Business growth is something I hear about all the time from business owners.
Sometimes they’re a new business just starting out.
Other times they’ve been in business for 20 years, and they’ve kind of “stalled.”
Either way, everybody wants to GROW. And there are many ways to make that happen.
But most people don’t take the time to actually plan out what they want to accomplish and how they’re going to do it.

My clients, friends and family have heard me say a million times, “we can accomplish anything.”
But it’s critical to have a plan in place to reach those goals.
That can be overwhelming for some entrepreneurs.
And that’s OK. Everybody has different skill sets.
And I’m great at helping business owners set and accomplish the right goals that lead them to new levels of success.
I found this great article over at Bplans.com that highlights different studies that prove the power and importance of having the right business plan in place:

1. Planning can help companies grow 30% faster

One study¹, published in 2010, aggregated research on the business growth of 11,046 companies and found that planning improved business performance.

Interestingly, this same study found that planning benefited existing companies even more than it benefited startups.

For an existing business, planning involves fewer guesses or assumptions that need to be proven, so the strategies they develop are based on more information.

Another study² found that companies that plan grow 30% faster than those that don’t plan. This study found that plenty of businesses can find success without planning, but that businesses with a plan grew faster and were more successful than those that didn’t plan.

To reinforce the connection between planning and fast growth, yet another study³ found that fast-growing companies—companies that had over 92% growth in sales from one year to the next—usually have business plans.

In fact, 71% of fast-growing companies have plans.

They create budgets, set sales goals, and document their marketing and sales strategies.

2. Being prepared matters when you’re seeking funding

A study at the University of Oregon⁶ found that businesses with a plan were far more likely to get funding than those that didn’t have a plan.

3. When you start planning is important—the earlier the better

Research shows⁷ that entrepreneurs who started the business planning process early were better at what the scientists call “establishing legitimacy.”

That’s a fancy way of saying that these entrepreneurs used business planning to start the process of talking with potential customers, working with business partners, starting to look for funding, and gathering other information they needed to start their business.

4. You’re less likely to fail if you have a plan

Nothing can absolutely prevent your company from failing, but it turns out that having a plan can help reduce your risks.

Starting the planning process before starting marketing efforts and before talking to customers reduces the likelihood that a business will fail.⁸

You can find the rest of the article over at Bplans.com.
But listen…
If you’re an established business without a business plan – it’s OK.
It’s never too late to start, and I can help.
Click here, enter your email on the next page,
I’ll send you my business evaluation that will help you discover the strengths and weaknesses of your business so you can create a strategy for success.

References cited by original source:
¹Brinckmann, J., Grichnik, D., & Kapsa, D. (2010). Should entrepreneurs plan or just storm the castle? A meta-analysis on contextual factors impacting the business planning–performance relationship in small firms. Journal of Business Venturing,25(1), 24-40. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2008.10.007
²Burke, A., Fraser, S., & Greene, F. J. (2010). The multiple effects of business planning on new venture performance. Journal of Management Studies, 47(3), 391-415.
³Upton, N., Teal, E. J., & Felan, J. T. (2001). Strategic and business planning practices of fast growth family firms. Journal of Small Business Management, 39(1), 60-72.
⁶Ding, E., & Hursey, T. (2010). Evaluation of the effectiveness of business planning using Palo Alto’s Business Plan Pro. Department of Economics. University of Oregon.
⁷Delmar, F., & Shane, S. (2004). Legitimating first: Organizing activities and the survival of new ventures. Journal of Business Venturing, 19(3), 385-410. doi: 10.1016/s0883-9026(03)00037-5
⁸Shane, S., & Delmar, F. (2004). Planning for the market: Business planning before marketing and the continuation of organizing efforts. Journal of Business Venturing, 19(6), 767-785. doi: 10.1016/j.jbusvent.2003.11.001