Business Plans and Your Success
It has been said more times than not that you need a business plan to succeed. A well-documented plan that will guide you from start to finish on creating your successful company. I never created one for 9rules and I’m pretty sure we never did one for Business Logs either. Has that helped us or hurt us? I’m not sure, but I am happy with where both are at now and there was always one problem: we kept moving.
Not physically moving, but as we got to know not only each other, but the landscape of what we were working in we found better ways to go about things and created new strategies. The end goal has remained the same, but the paths we are taking are greatly different than what we started with.
9rules mixes a lot of ideas and concepts from web’s past and we remix them in new ways. We aren’t always sure what will stick and what won’t so we have tried to remain as agile as possible. At times we probably don’t move fast enough for our own good, but I could see how trying to stick to one plan would do us more harm than good.
I’m definitely not saying great planning won’t remove a lot of headaches, but make sure you leave room in your plans for change. We can read about being agile all we want, but actually being agile is something completely different and it seems more and more companies are getting stuck with this issue. You create a blog network at the peak of the blog network era and you have your plans laid out, but the market changes so what do you do now? Or what if your a blog search engine and even though you lead the pack, what can you really do when Google and Yahoo enter the arena?
We are in a time where everyone can copy everyone so easily with regards to technology how does your plans account for that? Sure you can analyze the current competition, but what about the guys that launch a week after you? The more you move and faster you move the harder it is for your competition to keep up and the only way you can really do that is by remaining agile. Plan it out, but don’t write it in stone.
Related reading:
I agree with you fully on staying fluid and adapting quickly to opportunities and change. Another strategy which I have adopted and has worked so far is hold back the product until its reached a mature stage, almost version 2 or 3 of the cycle in development. This is very difficult to do and requires resources however at this stage you are so far ahead of any potential competition it would be almost impossible to copy or catch up!!
By Dean on September 20, 2006 8:34 pm
That’s an interesting strategy Dean. You don’t have fear of first-mover advantage and the pluses of getting early feedback from users?
By Scrivs on September 20, 2006 9:13 pm
I think the business plan is kind of like your planner and history book in one. Well, I think of it that way.
You write what you plan to accomplish and by what means then later as years pass, you look back at it and check what you’ve accomplished. However, because this is your own personal history book, you are the historian that’s making the future to add the past into your book. :)
By Danny Foo on September 20, 2006 10:23 pm
A business plan to me is more like a structure to work in and really is more about finding funding or investment. I do think it’s a guide not a rigid one in most cases. You are right that agile and fluidity is the core importance. My own freelance business never had a business plan on paper. The business model I use is one that constantly adapts and I never needed investment as made sure that wasn’t going to be the route of my business. I think business plans are good to use as a history to see what you wanted and gauge to where you are at. A review of your business is just as valid in this sense. Any model you use has to adapt otherwise you stagnate – one of the core principles of any successful business. Opportunities arise and markets change and what you want changes too. If I had written one for my own business I’d probably be up to version 123 something by now with the changes that have happened over time. I guess, online business maybe slightly different so the tradition of business plans unless seeking investment (investors love them here in Uk it seems) really may not be such a rigid application.
By karmatosed on September 21, 2006 8:43 am
For alot of the people who make decisions about wither or not to give you a loan, the business plan is next to sueless. They often rely heavily on other factors – competency of the ower at the service, their own personal history and the summary of their business.
By Andy on September 21, 2006 8:47 am
Interesting post, because I am actually working on a business plan with some guys I’m starting a business with. And granted I don’t think it is 100% needed for our business, I think it could be useful for us to look back on, and it helps give us a framework.
I’m pretty new to this entrepreneur thing so I’m just trying to go it as right as possible. I definitely agree that agility is needed to succeed though.
By J Phill on September 21, 2006 9:02 am
Two things you said make sense to me:
1) Planning does remove headaches
2) Static plans do not remove headaches.
