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Having a business plan is one of the foundations of starting a business. It details everything: what you expect to happen, what could potentially happen, how much money you expect to make, and so on. No business should be without a business plan.

That said, many businesses start out writing their business plan and simply going with the first draft. That is a huge mistake and one that can be avoided. Here is why you should always write more than one draft of your business plan.

First Drafts Are Generally Terrible

The first draft of just about anything is probably bad. That’s because it is just a part of the process. When you write a draft, it needs to be revised (sometimes over and over again) to get things sounding and looking how you want them to.

Even the best writers on the planet need multiple drafts. So, if you are creating a business plan and think it looks good after the first go, think again, and again.

High-Level Planning and Formatting

Most new businesses will follow a template that already exists when they create a business plan. While it’s not a bad way to gain a foundation, it also isn’t the best idea when it comes to creating a long-term strategy for your business.

The business plan, structure, and formatting, should reflect what the business itself is. You may need to leave certain sections out or create new ones entirely. You can’t do that with just one draft.

Inaccurate or Incomplete

The reason that first drafts are also a bad place to leave things is that there will no doubt be missing or inaccurate information. No matter how well-prepared you think you are, something important will go missing from the plan.

Statistics in particular can change at a moment’s notice. Your business plan may need to reflect on those stats to support the case for investors. A first draft will miss those crucial changes and could sink the entire endeavor.