Survey finds two-thirds of businesses without a plan

In a recent national Wells Fargo survey, only 33 percent of business owners said they had a formal business plan, yet those with a plan have significantly higher expectations for the year ahead than those without. That percentage is also seen regionally.

“My team meets with Westchester and Fairfield businesses all the time,” said Ron Coccaro, the Shelton-based New York-Connecticut business banking area manager for Wells Fargo. “In both counties many business owners do not have plans.”

Last year, Wells Fargo launched its Business Plan Center site with the nuts and bolts of small business planning in a one-stop shop. The bank recently launched an updated version to coincide with national Small Business Week (May 4-8) and its accompanying small-business survey.

“Everything you see in the national survey holds up locally,” Coccaro said. “With this new site, we can refer businesses there for tips.”

The up-and-running website is WellsFargoWorks.com; it is free. The full name of the 2014-launched program is Wells Fargo Works for Small Business.

Coccaro said, “The business plan is really a road map for the future and if you don”™t have one it really could impact your success. The plan creates that road map for step-by-step actions across the long term. It serves as a guide for the entire life cycle of your business. Without it you”™re not prepared.

“The business plan leads to an efficient use of time and money and it also leads to good decisions for business,” he said. “It shows you”™re organized.”

Noting, “We”™re in the loan business,” Coccaro said, “Lenders may require a formal plan before providing credit.”

In the most recent survey of small-business owners, taken this year, owners who said they had a formal, written plan reported much greater optimism for 2015. Their future outlook score (positive 51) was 12 points higher than business owners without a plan (positive 39) and 8 points higher than business owners overall (positive 43).

Those business owners with plans compared with those without were more likely to report that in the next 12 months they expect to increase jobs at their businesses (32 percent of business owners with plans versus 19 percent of business owners without plans), grow revenues (62 percent versus 51 percent), up their capital spending (39 percent versus 28 percent) and apply for new credit (26 percent versus 14 percent).

The new website will enable business owners “to develop and update written plans that include a high-level summary of the business; an overview of business history, structure and management, and its current and planned products and services; a detailed marketing plan; and market and competitive analyses,” according to the company. “It also will allow business owners to enter financial data ”“ such as starting balances, fixed assets and liabilities, sales forecasts and expenses. The tool will generate financial statements, such as a detailed cash flow statement, profit-and-loss statement and balance sheet.”

The Web revamping features videos, articles and infographics on the importance of creating and updating a business plan, as well as tips on how to approach building a plan. Later this year, Wells Fargo will present webinars there, focusing on the key components of a business plan, such as marketing, legal and finance. The expanded site also includes hundreds of informational articles and videos, featuring financial guidance from small-business experts.