Business Plan Sweet Spot

When is it best to write a business plan?  This question is addressed by an article last week in Harvard Business Review.  According to a study on 1,000 would-be entrepreneurs, on average, the most successful entrepreneurs did not write business plans immediately.  They wrote them between six and 12 months after deciding to start a business, thereby increasing the probability of “venture viability success” by 8%. 

 The study also found that optimal time to spend on writing a plan is three months, and this increased probability of creating a viable venture by 12%.  Venture viability odds are 27% if the plan is written while talking to customers, preparing to go to market, and working on promotion and marketing.