1. Some entrepreneurs claim that creating a business plan is not necessary for launching a successful business venture. Do you agree? Explain.
2. What benefits do entrepreneurs who create business plans before launching their companies reap?
3. Suppose that a friend who has never taken a course in entrepreneurship tells you about a business that he or she is planning to launch. When you ask about a business plan, the response is, “Business plan? I don’t have time to write a business plan! I know this business will succeed.” Write a one-page response to your friend’s comment.

A recent study by the Small Business Administration reports that entrepreneurs who create business plans in the early stages of the start-up process are more likely to actually launch companies and complete typical start-up activities such as acquiring a patent, attracting capital, and assembling a start-up team more quickly than entrepreneurs who do not. “Early formal planners are doers,” write the study’s authors. “Challenging prospective entrepreneurs to accomplish a formal business plan early in the venture creation process enables them to engage in additional start-up behaviors that further the process of venture creation.