The Potential Pitfalls of Writing a Business Plan

I recently read an article on entrepreneur.com that discussed some of the negative aspects of writing a business plan. It's an interesting find because we always hear of all the good reasons why you should write one; clarity of business goals, competitor analysis, market segmentation, etc. We don't always hear of the negative things that could result from it.

Here are the 6 potential risks of writing a business plan:

1) The possible disclosure of confidential information

The sharing and exchange of business plans is common, however, entrepreneur's need to be cautious before losing their hard work due to theft or replication.

2) Leading yourself astray

Sometimes entrepreneur's get too consumed with projects within their business plan and they lose focus of the end goal.

3) Ruining your reputation

If your business plan is over optimistic with its projections and inflated to the point of extreme returns, then you may be doing yourself a disservice.

4) Too much effort planning 

Some entrepreneurs fail to ever actually do business if they are enveloped in their plan.

5) Diluting the effectiveness of your plan

Make it readable in one sitting. Too many plans are over complicated so thy overwhelm readers.

6) Expediting your plan

Every entrepreneur needs a business plan because it acts as the structure for your business. The trick is to remember that simply planning is not enough, entrepreneur's need to DO. Get out and try things out. Figure out what makes money and what doesn't.


Read the full-length article here!