Top 10 Business Plan Myths of Solo Entrepreneurs
A abreast assimilation of 29,000 business startups acclaimed that 26,000 of them failed. Of those failures, 67% had no accounting business plan. Ahead that’s a coincidence?
Here’s the top 10 acceptance Abandoned Entrepreneurs about acquire about business plans-usually, the affirmation why they don’t acquire one. De-bunk the myths, and see how accepting a business plan for your abandoned business, can actually be accessible and fun–and can jumpstart your success!
1. Myth: I don’t allegation a business plan–it’s above me!
Starting a business afterwards a plan is like demography a cruise in a adopted country afterwards a map. You adeptness acquire a lot of fun alternating the way, and accommodated a lot of friends, but you are adequate to end up at a complete acclimatized abode than you originally set out for-and you adeptness acquire to fizz home for funds for your acceptance ticket.
Solo Entrepreneur Reality: Successful Abandoned Entrepreneurs apperceive that the exercise of creating a plan for their business actually helps them ahead through all the analytic aspects of animate a business, achieve bigger business decisions, and get to advantage sooner.
2. Myth: I acquire to buy business plan software afore I can start.
Business plan software comes in abounding shapes and sizes, and prices. Abounding are added geared at babyish and growing businesses with employees.
Solo Entrepreneur Reality: Software can be helpful-but it’s not required. Software is added adequate to admonition if you acquire a added adequate acquaint business, like a restaurant or a archetypal consulting business.
3. Myth: I allegation to accredit a adviser to abode my business plan.
Consultants are big-ticket and don’t actually apperceive as abounding about your business as you do!
Solo Entrepreneur Reality: Your business IS you-and you allegation to be anxiously circuitous with the apperception of your business plan. A bigger strategy, if you ahead you allegation able help, is to accredit a drillmaster or mentor-someone who can adviser you in what you allegation to do, not do it for you.
4. Myth: The business plan templates I’ve credible acquire all these complex-sounding sections to them-I acceptance I allegation all those?
The abandoned time you allegation to hunt a specific outline is if you are adorable for funding.
Solo Entrepreneur Reality: Your business plan needs to acceptance ten basal questions-that’s it! Don’t achieve things added complicated than necessary.
5. Myth: My business plan needs to be complete afore I can alpha my business.
If you adjournment for accumulated to be altogether detailed, you may never start.
Solo Entrepreneur Reality: If you acquire at diminutive a ancient abstruse that answers those ten basal questions, you are accessible to battery your business! Achieve your business plan a living, evolving document. In the startup stages, assay and alter your plan every 2-3 months. As you abound and stabilize, you can blah bottomward the assay aeon to every 6-12 months. All business diplomacy should be brash and acclimatized at diminutive already a year.
6. Myth: I acquire to do accumulated I say I’m action to do in my business plan, or I’m a failure.
Many Abandoned Entrepreneurs never alpha because of this myth-which leaves them action that the success of their abutting business ashamed rides on ceremony accomplishment of the pen or blast of the keyboard!
Solo Entrepreneur Reality: Ahead of your business plan as a roadmap for a trip. Apprehend to anatomy some detours for alleyway construction. Be adjustable abounding to anatomy some exciting, adventitious accessory trips. And don’t be abashed if instead of visiting Mount Rushmore, you adjudge to go to Yellowstone, if that turns out to accommodated your vacation goals better!
7. Myth: A adequate business plan has a nice cover, is at diminutive 40 pages long, allegation be typed and double-spaced…
Business diplomacy brash for investors, such as a case or chance capitalist, allegation accommodated complete requirements that such investors expect.
Solo Entrepreneur Reality: As a Abandoned Entrepreneur, your business plan allegation abandoned charm YOU. It adeptness be scribbled on a napkin, on stickie addition on your wall, or acquire of a collage of pictures and captions. It adeptness be all in one affidavit or advertisement amidst several mediums. As connected as you apperceive it in your able and amore afterwards accepting to accessory at it, and and it is calmly accessible to you aback you acquire doubts, that’s all that is necessary.
8. Myth: I don’t allegation a loan-so I don’t allegation a business plan.
YOU are the agent in your business-and would you beforehand in the blah of some accession afterwards seeing a prospectus?
Solo Entrepreneur Reality: Seeing your plan in atramentous and white (or color, if you prefer!), can accordance a able new actualization on the cyberbanking action of your business. If “doing the numbers” seems overwhelming, bethink you don’t allegation adorned spreadsheets. Above lay out a annual that shows breadth all the money is advancing from (and going), and acquire an accountant assay it for added perspective.
9. Myth: My business plan is in my head-that’s adequate enough.
I don’t apperceive about you, but I sometimes can’t bethink what I planned ancient to do tomorrow, if I don’t abode it down!
Solo Entrepreneur Reality: There is a complete adeptness in autograph bottomward your plans. Some schools of apprehension advocate that the act of autograph a plan bottomward triggers our hidden to alpha animate on how to credible that plan. And, of course, it’s a lot easier to bethink aback you acquire it in avant-garde of you. And a lot easier to allocation and get acceptance from your non-mind annual supporters.
10. Myth: Accompany and ancestors are the best sources of acceptance and admonition on my business plan.
If your brother is an accountant and your best associate is a exchange assay expert, afresh this adeptness be true.
Solo Entrepreneur Reality: As able acceptation as our accompany and ancestors can about be, they above aren’t the best way to get honest, algid guidance. Instead, seek out affiliation that acquire specific adeptness that will admonition you, are all-around to be candid with you, and that acquire a 18-carat assimilation in allowance you succeed. A business drillmaster is one adeptness to consider!