Romanus Wolter, "The Kick Start Guy", is author of Kick Start Your Dream Business, host of the weekly Kick Start segment on Entrepreneur Magazine Radio, and the Success Coach Columnist for Entrepreneur Magazine. He has a contrarian view about business plans, and focuses instead on practical, proven action steps that help entrepreneurs create a living by finding and following their passion.
SA: I hear that like me, you're not a big believer in business plans.

RW: Very true.

SA: Why not?

RW: There is a huge gap between a "dream" and a "business plan". What happens is that if people (especially creative types) start with a business plan they freak out. They don't understand all the business terms, they have no idea how to do the financials, they get scared before they even begin. I have found that emerging entrepreneurs need a "safe place" to test their ideas, find out what works and what doesn't, and develop a belief in themselves and their ideas.

No one can predict the future, and a business plan forces us to do that. So instead of really trying to see what works, we begin to make things up. "Oh - you want me to have higher sales? Well, I think I will sell more during the summer, so let me up those numbers." The best education a person can receive is what we learn from the trenches (or from what others have learned from the trenches). I mean after all - we are not selling to ourselves, we are selling to the rest of the world. So let's go find out what they really want.

A business plan also is a tool for people to procrastinate... "I can't start till I finish my plan."

SA: In the IT world, we call that "analysis paralysis".

RW: Yes - heard that many times.

SA: But surely you're not saying we should just go forth blindly into the future?

RW: Not at all. What you want to do is begin with your passion - really defining what you want to create. Then create an action plan that works in your life to discover what will work in your business. It begins with our ability to make powerful choices. Stop filling out blank forms that may or may not apply to your business - start viewing yourself as a knowledge seeker and action taker - and go achieve success.

Passion PLUS Action = Success.

I like to say "What action steps can I take today, to be successful tomorrow?" The key is to define what it is and tell the right people about it so they can help you achieve success. Did our ancestors who immigrated to America get off the boat and wait 6 months to a year to develop a business plan? NO! They took action steps to create success.