4 Signs You�re Procrastinating on Making Your Business Plan

Saturday, September 8, 2007 at 12:15pm by Sabah Karimi in Start-Ups

Now that you�ve settled on your entrepreneurial venture and are ready to take the steps to get started, the inevitable Business Plan anxiety has probably sunk in. Business schools and textbooks identify the business plan as an �essential� element for any business, and there is an ounce or two of truth behind their suggestions. After all, a business plan can help you outline your mission statement, identify objectives and goals, and even hash out preliminary financials. Still, it can all seem like too much work when you�re anxious to just get started. You know you shouldn�t put it off, but can�t seem to buckle down and just finish it.

Here are four signs you�re procrastinating on making your business plan:

You�ve convinced yourself there just isn�t enough time. With your non-stop �to do� list and action steps outlined in your notebook, who has time to look at the bigger picture?

Reality check: the business plan can help you identify some areas of business operations you may have missed, and actually guide you through your �to do� list much more effectively�and efficiently, saving you time of back tracking your thoughts and decisions as you move ahead.

You�ve settled on a �working budget.� This is the vague notion that when money starts coming in, then you�ll have time to start organizing and distributing it.

Reality check: a comprehensive business plan can help you identify how you will create revenue and distribute it for expenses. The more you define your objectives here, the easier it will be to see how much you really need to cover expenses, and how much you might need to get it from other resources. Consider the business plan a working guide that can help you strategize and forecast more easily.

You�ll get it done after the website is launched/first employee is hired/pigs start to fly. The excuses to put it off until a later date are endless, and there�s no reason why you should wait on getting some organization and structure in order for your venture.

Reality check: The sooner you get down a basic plan in writing, the easier it will be to grow and develop ideas with a solid foundation. Use your business plan as an informal guide that you can reference on a regular basis.

You already know how to raise capital, and have investors lined up. So what? Even though you have your funding lined up and in order, you never know what could happen 3-6 months down the road.

Reality check: You may need to convince other lenders and investors to set your sights on your business, especially if any of your initial candidates fall through; save time and energy of explaining your business and goals all over again, and create a definitive business plan that is readily available for your next presentation.

Getting your business plan done may require some motivation, but the payoff will be well worth it. Consider it a work-in-progress; it can always be tweaked, edited, and re-developed should you need it!

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