Business planning is all about running a business better and it is not the set-in-stone standard format coil bound quasi-PhD treatise. It does not have a standard outline and any defined format.
The better the plan, the better be the market analysis, good focus, good cash flow, and it has concrete dates, deadlines, budgets, and assigned responsibilities.
There could be many reasons when your business plan is being ignored:
• If you are writing a research report instead of strategic business plans and filling dozens of pages about markets, competition, SWOT analysis and detailed financial projection, then forget to measure any results of your so called business plan. Though the written points are relevant but you need to know whether the market is big enough and is having enough space to let you achieve financial goals.
• A strategic foundation of a plan is what:
o Sets your vision specifying goals for your business.
o Describes target clients and their present situations
o Gives a different prospect to your business
o Crafts your positioning statement to attract new clients
If any of the elements go missing then the plan may never be implemented.
• Remember a plan for your business is different from both the angles. It is different in view of investors and lenders and different for the owner. For the owner it is more of a process of generating business and plan for investors persuades them to your strategies which are on right track.
• The plan should only be designed to achieve your projected numbers. You cannot generate billions within a year. Anticipate only n number of new clients and grow with the prospects of your business.
It is recommendable not to buy any business software plans or any such tools who make unreasonable promises as you cannot use somebody else’s plan and just use it as your own. It is worse than having no plan at all. Though it involves a lot of hard work still do make a plan of your own.Business plans can only be made and not bought.
The conclusion of the above could be one of a story of Alice in Wonderland where your plan will be like Alice at the fork in the road, not sure of where to go and how to go. So stay out of the rabbit hole and build an effective business plan to grow your business to heights.