hope for my friends.

Of course I’m not saying that planning is a bad thing or that there isn’t value in thinking through your business – there absoutely is.  The problem is that I feel like out of a 50 page business plan, you have 49 pages of bs, which everyone knows is bs, and 1 page of helpful material.  This is why I’ve recently become a fan of The One Page Business Plan. Here’s a book that cuts to the chase and presents the handful of gems you need to think through and put to paper before you start a business. Of course this won’t cut it for the venture capitalist or loan officer, they’ll require a much more comprehensive document, but for the bootstrapping entrepreneur I think it’s perfect.