Q: I’ve been made redundant and would like to run my own business, should I spend some of my redundancy money on a professionally produced business plan?
A: Great question Sue, business plans are helpful for two reasons
1) to focus the mind; and
2) well, researched and produced they ensure you consider the relevant issues.
Of more importance for you is
a) how much money will this ‘professional business plan’ cost; and
b) what is the purpose of having it; ie. to raise finance, secure a loan or impress someone?
I believe the ‘get what you pay for‘ mantra, beware ‘cheap’, at the same time, the redundancy money is your valuable and scarce resource, spend it wisely.
The way forward: tell potential customers about your idea/business, if they like it enough to give you some many (and start trading) that’s the best business plan there is, cashflow! As you go along you’ll need to do some more thorough planning but this will become obvious, at that point, buy-in the help you need.