Why a plan in business world ?

Why you should prepare a business plan
Preparing a business plan is one of the most useful things that you, as an entrepreneur or potential entrepreneur, can do. A business plan can serve as both a blueprint to follow and as a tool that you can use to get financing. Whether your purpose in preparing a business plan is to manage your operations or secure financing or both, you will find that the process will result in other important benefits.
The systematic planning that goes into the business plan process will enable you to make your mistakes on paper, rather than in the market place. Since preparing a comprehensive business plan takes time and effort, the process will test your resolve about entering or expanding your business. Once you have completed this exercise, you will feel more confident about your ability to operate a successful business.
Whatever purpose the business plan serves for you, it is important to prepare one, and it is important to do it well. This business plan workbook was designed to provide you with practical, step-by-step instructions on how to prepare your business plan, regardless of whether you are starting a new business or expanding an existing one. You do not need to be an accountant to prepare a good business plan. What is required, though, is a commitment on your part to thoroughly investigate the business concept, decide how you will operate the business and put this information down in black and white, in a systematic, logical way.
Your role will be to provide various information about your company, the industry, and the market that you will operate in. The information that you obtain will be a result of the research that you do. For that reason, we refer to this phase of the business plan preparation as the data collection and analysis phase. The purpose of this is to gather all the information necessary to make a decision on whether or not to go into a particular business or to expand an existing business.
A second purpose is to provide you with enough information to decide how best to operate the business. Later in the strategy formulation phase, you will decide how the business will be run –who will manage the business, what prices will be charged, how much advertising will be used, etc. The strategies that you decide upon in the second phase will, to a great extent, be based upon the information that you gather and analyze in this first phase.
The third purpose is to compile information which, although of little concern to you, helps readers of your business plan better understand your business. If, for instance, you intend to use your business plan to get a bank loan, you may want to include a brief history of your business, a description of your products and services, etc.
In summary, a business plan is important because:
a) It guides the owner in running the businessb) It sells yourself and your business to possible partners and investors.c) It depicts key characteristics about the entrepreneur (i.e. organized? Prepared?).d) It provides information about the business and the market one is to operate in.e) A well-prepared business plan will increase your chances of obtaining financial assistance from financial institutions e.g. banks.