Why is it Important to Write Your Business Plan? A business is not always written to catch the eye of the investors, it is written so that you can track the growth of your enterprise.

Why do you need a map while travelling to a particular location? So that your journey becomes more concrete and concentrated. So that you don't waste time here and there looking for directions. And also a roadmap lessens your anxiety about reaching your destination and therefore you are able to enjoy your journey. The same is true for a business plan.

What is a Business Plan?

Entrepreneur describes the business plan as "A written document describing the nature of the business, the sales and marketing strategy, and the financial background, and containing a projected profit and loss statement." A business plan is needed by start-ups to convince the investors and even established firms need it to look back and ahead. The bottom line is that everybody needs a business plan.

What Does the Plan Entail?

A business plan contains targets, strategies, marketing and sales numbers, the way-forward, profit and loss analysis, fund requirement outline, overview of the product and much more. The business plan basically analysis the firm's action in terms of money. Every step or move in the firm has a direct influence on the financial standing. And the business plan just makes a blueprint copy of it.

Why the Need for a Business Plan?

Someone correctly pointed out that there is something truly powerful about writing. Writing your goals, ambition and dreams on paper actually awakens every fibre of your being to work towards it. Sudhanshu Sinhal, an EdTech entrepreneur points out, "It's important to write a business plan because what gets written gets done."

While we achieve some targets, there are some things we don't but a written plan always helps us to keep the baggage of our targets lofty. A business plan is for the entrepreneurs to track the progress of the firm. And with a business plan, you can also track your progress as an entrepreneur. Prioritizing is another effect of writing a business plan. Gaurav Kapahi, Co-founder of GoldSeat stresses on this point, "Writing a business plan is always beneficial because it gives us a chance to check the work progress. It also helps in determining our priorities and systematizing every fragment of business." According to Kapahi, a written plan always prioritizes and evaluates the right opportunities and drives the firm towards the future in real terms.

The Gap between Reality and Dreams

Business plans are always meant to analyse your achievements. Hence it is very important to make a business plan to motivate you instead of letting it overwhelm you, as an entrepreneur, when you see a tally of numbers staring back at you in a not so favourable manner.

Kapahi says that as an entrepreneur, it is necessary to find out answers to certain questions such as "What did we decide to achieve when we began?', "Where are we now?', "What are our drawbacks and shortcomings?' and how we can overcome them?' Moreover, every digit on the record should become a springboard for progress for the entrepreneur and the firm. Without a business plan, any firm is purposeless and aimless and any amount of hard work would be as useless as counting your rival firm's profits and not getting a penny out of it.

Thus, incorporating your plan with achievable targets is one way of looking at how it can motivate you. A step can eventually lead to several tiny drops forming an ocean of achievement for the firm.

An entrepreneur needs to think about all the parameters of the firm and then as Sinhal says answer three main questions while chalking out a business plan, "What problem is the business trying to solve?", "How can I solve it?", "How do I make people aware that a solution exists?"

So start working on your business plan today so that all the creases in your firm get ironed out before the year ends!