5 Reasons You Need a Business Plan for Long-Term Success

The most common questions I hear from entrepreneurs who are starting a new business are, "Do I really need a business plan? Is writing a business plan really the best use of my time?" My answer to these questions is almost always, "Yes." A business plan is an integral part of starting a new business.

In reality, business plans can take a long time to write, require that you have a tremendous amount of data at your fingertips, depend in part on projections, and often are responsible for creating a long list of research you still need to conduct and other work you need to complete.

But despite all of that, business plans can be one of the most effective tools for the small business owner who is starting, growing and even managing a business.

Here are what I consider the most important reasons you should write a business plan before doing anything else in your small business.

Top 7 Ways to Maximize Your Exit Strategy for Maximum Profit

Leading financial researchers report that 75 percent of U.S. businesses do not sell. It dismays me to see entrepreneurs receiving so little in return for all their years of hard work. Or having to shut their doors with no buyers in sight.

It's even more disappointing since businesses can easily take steps to achieve maximum perceived value for a potential buyer. It just takes a little planning, know-how and application to take a $100,000 a year profit-generating business and sell it for $200,000 or more.

My Top 7 Ways to Maximize Your Exit Strategy Now & Sell Your Business for Maximum Profit

When it's time to sell your business, you must ask an all-important question: "What am I doing to increase the asset value of my business?" To prepare for selling your business, start with these exit strategy pointers:

Creating a Succession Plan for Your Small Business

After years of entrepreneurship, you’re looking forward to the day when you can retire, secure in the knowledge that the business you’ve built is safe for another generation. But planning to hand over the family business takes a succession plan.
Multi-generational family-controlled businesses have long been part of the American dream, and some have proven highly successful; think Wal-Mart or Anheuser-Busch.
However, business succession is no simple family matter. According to the Small Business Administration, 90 percent of U.S. businesses are family owned, but only 30 percent of such companies succeed in the second generation. Just 15 percent make it to the third.