Plans Are Nothing - Planning Is Everything

The importance of business planning is frequently misunderstood.

Here are 9 commonly-held myths: about business planning:

1. Most small and new businesses don’t need business plans.
2. You need an MBA to write a convincing business plan.
3. Business plans are only necessary when you need to raise money.
4. Business plans need to be long and address every last detail.
5. Writing a business plan makes your business less flexible.
6. Writing a business plan takes too much time.
7. All the details of a business plan are just too confusing for a first-time business owner.
8. You can get funding on the strength of a great business plan alone.
9. If you’ve already launched your business, it’s too late to write a business plan.

BOTTOMLINE: As Dwight D. Eisenhower once said, “Plans are nothing; planning is everything.” He wasn’t actually saying that plans are worthless, of course. So what did the war hero and former President mean?

It’s the process of planning that is most important: where you consider opportunities and challenges and ways to meet them.