View of the overwhelming time demands placed upon entrepreneurs, especially during the start-up years, it is generally conceded that entrepreneurs do not engage in formalized planning activities. In many cases, entrepreneurs have business plans only in their minds. It is often believed that this conceptual plan or vision is enough to see the organization through to ultimate success. Even though the objective of the business plan is to manage the complexity and risk-taking of the decision process, and to enhance the chance of survival, many entrepreneurs do not know or care to know very much about planning. They argue that they are active entrepreneurs, not utopian thinkers.
Many entrepreneurs prefer to manage their firms on the basis of instinct and intuition.
The goals of some entrepreneurs are often vague and inadequately defined, and their planning efforts are either nonexistent or rather incremental, sporadic or reactive. A business plan forces the entrepreneur to reflect on the essential elements required to manage a new venture. The entrepreneur needs to consider opportunities and threats systematically and to determine strengths and weaknesses of the venture. This analysis provides the entrepreneur with the evaluation of the risks and pitfalls involved in the undertaking. In the long run, the business plan should be used to control and manage the firm.