Planning failure hurts business

RECENT University of Western Australia research has concluded that more than half of Western Australia’s 126,000 small business owners and entrepreneurs are increasing the risk of failure because of a lack of business planning.

Research by UWA-Graduate School of Management Associate Professor Tim Mazzarol found that less than half of the 125 small businesses surveyed have formal business plans, and those that do fail to implement them properly.

Dr Mazzarol said entrep-reneurs in WA too often had poor planning skills and misunderstood the purpose of a business plan. 

“Our research and teaching suggests that most entrepreneurs find business planning a complex and challenging task, with plans being prepared by accountants and consultants,” Dr Mazzarol said. “The result is that some entrepreneurs don’t really understand their plan’s contents and what they must do to guide their company’s future development.”

The research results have attracted $15,000 in Federal funding to promote a business plan competition run through UWA’s Centre for Entrepreneurial Management and Innovation.