A Business Plan is Not An Academic Exercise, It is Your Startup's Blueprint.

There are a multitude of reasons why companies fail. A bad idea, poor planning, poor execution, a lack of proper funding, bad timing, poor hiring practices, a resistance to change… the list goes on and on.

Here is the result of a recent study that I find interesting by CEO Bill Gross of Idealab.[1]

Startup Success Factors

Figure: Top 5 Factors of Success: Bill Gross-CEO, Idealab

Most of the companies studied were in the hi-tech industries where timing is crucial, as the statistics indicate.

In my own experiences as an entrepreneur and as an active observer of business behavior, I agree with Idealab’s findings. As a hedge against timing issues, a good business plan should include “timing” as part of its competitive and marketing analysis section. Furthermore, a good business plan’s “funding” section should include an economic forecasting component along with other funding facts. The business plan itself is the “business model” driven by the “idea.” Accuracy and completeness of the business plan is paramount to increasing the probability of success. "LivePlan" is an excellent software choice for Business Planning.

[1] Used by permission of Idealab, Pasadena, CA