Every once in a while we get really interesting email into our company. The following was one we received the other day.

bpplansuseless @ email .com

Suggestions – your site is useless especially ur sample business plans its all overview… why would i pay $99 dollars for that if i could get it for free from other site… duh..

Henry

Dear Henry,

The reason they’re called “sample business plans” is because that’s what they are. Samples. They are guides, examples if you will, for you to study while you write your own business plan.

You won’t find anyone at Palo Alto Software who will ever tell you business planning is easy. They don’t call it the root canal of business for nothin’. It’s hard and it takes a lot of work. But here’s the thing… it’s vital. It’s vital that YOU write your business plan.

Yes, Henry, you can get it free from another site. But that form you pick up for free? The one where you slip in your company name, a couple of facts and press print? That’s not your business. And in the long run, will be as helpful as a snow cone in the desert. A few seconds of satisfaction, but ultimately useless.

Henry, I encourage you to take another look at business planning in general. As Tim Berry says, it’s the planning process, not the plan. People certainly don’t need to buy our software to write their plan, but we sure do appreciate the people who do.

And hey, at least you came by to check out the information on bplans.com and you cared enough to send us an email. I’m hoping that means you’re going to go forward with your business.

Good luck!

The Team from Palo Alto Software