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Do you need a business plan, or just effort and hard work?

February 27th, 2023 by Kenneth Abrahams

Education and teachable moments come in the strangest forms and often when you least expect them. We read papers or books, attend seminars, or listen to podcasts to get information and knowledge from people that may have expertise in fields we do not. These are cases where we are searching for knowledge on a certain subject. On occasion, there are times that take us by surprise, that educate us on things we haven’t been specifically looking for but that teach us all the same.

In the past, I have been part of a design and innovation program at a university in New England. Several business owners meet with a group of students to discuss the challenges we face. These interviews are to provide some information that, hopefully, will help students find solutions to the challenges they have undertaken. It is an interesting exercise and, for me, an opportunity to talk about business, with other business owners.

This year, the panel that I was on consisted of myself and three women business owners. It was eye opening for me and listening to them made me realize, in many respects, how lucky I was.

Most of the people on the panel had a business school background. They firmly believed in business plans, and not doing things by the seat of your pants. Thus, the title of this piece. When we started FUN, over 30 years ago, we had no business plan or cost revenue projections, just a need for a job and a belief we could make it work. Today, we have a better handle on what our revenues, expenditures, and cash flow look like, but still no official business plan, nor do we have much in the way of formal mission and value statements. We are not aligned with one or two charities but take them on a case-by-case basis. Decisions on expenditures are often dictated by need and changing circumstances as opposed to some grand master plan.

Whether the rest of the group was right about careful planning and execution, it just isn’t the way we have done things. What the interviews reinforced with me is that entrepreneurs aren’t made, they’re born. They come in different shapes and sizes, from different backgrounds, and with a wide range of skill sets. It takes a certain kind of a person willing to take a leap of faith on just a belief that they can make their venture work. Some are planners, while others are simply dreamers.  Far be it for me to say that you don’t need a business plan to make a go of it. For certain people and personality types, that is the only way that they can make it work or make sense of the whole thing, but for me it remains more about the passion, effort, and making things work.

Did we do it wrong and are we still doing it wrong? There is no real answer to that question. FUN has operated the way that is comfortable for our style of leadership. Could we have been more successful? That really depends on your definition of success. If it is strictly financial then maybe but there are so many other benchmarks. We have a good reputation and people know our word is our bond. We have many employees that have been with us for ten years or more. A few have been here for over 20 and 30 years. We try and treat clients, staff, vendors, and performers with respect and decency. So, one could say we have been successful. Would it have been better with a business plan, mission statement, and core values all in writing? Perhaps, but I guess we will never know for sure.

One thing that I am sure of is that you can’t put passion, vision, and hard work into a business plan. In a previous blog we talked about passion and Mark Cuban, who says forget about passion and focus on effort, https://funent.com/blog?id=1240710/is-it-passion-effort-or-both. Sorry Mark, but I am still not totally on board. Recently, I met one of my college clients face to face, she seemed genuinely excited to meet me and had an energy about her that was infectious. We chatted for a bit about post college work direction. She had 2 plans; one was to try and get into the world of sports media and the other something to do with international business. When she talked about the sports direction there was a sparkle in her eye and an unbridled emotion in her voice. You got the feeling that, given the chance, she would work her tail off to be successful. That passion, emotion, drive, and excitement simply can’t be put into a business plan and it absolutely can’t be taught.

My evening with that student group was interesting but it didn’t convince me that we did it the wrong way. It did provide me an opportunity to reflect on how we had started and how far we have come. At 27, my age when we started FUN, I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Today, I may have a bit better understanding of what I don’t know but there is still a lot more to learn. If you feel that owning your own business is the way to go, then by all means, go for it. Perhaps, I am wrong but feel free to follow whatever path you believe will lead you to whatever your definition of success is. Oh, by the way, I wish you all the luck in the world. For the right person it is a path worth taking.

About the Author

Ken Abrahams rarely tells people this, but he is one of the owners of FUN Enterprises. When asked he will tell you that this wasn’t the life plan, it just happened, and he is very lucky it did.

To find out more about the company go to our website www.funent.com you can also go to this link to sign up for our newsletter which comes out about 6 times a year    https://funent.com/subscribe-to-the-funny-pages/.  Our newsletter will tell you more about the company and the products and services we offer as well as some games, things to do, and the occasional cooking tip.