Do You Have a Business Plan?

A plan may be prepared for different reasons. May be the first exposure to preparing such a document for the business owner is a request from a bank or investor in the business. Consequently there is a tendency to view the document as a one-off exercise for use by third parties.

A business plan against which to measure actual performance should be considered an invaluable guide to identify areas for improvement and pro-actively take action to achieve the plan results.

Recent UK research indicates 46% of small and medium sized business owners have a strategy for their business but no written business plan and 9% of owners admit to no strategy and no plan. It is rather like taking a journey, not recognising the hazards on the way to avoid them and not knowing where you have arrived if you arrive at all.