Original text

Did you know entrepreneurs who have business plans are twice as likely to obtain capital and more likely to grow than entrepreneurs who don’t?

Just like a roadmap, a business plan helps ensure you get to your intended destination. From our decades of experience working with thousands of startup business owners, we at SCORE have learned that a business plan can smooth the path to success and help protect you from the risk of failure. 

In this module of the Startup Roadmap, you’ll create a business plan that maps out a more detailed blueprint for getting to your goal of owning a business.

Writing a business plan no longer involves spending months crafting a 60-page document. There are easier, faster and more visual approaches you can use to help you make decisions, calculate your financials, and get your ideas down on paper if you don’t want to use a traditional business plan. We’ll cover both options in this chapter. 

Don’t forget to review the other modules in The SCORE Startup Roadmap. You don’t have to take all 12:

• Starting Your Journey
• Are You Ready to Start a Business?
• Defining and Validating Your Idea
• Finding Funding
• Setting Up Your Business
• Accounting, Insurance, and Legal Considerations
• Marketing Your Business
• Pricing, Sales, and Distribution
• Setting Up Your Physical Location
• Staffing Your Business
• Open for Business

If you dream of business ownership and want clear directions to reach your destination successfully, complete the SCORE Startup Roadmap. And you don't have to travel alone if you work with a SCORE mentor.