Business plan poll....

Maybe a good topic to discuss in the business section Assuming that you are charging for your services (or considering charging), how many have actually put together a business plan that promotes sustainability and profits? If you have, did you find it a valuable tool in working towards your goals? If not, why not, and do you feel that it has hurt your business?

Personally I haven't got a business plan.

The why is quite simple - my job used to revolve around creating them and I know for a fact that I can create a sustainable business plan that will make me a millionaire in 5 years or another that will have me destitute in 3. In fact when I was doing this for a living I'd often get asked to tweak the plan to support certain objectives in a way that would stand up to scrutiny...

Now, as a sole trader, I do not need to justify my strategic decisions to anyone else nor do I have to "cover my back" in case I screw up (both good reasons for a business plan) - I find it better to just get out there and make money.

I would create a business plan to suit a particular purpose - say approaching the bank for a large loan - but in that case it would be a plan that was tailored t support my objectives in getting the loan.

I know where I am and I know where I want to be...

The steps in between are very much trial and error right now but I'm making solid strides in relationship building which is vital in the aviation world.

Creating business plans and following them is great for keeping business schools in business because it gives them something to teach, and creates something tangible they can give marks for, so they can justify their huge fees and government grants ... I certainly have never come across one yet which taught anything relevant about running a business

This (despite the protestations of business schools) is the only use for a written business plan

stephenb49 wrote in post #14258228
Creating business plans and following them is great for keeping business schools in business because it gives them something to teach, and creates something tangible they can give marks for, so they can justify their huge fees and government grants ... I certainly have never come across one yet which taught anything relevant about running a business

This (despite the protestations of business schools) is the only use for a written business plan

...have you got any statistics to bear that out? What do you base your conclusion on?

stephenb49 wrote in post #14258228
Creating business plans and following them is great for keeping business schools in business because it gives them something to teach, and creates something tangible they can give marks for, so they can justify their huge fees and government grants ... I certainly have never come across one yet which taught anything relevant about running a business

This (despite the protestations of business schools) is the only use for a written business plan

That's an interesting observation. I work with many marketing departments that are generally populated with MBA's from the best business schools, and my interactions with them would seem to contradict this.

Good discussion.....I'm actually a little surprised that a written business plan hasn't seemed to garner much support (at least not yet).

Odd, I run a business (not photography) that generates a little over $2m a year, and written plans are very important to what we do. 1st of all, the "running a business" model is completely different from what it was even 5 years ago and it will go though even more changes in the future. You need to at least sit and brainstorm about what your short and long term goals are. If I were to fork over $20k or $30k for equipment, buy or rent a studio and open the doors, I would not necessarily have people lined up to get their picture taken. At least get your ideas on paper and formulate a timeline and financial thought process. If you have no plan, you leave yourself open to constantly making changes along the way whose consequences or other hurdles you've not thought out yet.

I didn't vote in the poll: We have a well-written and thought-out business plan that we were not able to adhere to due to external factors.

(severe car accident seven months ago, wife hasn't been able to work, just now starting to get back on our feet, trying to pick up where we left off.

Not so much. Just a general aim to take better photos and find customers I like. I'm fortunate that I don't need to be profitable, though I definitely am. Photography's a hard business to make money in.

stephenb49 wrote in post #14258228
Creating business plans and following them is great for keeping business schools in business because it gives them something to teach, and creates something tangible they can give marks for, so they can justify their huge fees and government grants ... I certainly have never come across one yet which taught anything relevant about running a business

This (despite the protestations of business schools) is the only use for a written business plan

Go to a bank for a business loan and tell them you have no business plan, see how far that gets you.

As a follow up, I would wonder how many people who derive their sole (or vast majority) of income from photography (in other words, it's their survival) are operating without a well defined plan vs. the weekend warrior/part timers.

If they've been successful at it full time for more than a couple years they have a plan.

CrayonNinja wrote in post #14265111
Go to a bank for a business loan and tell them you have no business plan, see how far that gets you.

Good topic..I had too!!

Go to a bank with a perfect plan and proven successes, see how far that gets you.
; )
cheers D

proimages wrote in post #14270597
Good topic..I had too!!

Go to a bank with a perfect plan and proven successes, see how far that gets you.
; )
cheers D

Got a lot of friends of mine pretty far, then again I don't live in a place that was effected whatsoever by the US recession, keep in mind this is an international forum.