Wed, 27 August 2008
My original and only business plan for my company was based on a Dr. Suess book. I wish I were kidding. Owning up to my liberal arts major and rebellious roots, I didn't think I needed a "real" plan. And, for the most part, I did fine for a decade, securing lots of clients and making a good living. But honestly, I think that I was just not thinking about business planning the right way. I imagined reams of paper, onerous spreadsheets and carefully crafted mission statements. Yuck. Now, Tim Berry, founder of Palo Alto Software and prolific blogger about all things startup, has come out with a new book called the Plan as You Go Business Plan. Even though his company makes business planning software, Tim felt a bit frustrated by the perceived hurdle new entrepreneurs attributed to business plans. When I asked him why most people didn't write them, he said:
Instead of this perspective, Tim encourages you to think of business planning as a fun and critical part of your entrepreneurial journey. He says: I interviewed Tim on this topic for my book, but he was generous enough to let me share the conversation as a podcast. It is about 37 minutes long. I truly am motivated to finally create a plan after twelve years in business. I hope you are too! |