(Courtesy of stephenhanafin on Flickr)
I hope so.
My good friend Barry, once told me this;
“You can plan plans, but you can’t plan results.”
Makes sense. And, it’s true.
Story time….
My Plan
13 years ago, when I was recruited to help a struggling Ford franchise sell more vehicles-close more deals, I planned on doing just that. I was going to go in there, roll up my sleeves, and help the sales staff become an army of “closers.”
Check Out This Franchise! Click The Image!
Yes!
And, things did start getting a little better there; the salespeople were starting to sell more cars and trucks, and the atmosphere was starting to feel a bit more upbeat than it was when I first stepped inside.
Until this happened……
The franchise was for sale. And, I was pissed.
I was not a guy that people wanted to be around when word on the street confirmed the rumors that I had been hearing. A mere three months after I was brought on board to help “turn things around,” the Ford franchise that I was starting to turn around was going to be sold to someone else. With other ideas. And, his own people-most likely. I had such big plans, too.
(Turns out that it was my last J O B.)
Attention Future Franchise Owners: Are You Going To Write A Business Plan?
I’m sure that you’ve had things turn out not as you had planned, too. It’s just what happens sometimes. But, you still have to have a plan when you’re about to start something new. And, while it’s true that you can’t plan the results, winging it-especially when it comes to a business start-up, would be foolish.
It’s a good thing that there are templates to help you-the future franchise owner-write a business plan…and better yet, they actually work quite well.
If you’re thinking of starting a franchise-type of business, you’ll want to have a franchise business plan. That’s because even though franchises are well-known and documented business models, and bankers are very familiar with them, a well-crafted business plan can do wonders. Especially if you’re hoping to get a small business loan approved.
Read more about the importance of having a (business) plan, and find out what the top business plan expert in the world says about them, in this SBA.Gov article on business planning.
