I would like to know if having a Business Plan helped you succeed in your business or not. I have not heard from any wedding planners about how a business plan has help their business grow.
I think it depends on what you want your business plan to do for you? If you are seeking funding from a bank or wish to open a line of credit, then a business plan would be a MUST in order to show what your business is and how you intend to make it grow.
If funding is not the issue, a business plan can still be good to have. It can be used as sort of a road map to help show you where your business is starting from, where you want to go and how you plan on getting there. Then each year you can evaluate your business plan to see if you are actually achieving your goals. This kind of information can help you decide what changes need to be made to help your business grow.
Now, you don't have to have a 20 page business plan with detailed color charts and graphs. But you should have something written down to remind you why it is you do what you do.
There are many websites and books that are dedicated to helping you create a business plan, but really a business plan is whatever works for you. Some people have the professional 20+ page portfolio showing all assets, profit and loss statements, company breakdown, profit projections, etc. Others simply have a one page business plan written with glitter ink on pretty pink paper. Mine is a sentence that I have written in my design journal- "Work and pray until something good happens." It may seem too simple for some, but it works for me and my business.
I have a program that I have been using, but I have to say some of the things on there I really do not have a clue what they mean and what to put. I am sure it is good to use to set goals of what you want your business to be.
Idon't have a problem with getting a program to write a business plan. I have three of those plus the one I got from your blog Christine. What I am asking is did doing a business plan help your wedding Planning business? And if so how and in what ways?
