Birth of a Startup / Importance of Your Business Plan

You've started a company...with a friend, a co-worker, a spouse or other relative...it really doesn't matter who...it's going to be someone you're close to or have had a working relationship with in the past. This is the first stage of the life cycle. You will have meetings around the kitchen table, at Starbucks, over dinner, and/or spent countless hours on the phone with each other. You will spend weekends together, become close(r) with each other's families and friends. In other words you'll be in each others hip pockets. Then there will come a divergence of ideas...count on it. This may be philosophical, financial, ideological, etc. It may also be brought about by the addition of other people to the corporate mix. Whatever the reason it will be emotional as you've spent so much time as a "team" (to the exclusion of many other things) that you'll be headed into uncertain waters. You may question the partnership, the percieved value of the players, the direction of the company...it can be a really tough time. It's at this moment your business plan HAS TO CARRY YOU. You have to have faith in the groundrules and milestones you set in the beginning. This is the time your endeavor is moving from caterpillar to butterfly all in one move. It's the "make-or-break" for many a young exectuvie team. Trust in each other, the team that has been built, and most importantly don't lose focus of why you started the company in the first place. This is why your business plan is so terribly important!