business-plan, business-model, entrepreneurshipWhen we are starting a business, do we really need to follow an existing business model?
And what are the advantages?
The main advantage of having some kind of business plan or business model is to clarify your thoughts. Even a succinct one forces you to give a cold hard look at whether what you’re doing makes thing move in the right direction or not.
It’s not about the spreadsheet - the latter is full of made-up numbers and wishful thinking. It’s more about laying bare your revenue streams and cost centers, articulating your growth strategy, planning resources to execute the latter, and so forth.
In this sense, think of it as a marketing document. Not in terms of “we provide wash-machine repair services”. Rather, in terms of “we provide wash-machine repair services to clients who a) aren’t rich enough to buy a new one when theirs break, b) aren’t handymen enough to repair it themselves, c) care to actually repair it instead of mopping up the leak, d) etc. We reach out to these clients by doing this and that so they’re aware we exist. [And so forth.]”
Pin down precisely what you’re selling, who you’re selling it to, why they’re going to be interested, how you’re going to sell it, why they should be buying from you instead of your competitors, etc. And then lay out the resources you’ll need to deliver. It’s a short doc - a few pages at most.
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