A question I get all the time is: “Do I really need a business plan—even if I’m not asking for a loan?” My answer: sometimes yes, sometimes no. But one thing I say every time is this—the real benefit isn’t in the final document. It’s in the journey you take to get there.
That journey is about earned knowledge.
Today, we live in a world of shortcuts. As an experiment, I recently used ChatGPT to generate a business plan. I chose a random NAICS code and, using a series of prompts I had originally intended to share with clients, developed a remarkably thorough plan in just 24 minutes. On paper, it looked solid—complete with sections on market analysis, customer segments, operations, and even financial projections. But I ultimately decided not to share the prompts. Why? Because here’s the catch: none of that knowledge would be earned knowledge.
Had I been asked to defend that plan—to explain my pricing strategy, justify the marketing spend, or pivot based on shifting customer behavior—I would have struggled. Because I didn’t internalize the material. I didn’t do the research. I didn’t wrestle with the trade-offs.
And I see this same issue when reviewing plans submitted by entrepreneurs. The document might check all the right boxes, but the founder lacks the underlying knowledge. So when real-world challenges pop up—ones that the plan didn’t predict—they freeze. They don’t know how to adapt. They’re following a script, and when the script goes off-track, they’re lost.
This reminds me of my son, who is an executive chef. On a normal day, he may spend some of his time working on the line with his cooks, each one following the recipe. At that moment, their skills may seem nearly identical.
However, the difference becomes apparent when things go wrong.
Let’s say a key ingredient doesn’t get delivered—like a case of pre-made salad dressing. The line cooks might stop in their tracks. But not my son. He has the earned knowledge to recreate the dressing from scratch, on the fly, because he understands the underlying principles.
That’s what writing a business plan should do for you.
It’s not about checking boxes. It’s about learning your business inside and out. It’s about being able to respond when reality doesn’t match your assumptions. Because it won’t.
Why a Business Plan Still Matters Without Funding
Even if you’re not seeking investors or a loan, a business plan is incredibly useful. It forces you to think deeply about your market, your customers, your pricing, your operations, and your long-term strategy. It’s like sharpening your axe before you swing.
I used to dedicate half a day each month just to updating my business plan. I’d go to the library—this was before easy internet access—and spend time researching industry trends, competitive data, and pricing models. That habit kept me nimble and responsive.
Recently, I noticed some of my marketing wasn’t working as well as I thought it should. Instead of guessing, I updated my business plan. My intention was to share it with a few colleagues for feedback. But in the process, I uncovered several insights—things I’d missed simply because I hadn’t taken the time to re-evaluate my assumptions in a while.
The act of writing—not just thinking, but writing—brought clarity.
It’s a Living Document
One of the biggest misconceptions about business plans is that they’re one-and-done. You write it. You print it. You put it in a drawer.
Wrong.
Your business plan should be a living, breathing document that evolves alongside your business. Markets shift. Competitors change. New tools emerge. If you’re not updating your strategy, you’re slowly becoming obsolete.
Even a quarterly review can uncover blind spots or opportunities. And every revision strengthens your understanding.
The Journey Trumps the Destination
Anyone can download a template or outsource their plan to an AI or consultant. But if you do that without engaging in the work yourself, you miss out on the true benefit—the internal confidence and deep comprehension that come from earning your knowledge.
Because when things go sideways—and they will—it won’t be the plan that saves you. It will be what you learned while writing it.
How Often Do You Revisit Your Business Plan? Have you truly earned the knowledge inside your business plan? Or did you let someone—or something—write it for you? What might change if you rewrote it yourself?
