Do I Really Need a Business Plan?

To start a business, you don’t need to first have a formal, fully fleshed-out business plan. Some ‘advisors’ will tell you that you need one (and often offer to put one together for you for a fee).
You should have some basic principles mapped out in your mind, however.  The more of them that you think about and work out, the more likely you will have success.  These principles are:

• What do I need to get from my business idea?  Potential answers could be to make a certain level of income to achieve a goal, or to get freedom from an unsatisfying career, or to share with others a great idea you’ve come up with.  There could be several principles operating at once, and there’s no consistent “right” answer.
• Who will want or need the product of my business? 
• How much time can I commit to planning out and operating my business?
• What money and resources do I need to have in hand or available to start operating my business?
• What's the minimum I can put in place to start testing out my business idea?  There is a fallacy that you always need to be fully set up for a business, like leasing a space, hiring employees, buying up advertising, etc.  That kind of thinking can be fatal, using up all of your capital. Try to research about people who bootstrapped their now-successful business. You will read stories about how people started with a single customer to get moving, or they stumbled upon a unique need that needed attention and tried it out with a few contacgts. There is value to staying lean and looking for creative opportunities to learn about your customers and their needs before going all in.
• What do I know and what am I good at that can give me an edge?  It’s a lot easier to start a business building on something you know. For example, if you’re a lawyer, it may not necessarily be a good idea to start restaurant.  However, if you always get compliments about your cooking or baking and requests, you may have an edge for a food-based business.
• What resources do I need to get started?  This can be things like money or access to supplies.  It can also be resources like personal relationships, such as people who can make introductions and loved ones who will provide support at home. 

Spend some time thinking about these questions. Write your thoughts down if you can and keep a record that you can refer to.  Even though this isn’t some people consider to be a “business plan”, it goes a long way to build the foundation for your business.  Also, I bet that it will help you get started a lot faster (and cheaper) than trying to get someone to write up a formal business plan for you, and I firmly believe that you will be more successful.