Is Your Business Plan Committed?

Talking about business plans and actually doing one are two totally different things. That’s something I’m learning now. Last time, I wrote about Chuck Blakeman and Steve Blank’s views on business plans. They have some very specific view and as experienced professionals and people who have done this several times, you kind of have to read what they have to say and take away key aspects to include in your own business plan. Let’s face it, these guys have done this time and again, might as well learn from the best.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, Chuck Blakeman does not believe in business plans, he thinks it’s “nonsense and fortune-telling, and they keep you from going out and trying to sell your product to see if you have something viable” (Blakeman, 2012). Now, why would I listen to this advice when I am in fact trying to write a business plan? Like I said, he’s got years of experience under his belt. He knows what investors look for and he proposes a “bare essentials” document. After all, him not believing in business plans does not mean investors don’t believe either. With that in mind he designed the “two page strategic plan”. This is, as the name says, a two page document that outlines the business’ commitment (objective, what you want to see as a result) and it’s movement (purposeful directions toward the goal, but not an activities list). His philosophy is that, just as life changes constantly so do plans, and it’s not worth it to spend all this time and effort into something that is going to change from the moment you start writing it.

“As you move with absolute commitment in a clear direction toward the objective – that commitment and that movement will work together to make your so-so plan into a world class one.” (Blakeman, 2010) He says that’s the only two thing you need, commitment and movement, not a 30 page document. You may be asking yourself if I’m considering not writing a business plan at all, well don’t be alarmed, that’s not the case. Blakeman came to this conclusion after he did countless business plans himself, and even though I said we need to learn from others experiences, this is my first business plan after all. It’s like using a calculator before learning how to do equations by yourself, you still need to go through the process to better understand things later on.

Nevertheless, I do plan to include some points Blakeman brings up, a narrow commitment and a straight to the point approach. I believe that Blakeman has learned over the years that investors are not really interested in a lot of “fluff” on business plans, they want to know what do you want do and how you plan to do it. Implementing this kind of thinking throughout my business plans can make it a concise and precise document that’s quick read with relevant information. This means that one of the most important components of my business plans is going to be the Executive Summary. Often times we make decisions on a first impression basis. This section is the chance to include Blakeman’s commitment and movement in such a compelling way that investors make their decision on this segment alone. “You’ll make more money in less time by committed movement than you will by sitting around trying to figure out what might go wrong.”(Blakeman, 2010)

Resource: 

• Blakeman, C. (2010). Planning won't even get you a good plan, let alone success. Chuck Blakeman. Retrieved from: http://chuckblakeman.com/2010/4/texts/planning-wont-even-get-you-a-good-plan-let-alone-success 
• Blakeman, C. (2012). How to start a business. Chuck Blakeman. Retrieved from: http://chuckblakeman.com/2012/4/texts/how-to-start-a-business