Great post.

With my current business we wish to help Startups and SME to get better and our first recommendation, for existing or new to be created business, is always to start from a business plan. In fact we suggest even to consolidate-existing-business to restart from writing a business plan.

I am currently witnessing startups that see the business plan as an annoying, time consuming step in their way of working.

Most of them believe the triad creative idea + commercial launch + financial return will deliver options to succeed. Instead I more and more suppose the lack of business plan willingness to have could be the reason why startups fail in such large numbers.

They basically are reluctant to spend time to create their business and brands positioning, and they don’t understand that a business narrative is a story-to-tell that should be very carefully planned and defined by every word contanined and connected within a business plan.

They are also skeptical about building a very well structured P&L, and to accept the fact that a good P&L is the synthesis of what a well built business plan offer as the key support to create what the P&L will stand for.

A good reason is also that a lot of articles are still talking about the magic of getting big in no time because of your extremely creative idea nourishing the romantic idea of the fast growing entrepreneur. Unfortunately they forget that the day-by-day hard work, that we structured in a 3 easy-to-remember process phases understanding-planning-activating, is at the base of any opportunity of success.