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1. Every business must   a business plan. The business plan′s   purpose is to improve the entrepreneur′s control over the business and to   common mistakes. It is not an overstatement to say that a business will fail or succeed on the   of its business plan, so there is no   for a well-prepared plan. The business plan documents the   for growing the business. Think of the business plan as a road map that describes in which direction the company is going, what its goals are, where it wants to go, and how it is going to get there. The business plan helps the entrepreneur focus on setting the future course of the business.
In developing the plan, the entrepreneur will conduct research to determine a systematic and realistic   of the company′s chances for success in the marketplace, in creating the plan, the entrepreneur must research the company′s target market and define its potential. The entrepreneur must be able to prove through research that customers in the market need the good or service   and that a sufficient number of potential customers exists to support the business. Is the market growing or shrinking? Are customers′ needs staying the same or changing?
A business plan also looks at the   the business faces. Chief among these is competitors. The business plan must analyze the company′s competition by   information on competitors′ market share, products, and strategies. The plan should   what distinguishes the entrepreneur′s products or services from others already in the market. It is also common for businesses to fail because the owner fails to invest or seek sufficient capital to run the business. A good business plan should   this issue as well.