I just finished reading a blog post with the premise, ‘if you dread doing your business plan, you probably should not go into business.’ Good point. If you don’t have enough passion about your business that doing a little research and developing a plan isn’t the least bit fun, you’re going to lose any interest very quickly as the business starts (and probably fails).
However, maybe that dread is based on an incorrect perception on how hard the mechanics of the structure. You hate math with a passion but love counting up your Jacksons and Franklins – $20s and $100s. If that is the case, your business plan may not be as difficult as you think. There are templates and samples for business plans (check out www.business.hickmantn.org), professionals such as myself, BERO, Small Business Development Centers, SCORE, etc. that can help (for FREE!). There are inexpensive software programs that can ask you the right questions and format your business plan in a nice, easy-to-follow format.
So, in conclusion, if you don’t want to plan for your business — don’t. However, if you do want to plan your business success, don’t let doing your homework stand in the way — there are plenty of cheatsheets, tutors, and mentors to help.
About Daryl Phillips, CEcD
I am a professional economic developer. I presently work for communities and companies in developing and implementing workforce and economic development solutions as CEO of Phillips Economic Development Solutions (Phi EDS).
Prior to September 2017, I was the economic development professional who served a community team of elected officials, business people, community leaders and dedicated stakeholders for economic development in Cheatham County, Tennessee (pop. 39,880) and its four towns. During my five-year tenure, I served the team as Cheatham County grew over 1,700 jobs, turned around population declines at the start of this decade into healthy population growth, increased tourism expenditures 20.3% and local tax revenue from tourism 25.4%, grew sales tax revenue 36%, focused on developing the local workforce and was recognized by SmartAsset as having the 9th highest Incoming Investment Index of all the 95 counties in Tennessee.
I am a member of International Economic Development Council, Southern Economic Development Council, Tennessee Economic Development Council and International Council of Shopping Centers.
I have earned the designation of Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) from International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFP) certification from National Development Council and hold a Master of Business Administration from Tennessee Technological University.
