Many of you might be surprised to learn that I have never written a business plan for my business. I have written a couple of mock business plans while working on my master's degree in International Business, but there has never been a point in my ever-evolving business where it made sense to have an official business plan. I could research and put my best estimates down on paper, but there are far too many variables for any business plan to be more than a wish list. My best advice to entrepreneurs has always been, "Just do it." Don't waste time trying to perfect it before going live, because while you're busy working on the perfect logo and brilliant marketing materials, all of your competition are getting their products into customers' hands. Once a consumer has tried a product that works well enough, you'll have a hard time getting them to switch to your product. If all you have to get started is $15, figure out what you can do with that and do it. Just get started and learn as you go. Snowball your earnings into more supplies and better equipment. You need to start working with actual customers if you want to find out whether or not your business idea is viable. And you need to be willing to accept that what you think is a good idea, may not be what sells. Ask for feedback and be willing to change until you find something that works.
Here's a short and sweet article on the subject.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/actiontrumpseverything/2013/08/14/why-business-plans-are-a-waste-of-time/
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