Re:The importance of having a plan
by AndrewWarner on Tuesday April 07, 2009 @06:52PM
(#551870)
All the old business advice books I read talked about the importance of having a plan. In the interviews I do with successful entrepreneurs, I don't see clear, detailed plans. I wonder what this means?
Re:The importance of having a plan
by mahmud on Tuesday April 07, 2009 @09:08PM
(#552083)
The new entrepreneurs you're meeting are probably working in markets that aren't established; you can't plan for what you don't understand. The best you can do is make something that's good NOW, but be prepared to change your product if not your mission as the circumstances dictate.
Re:The importance of having a plan
by MichaelApproved on Tuesday April 07, 2009 @07:05PM
(#551898)
There is a difference between not having a plan and having one that allows for experimenting. Just because you're trying different things doesn't mean you don't have a plan.
A plan is a good thing. It keeps you from losing focus, lets you set goals and helps you know if you're on track.
Create a plan, you'd be a fool not to, but make sure it allows you to experiment.
Re:The importance of having a plan
by webwright on Wednesday April 08, 2009 @01:42PM
(#553068)
I've written a few business plans in my life (3 started companies, 2 sold, current one is Series A funded FWIW).
Every single time, the plans sat on the shelf. Every single time, I looked back at those plans and laughed/cringed at the assumptions I made in them and was amazed at how little my business resembled the picture I painted in those plans.
I think it's a great exercise to run through the sections that are common in biz plans (marketing, etc). Think about 'em, talk about 'em, maybe even through together a spreadsheet or two.
But don't make it formal and don't spend too much time on it-- the more you invest in it, the more it'll feel like a blueprint rather than an exercise.
Re:The importance of having a plan
by padmanabhan01 on Tuesday April 07, 2009 @07:04PM
(#551895)
Obviously a lot of ingredients go into being successful, and invariable few of them get highlighted more and few less in any advice or suggestion given by anyone.
A great plan will not take one anywhere without good execution. and a great plan executed well can fail if timing is not right or for thousand other reasons.
The bottomline is - there is no single silver bullet.
In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable. - Dwight D. Eisenhower
A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week. - George S. Patton
Luck is being prepared for an opportunity
Those who are not prepared, are unlucky. They let life push them in whatever random direction life pushes them in.
http://sithsigma.wordpress.com/2009/03/18/luck-is-being-prep...
A plan is a good thing. It keeps you from losing focus, lets you set goals and helps you know if you're on track.
Create a plan, you'd be a fool not to, but make sure it allows you to experiment.
Every single time, the plans sat on the shelf. Every single time, I looked back at those plans and laughed/cringed at the assumptions I made in them and was amazed at how little my business resembled the picture I painted in those plans.
I think it's a great exercise to run through the sections that are common in biz plans (marketing, etc). Think about 'em, talk about 'em, maybe even through together a spreadsheet or two.
But don't make it formal and don't spend too much time on it-- the more you invest in it, the more it'll feel like a blueprint rather than an exercise.
A great plan will not take one anywhere without good execution. and a great plan executed well can fail if timing is not right or for thousand other reasons.
The bottomline is - there is no single silver bullet.