“Entrepreneurs—you’re more important than your business plan.”

At least this is what a recent blog in the Harvard Business Review suggests. At first glance at the title, I thought, “What?! A business plan is key!” But as I finished the blog I realized I was in agreement with the concept—although business plans are necessary and critically important, without an effective leader who has passion and drive and the will to carry out the plan, a social enterprise will likely fail. Ultimately, the leader and the plan are two sides of the same coin.

“The point is that a business planning process can be extremely valuable to an entrepreneur. But if we’re going to truly see change through entrepreneurship, we have to focus on the person first and the business plan second.”

And you know what? We, at JVA, agree with this general concept, but we never want business planning to fall by the wayside. In all of our fundraising trainings you will hear us say, “Ultimately people give to people.” The same is true for investment in a social enterprise. People invest in people. Not ideas. But you also hear us talking about the importance of the hard data: statistics, outcomes, impact, results. AKA: the business plan. So while we believe a strong, passionate leader is absolutely critical, we also believe that without conducting thorough business planning, entrepreneurs will not have a roadmap to guide the development of their businesses.

Research backs up the idea that having a strong business plan is important for having a successful social enterprise. In order to balance the compelling story of a social enterprise, market analysis, feasibility studies and industry statistics are needed to concretely reinforce your message. By linking a detailed business plan to a charismatic and capable leader, investors, key stakeholders and potential clients/donors are more likely to buy into a social enterprise concept. And why wouldn’t they? Getting people on board with your venture starts with effective communication through creating personal connections to your idea and is then fortified by measuring impact through hard data.

The key to success is developing a holistic strategy that uses research and business planning to support the inherent strengths of a passionate, driven leader. Without the leader, there is no social enterprise. The business plan is just a tool to guide the leader in the right direction. At next week’s Social Enterprise Academy, our participants will learn how to develop a plan that will support their role as social enterprise leaders.