Does your venture really need a business plan? That’s a question many first time entrepreneurs have trouble answering when they first start out.
Small Business BC and other experts say most entrepreneurs in Vancouver do little or no planning before they launch their business, preferring to adopt a “just do it” approach. But that strategy can have fatal consequences, according to business consultant Bernie Maroney.
“From an investor perspective they have to ask themselves this question … who in their right mind would give money to someone who hasn’t done their due diligence? That’s the real issue,” Maroney recently told Business in Vancouver. “You’re not going to get any funding without a full business plan.”
His days as an entrepreneur started in the early 1990s when he and a friend launched a motion picture company in the U.S. called Magnolia Composites.
An early business plan helped Maroney and his partner “bootstrap” financing for the company at a time when investors were tight-fisted.
Within nine years, the company had grown to six offices with dozens of employees and multi-million dollar revenue, he said.
The business plan helped Maroney understand where to focus his energy to develop the venture early and when to divest his interest in Magnolia.
After that, Maroney went on to earn a master of business administration from Simon Fraser University (SFU) and spent three years as a senior strategy advisor with Telus Corp. (TSX:T).
These days he’s president of the SFU Alumni Association, and a consultant who helps other entrepreneurs develop business plans. And he’s a firm believer that entrepreneurial success is very much a factor of a well-thought out business plan.
“The reality is there’s no such thing as luck,” he said. “It’s a matter of whether or not you take advantage of the opportunities presented to you or you shy away from the challenge. That’s the difference.”
For more about business plans check out this week’s print edition of BIV.