When a business owner is told he needs a business plan their eyes gloss over, head rolls back and you can almost hear them groan. What is it about business plan development that makes it so unappealing?

Business Plan Development Obstacles and Roadblocks

Most every entrepreneur I have met has some sort of prejudice, obstacle or roadblock when it comes to planning. They all do some sort of planning but what I am talking about is business plan development. Creating a formal document that can be used as a tool in your business plan development.

To transform your feelings of business plan development from a chore or waste of your time to a pleasant experience. What would it take for a business women or man to feel positive about taking on the task of business plan development?

I think it would have to make them more productive, increase profits, and provide a sense freedom and control. Unfortunately, business plan development is most often associated with getting a new business loan, commercial business loan or when looking for a business debt consolidation loan. Thinking of business plan development only as a tool to obtain 'financing' is shortsighted.

It can be so much more with a simple shift??

Shift from a Focus Development to Increasing Effectiveness

Anyone reading this will agree with me that the goal of business development is to make the business more effective because when the business become more effective it makes more money, makes more fun, and you have more choices and opportunities.

Confession

I admit it, the business plan development community has done a crappy job of promoting, marketing, and educating business owners how to approach business planning from an 'effectiveness' perspective.

Think about it. As a business owner would you have any problem with the concept of making your business, staff and yourself more effective? Of course you wouldn't.

We failed to provide the business community with a way to work ON the business while working IN it at the same time. Plus we did not provide a system that made sense from a business perspective nor did we provide the tools and support to make that happen.

I have to say that I am just as responsible as anyone else whether they be a business plan writer, consultant or a business plan software developer. I think I have stumbled upon the reason we have failed to gain the joyful adoption of the business community.

Business Plan Development is Counter Intuitive

It takes three types of people for a business to exist. The entrepreneur who has a dream and takes the risk, the manager to keep the business moving forward, and employees ??? technically proficient employees who are very good at their jobs, in fact they are more like technicians. They are very good at the practical aspects that are at the core of the business.

In his studies and book The Entrepreneurial Myth, Michael Gerber states that "...The Technician is the doer. "If you want it done right, do it yourself" is The Technician's credo...." and the problem with that is that if you are going to do 'everything yourself' then where do you find the time to work ON a business plan? You end up trapped working IN the business.

Every business book, seminar, and consultant today will tell you that you have to make a transition from working 'IN' the business and start spending more time working 'ON' the business - except they do not tell you how to do it.