Yes, a business plan is worth it, but the effect is smaller than many business owners think. A meta-analysis of 46 studies found that businesses that plan perform slightly better on average. The plan pays off most for businesses that are already running, and for owners who keep adjusting their plan when reality turns out differently.
In short
- Planning goes hand in hand with better performance, but the effect is small. For existing businesses it is almost twice as large as for starters.
- A plan helps most if you use it to learn and adjust. If you stick rigidly to the plan, you get less out of it.
- In the Netherlands a business plan is not mandatory. The Chamber of Commerce (KVK) does not check it, but anyone who wants to borrow money or looks for investors usually needs one.
In this article
Do businesses with a business plan perform better?
Yes, on average they do, but the difference is small. A meta-analysis is a study that combines the results of many earlier studies. The largest meta-analysis on this topic combined 46 studies of 11,046 small businesses. Businesses that plan performed better than businesses that did not (Brinckmann, Grichnik & Kapsa, 2010).
The researchers expressed the difference as an effect size, a number that shows how large a difference is regardless of the scale on which it was measured. On average it came to 0.20 (Brinckmann, Grichnik & Kapsa, 2010). Researchers usually call an effect of that size small. So a plan is useful, but no guarantee of success.
It made little difference whether a study looked at a written plan or at how thoroughly an owner planned. Both were linked to better performance with similar strength (Brinckmann, Grichnik & Kapsa, 2010). So it is not about the document itself, but about the thinking behind it.
Who benefits most from a business plan?
For businesses that have been running for some time. For existing small businesses the effect of planning was 0.24, for new businesses 0.13 (Brinckmann, Grichnik & Kapsa, 2010). So a plan does help a starter, but less than a business with a few years of experience.
The researchers explain this with uncertainty. A starter still knows little about customers, prices and costs. A plan is then built on assumptions, and many of those assumptions later turn out to be wrong. An existing business has figures from the past and can therefore plan better (Brinckmann, Grichnik & Kapsa, 2010).
There is also a pitfall for starters. Starting business owners who had made a financial forecast expected more sales than starters without a forecast (Cassar, 2010). So a plan without hard figures as a starting point can mainly record your optimism.
Why do some studies find no effect of a plan?
Because the effect is small and depends on whom you measure and how. A Swedish study followed 623 starting ventures for six years. Formal planning and later adjusting the plan did not lead to better business performance there (Honig & Samuelsson, 2012).
Other studies do find effects. Research among 223 Swedish starters from 1998 showed that planning reduced the chance that the venture was disbanded. It also sped up developing the product and setting up the business (Delmar & Shane, 2003). An English study found that a plan before the start went hand in hand with more growth in staff. According to the researchers, that was due to the plan itself, and not because better entrepreneurs write a plan more often (Burke, Fraser & Greene, 2010).
Those differences are exactly why a meta-analysis is useful. Individual studies sometimes point one way, sometimes the other. Together they show a small but positive effect, which is stronger for existing businesses (Brinckmann, Grichnik & Kapsa, 2010). Anyone who cites a single study to prove that planning is pointless or indispensable is only telling half the story.
Should I stick to my plan?
Not too rigidly. In countries where people strongly avoid uncertainty, planning delivered much less: an effect of 0.08, compared with 0.26 in countries where people deal more easily with uncertainty (Brinckmann, Grichnik & Kapsa, 2010). The researchers think that business owners there hold on to their original plan for too long.
That is an explanation by the researchers, not a proven cause. The idea is logical, though. A plan is a collection of expectations. Anyone who sees unexpected events as a threat to the plan adapts less quickly. Anyone who sees them as new information adjusts sooner (Brinckmann, Grichnik & Kapsa, 2010).
The market you work in also matters. Research among 100 young venture-capital-backed businesses showed that planning helped in all environments, but not in the same way. In a fast-changing market it worked best to plan a few parts and to do so quickly. In a calm market a more extensive plan paid off (Gruber, 2007).
Is a business plan mandatory in the Netherlands?
No. You can register a business without a business plan. The Chamber of Commerce (KVK) strongly recommends a plan, but does not check it at registration (KVK, 2026).
The government calls a business plan not mandatory, but sensible. It gives insight into what your plans cost and how much profit you need. You can also present the plan to investors (Ondernemersplein, 2026). In addition, the government recommends a financial plan, in which you set out how much money you need and whether you are looking for financing (Ondernemersplein, 2026).
In practice, the plan is often needed as soon as you want money from someone else. A bank or investor wants to see where the money goes and how you will repay it. The plan then serves two purposes at once: it convinces the lender, and it forces you to put your own assumptions on paper.
How do I make a business plan that really helps?
See the plan as something you keep updating, not as something you write once. The researchers behind the meta-analysis advise letting planning, doing and learning run side by side. Start with a basic plan, get to work, and make the plan more detailed as you learn more (Brinckmann, Grichnik & Kapsa, 2010).
In concrete terms, these four steps help:
Keep the plan short if your market changes quickly
Plan the parts that matter most, such as customers, price and money, and do not spend months on it (Gruber, 2007).
Write down your assumptions separately
Note for each figure what it is based on. Then you can see later exactly which assumption was wrong.
Compare plan and reality every quarter
Put the budget next to the figures from your accounts. The difference is not failure, but information.
Adjust the plan when the facts change
A plan that you still follow unchanged after a year while the market has changed is more likely to hold you back than to help (Brinckmann, Grichnik & Kapsa, 2010).
So the value of a business plan lies less in the document and more in how you use it. A plan that you put next to your figures every quarter gets better over time. That way you naturally move towards the group for whom planning pays off most: businesses with their own figures from the past.
Sources
- Brinckmann, J., Grichnik, D. & Kapsa, D. (2010). Should entrepreneurs plan or just storm the castle? A meta-analysis on contextual factors impacting the business planning-performance relationship in small firms. Journal of Business Venturing, 25(1), 24-40. doi.org
- Cassar, G. (2010). Are individuals entering self-employment overly optimistic? An empirical test of plans and projections on nascent entrepreneur expectations. Strategic Management Journal, 31(8), 822-840. doi.org
- Honig, B. & Samuelsson, M. (2012). Planning and the entrepreneur: a longitudinal examination of nascent entrepreneurs in Sweden. Journal of Small Business Management, 50(3), 365-388. doi.org
- Delmar, F. & Shane, S. (2003). Does business planning facilitate the development of new ventures? Strategic Management Journal, 24(12), 1165-1185. doi.org
- Burke, A., Fraser, S. & Greene, F.J. (2010). The multiple effects of business planning on new venture performance. Journal of Management Studies, 47(3), 391-415. doi.org
- Gruber, M. (2007). Uncovering the value of planning in new venture creation: a process and contingency perspective. Journal of Business Venturing, 22(6), 782-807. doi.org
- KVK (Netherlands Chamber of Commerce), 'KVK checks my business plan' and 7 other misconceptions, updated 22 July 2026. kvk.nl
- Ondernemersplein (KVK and government), Step-by-step plan for starting your own business, consulted 14 October 2026. ondernemersplein.overheid.nl