If the thought of business planning strikes fear into your heart (or just plain turns your stomach), you're not alone. Most entrepreneurs dread building a business plan. At the same time, it's an invaluable tool that can take your enterprise to the next level. We're going to provide a few tips, tricks, and tools to make the process less daunting.

Tips and Tricks

These are just a few tidbits about business plans that you should keep in mind when you're getting started.

Do I Need a Business Plan?
Yes.

Large or small, new or established, you can benefit from a business plan. The mere act of sitting down as a leadership team, discussing your goals, and putting down in black-and-white your goals can be incredibly valuable.

Be Prepared
If you're building a detailed business plan, there will probably be some financial and other information that you'll need to reference. The process of writing your plan will go much more smoothly if you have this information at your fingertips. So, open up your accounting software, pull your insurance records, and know where to find other key financial data.