What we need is an updated version of a business plan, a living creature that can be updated and adapted as fast as your business moves, while giving you the ability to think further than a day/week/month ahead ;)
By Natalie Ferguson on September 21, 2006 11:32 pm
[...] I think business plans are good to use as a history to see what you wanted and gauge to where you are at. … I guess, online business maybe slightly different so the tradition of business plans unless seeking investment (investors love … more details… [...]
By Business Plans » Blog Archive » Sep 12, Create Stunning and Successful Business Plans on September 22, 2006 7:21 pm
Business plan is very good because it puts into writing what’s in your mind for others to read, absorb and see loopholes into. It’s a business “plan” not a “law” so don’t use it as a prescription but a guide.
My business professor asked me whether I need a business plan to put up a barbeque stand at the corner of the street with 4 people tops running it. I said “Hell No”, then he asked me whether I need a business plan for manufacturing firm which needs 2k people in the first 6 months of operations, I said “Hell Yes”.
The need for a business plan depends on the business and the scale of what you’re doing.
Similar to a development of a software, I don’t write detailed design documentation for a 50 line C# code, but when I’m in a team developing 3k screens, hundreds of thousands of code, then we need to write the detailed design document before we start anything.
By Milo Riano on September 23, 2006 6:13 am
Awesome Link Reads: 09.23…
It’s difficult to “hard work” your way to success (Seth Godin)
Student Graduates College in Only Two Semesters (Steve Pavlina)
Business Plans and Your Success (Wisdump)
How to Attract Links and Increase Web Traffic – The Ultima…
By Management, leadership & personal development of a young man on September 23, 2006 6:42 am
What is 9rules?…
Just recently [Paul Scrivens](http://wisdump.com/) from [9rules](http://9rules.com) announced that [9rules round 5](http://9rules.com/blog/2006/09/9rules-round-5-october-25th/) will be taking place on October 25th. Some of you may be thinking about ent…
By Pronet Advertising on September 23, 2006 8:13 pm
I recently read somewhere that 93% of the websites in the internet don’t give any revenue to their owners. Probably just because of absence of right business plan.
By Katya on September 24, 2006 5:34 pm
Well said, Paul. Personally, I think a business plan is more likely to hold a new entrepreneur back than advance one. The best business plan in my mind is a blog where you’re sharing ideas, receiving comments, and interacting with your target audience on a daily basis as your visions grow and expand.
Rock on!
By David Askaripour on September 25, 2006 10:30 pm
Paul: nice article!
I’m working on some business plans right now.
I agree with Natalie that a business plan is like a living thing. For internet companies especially, your business plan, like your business, will be constantly changing.
The business plan gives you a general overview or framework for your business. I don’t see this as a restriction or limit to what your business can do. Rather, I see this plan as your little helper. If you start to lose focus of your core business ideas, your business plan may help you get back on track.
I don’t think a business plan is necessary for every business. I do think it’s an advantage most businesses should take advantage of. You’re stating your goals, your service and product offers, your market strategies, finances, etc. Creating a plan causes you to really think about those areas of your business – something people may tend to overlook or forget about over time.
Writing my plan requires me to do a lot of research on subjects I don’t know much about. So not only am I laying the foundation of my business with a plan, I am learning more about business and business strategies. Win-win for me.
By Nick on November 11, 2006 10:04 am
Hey I was involved int his discussion a while ago, the post resonated with me because we were heads down thinking about business planning. We have now launched a web 2.0 planning product (http://www.planhq.com). It makes your business plan a living, collaborative thing, that you can add to incrementally and change alongside your business.
I think planning is important, but I do think a piece of paper is not really what people are after, so if you don’t currently plan your business but you’re interested in experimenting with the results, check it out. We find it massively useful :)
By Natlie ferguson on April 16, 2007 7:08 pm
Hey I was involved in this discussion a while ago, the post resonated with me because we were heads down thinking about business planning. We have now launched a web 2.0 planning product (http://www.planhq.com). It makes your business plan a living, collaborative thing, that you can add to incrementally and change alongside your business.
I think planning is important, but I do think a piece of paper is not really what people are after, so if you don’t currently plan your business but you’re interested in experimenting with the results, check it out. We find it massively useful :)
By Natlie ferguson on April 16, 2007 7:12 pm