A business plan seems like an essential part of the process of building a company.  It serves as the foundation for the entire venture.  But, do they truly translate into a successful ventures?  William Bygrave (it looks like this is the same person who wrote our textbook) could not find a correlation with the success of a company and whether or not they had a formally written business plan (Henricks, 2008).  In formal courses, we place an emphasis on the value of business plans, but the reality is that there is not sufficient evidence of the value they bring to the success of a business.

This study was certainly met with some opposition, especially for those who put enormous value on business plans.  Professor William B. Gartner made a  discovery on his own concerning the value of business plans.  Using a sample of 800 entrepreneurs, Gartner found that having a business plan increases by two and half times the chances for an entrepreneur to actually launch their business (Hernicks, 2008).

Although having a business plan does not necessarily translate into a successful venture, it does significantly increase the possibility of executing a concept.

So, do you still think business plans are needed? Why?

Do you think that quality (completeness of vision) of the plan is an indicator of success?