If you are going to run a business, you must have a business plan. But there are several potentially fatal flaws that can come back to bite you and cause your plan to fail.

English: business plan

English: business plan (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The five mistakes, according to an article on CBSNews.com, are:

1)  Getting too attached to an idea.

You may think your idea is great, but the rest of the world may not. Better do your homework. Unless you are Steve Jobs, do your market research before launching an idea.

2)  Overestimating the market.

Don’t assume that your product is going to take a certain percentage of the market. Even getting one percent of the market is tough for most companies.

3)  Not fleshing out execution details.

You may have the best idea in the world, but without a plan to execute in the real world, it remains just an idea.

4)  Overestimating financial results.

Don’t be overly aggressive in estimating sales, rate of growth, profits or any other financial aspects of your business. Be conservative. Separate goals from estimates.

5)  Underestimating costs.

Everything will cost more than you think. If you run out of cash, your business fails.

If you have any questions about planning for your business, feel free to contact us at (626) 696-3145 for a consultation. We are experts in business planning.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Comments are closed.