I both agree and disagree. It is entirely necessary to have a business plan to get funded and it is also important if you are starting a company of more than 1. However, reality is that the majority of people are self-funding a solo business at first. And spending the time and money on a business plan that is even as short as 10 pages long is not critical and maybe even a waste of time and money.

My recommendation for these aspiring and new entrepreneurs is to work on a one page financial plan — with 1 year revenue goals and a more specific 90-day plan. This is actually one of the reasons that I stopped writing business plans as a service in my business. That being said, the discovery process that occurs during the writing of the plan either yourself or with paid help is critical. And yet you can have a similar process and produce a 1 page document that helps you focus on what you are going to sell, at what price, and to whom.