Having a Plan B is a positive

If you look back at some of the most successful businesses that have been built by entrepreneurs, chances are that few of them will have succeeded on their original Plan A. Look at famous examples such as Facebook, which didn’t start out as a social media website with a news stream and friends, the business that exists today is closer to Plan C; and the PayPal that we know and use today is far removed from its original concept, and is actually Plan G. The reality is that there is no one clear roadmap for our businesses, our ideas evolve when we test them out in the marketplace. Sometimes we can get lucky and our dream business in its original form becomes a reality, but for most of us having a Plan B at the ready is a smart way of being prepared to pivot our business models until we find the one that is sustainable, scaleable and repeatable. Steve Blank, creator of the Lean Startup movement, once said: “Great entrepreneurs don’t just have a Plan B, they have Plans B through Z.”