BUILD A POWERFUL BUSINESS STRATEGY / 53 The Value of a Business Plan Every business, large or small, needs a business plan. In fact, every book written on the subject of operating a small business stresses the importance of creating a business plan. What's missing, how- ever, is the "why" behind the development of a plan. Most of the published materials you'll find on business planning outline what you need to include in the plan and how it should be presented. But it's one thing to follow an outline and fill in the blanks and quite another thing to understand both why you are providing all that information and how it is going to affect your business. In my opin- ion, unless you understand the "why" behind the plan, then filling in the blanks does nothing more than create busywork. Too many business owners and entrepreneurs think business plans are needed only to attract investors or to get loans. That's simply not the case. The business plan is an integral part of your business operations. Despite the many characteristics that distinguish different types of business owners--such as age, ethnic background, experience, gender, location, and industry--there is one thing that all success- ful business owners and entrepreneurs have in common, and that is a clear vision of where they want their businesses to go. They aren't afraid to start out by thinking big--and then laying the foun- dation to get there. Most small businesses don't fail because their owners are thinking too big; they fail or flounder because they weren't thinking big enough. So before you're into the thick of running your business on a day-to-day basis, consider what it is you really want that business to be when it grows up. Once you get caught up in the daily grind, it's tough to find the time and energy to create the big vision; so, do that big-vision thinking now. Where would you like your business to be in five years? What will it look like in ten years? What is it going to take to get to both American Management Association / www.amanet.org