Why is Business Planning So Difficult? - Part 1

Jul 22, 2019 by Bob Voss

Whenever I speak at a workforce center on starting a small business, I always ask the question, “How many of you have written a business plan before?” I always get one or two people who have attempted the process, and they always say the same things. They usually point out that the process is extremely complicated, they may not understand the words being used, they do not like having to write so much, and they absolutely do not know how to do the financials spreadsheets required for most business plans.

It is my belief that over 80% of the people who start the business plan process with good intentions never complete it. Although there are no real statistics on this subject, I know from direct experience talking to people who the process and did not complete it, that that 80% figure is probably close to being correct. When I dig deeper into why well-intentioned people do not complete the business plans they start I find there are three main reasons for quitting:

Reason #1: When people review all that is included in a business plan they think that the plan is going to be too big and too complex, so they are already in the process of quitting before they start!

Reason #2: The financial sections of business plan templates or books on business planning are so large and so complicated the person believes they needs an accountant to do them, so they get discouraged and quit!

Reason #3: When a person starts a business plan, they believe they have to write lengthy narrative for each section. Since most people do not believe they are good writers, they soon become discouraged with their writing ability and quit! This is why many plans are what I call “copy and paste” business plans. People find completed plans on the internet and copy and paste their way to a completed document. Copy and pasting may get you a completed business plan, but to me, that plan is worthless!

So if business planning is so difficult, why can’t someone come along and make it easier? For that matter, why doesn’t someone create a business plan for people who are not good writers? Here is the good news: That plan exists, and absolutely anyone can do it!

That plan is called the PROOF PLAN™! All you do is answer some easy-to-understand questions, and you’ve got yourself a plan! Come back to this blog because in other posts I will show you how the PROOF PLAN™ easily allows you to create a brilliant business plan (complete with banker-ready financials), and you do not have to be good writer to complete it!

For more information on the PROOF PLAN™ email me at Bob Voss or go to projectionsmart.com, sign up for a free trial, and find out how easy and pain-free business planning can really be!

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