Posted by u/planning_paralysis
Is a formal business plan worth writing?
Answered by Ask a Shop Owner ·
Been writing the plan for 4 months. Haven't started the business.
u/askashopowner Owner-operator advisor
Top answer
No. Not unless a bank is requiring it. Formal business plans are for banks and investors, not for you. What you actually need fits on one page: what you sell, who buys it, what it costs, what you charge, and how you get the first ten customers.
If you cannot answer those five in a paragraph each, no 40 page plan will save you. If you can answer them, the plan is a distraction from getting the first customer.
Go get the first customer. Everything you need to know about your business will show up in the first ten transactions. No plan will teach you what one paying customer will.
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