A reader asks:

I’m thinking about starting up a business with my friend. How long do you think we should brainstorm and plan before going for it?

There’s no definitive answer to that question. All I can really suggest is that you spend enough time planning for it to be useful, but not so long that analysis paralysis kicks in. As you plan your business I suggest you keep in mind what Dwight D. Eisenhower said:

The plan is useless; it’s the planning that’s important.

along with what Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke said:

No plan survives contact with the enemy.

In other words, for as long as the exercise of planning is raising questions and providing answers to big issues relating to your idea; i.e. issues that are big enough that you could not possible execute the idea until they are addressed, I would continue planning. Once you’ve dealt with all the big issues you can find start executing. At this stage you’ll most likely see the point of the second quote, the issues you face will not be the ones you expect and the problems you foresaw might turn out to be insignificant. At this stage you may well find the plan goes out of the windows, but the knowledge, contacts, experience and expertise gained while planning allows you to quickly formulate a new and better plan as the business evolves.

Asking John:
Do you have a business question you would like me to answer? If so you can Ask John or you can ask on the forums where you’ll get both my input and that of your fellow entrepreneurs.

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