I get asked that question a lot. In fact, after how do I start a business? its probably the most asked question by new clients. I decided the best way to describe why you might decide to write a business plan is to tell you a few stories about a client of mine. The name and business are fictional. Were going to call him David and hes going to have a mechanic shop. The stories Im going to tell you over the next few months are a combination of things that have happened to me and to some of my clients.
Davids smart. Hes got a memory like a steel trap. And hes ambitious. He wants to start a small mechanic shop with the inheritance his dad left him, and hes been very busy trying to get it started. But hes also young and in a bit of a hurry. The way he sees it, he doesnt need a business plan and anytime hes asked about it he just taps his head and says, I dont need one. Ive got it all up here. Besides, he likes freedom. Hes a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of guy. He doesnt want to be tied to what some piece of paper says.
His mother-in-law, Ellen just shakes her head. Shes owned a bookkeeping service for the last twenty years, which she started...