Business Plan Writing: Where Companies Go Wrong
By Ato Asefoah Dadzie
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Thereâs something oddly symbolic about the blank page. It carries all the hope, the ambition, and, frankly, the anxiety of starting or expanding a business. For many entrepreneurs and operational leads, writing a business plan feels like the official beginning. But hereâs the uncomfortable truth: most business plans donât live up to their purpose.
At JOBEX COMPANY LTD in Ghana, weâve had the opportunity to write, review, and advise on dozens of business plans across industriesâmining services, logistics, hospitality, and procurement, just to name a few. And over time, a few recurring mistakes keep popping up. Subtle, avoidable, and often fatal.
So letâs talk about where people usually go wrong.
Firstâconfusing ambition with clarity. A business plan isnât meant to impress with grandiose vision alone. Saying youâll ârevolutionize logistics across West Africaâ sounds bold, sureâbut without a clear explanation of how, itâs empty. The best business plans are specific. They explain who the customer is, what problem youâre solving, how youâll do it, and how youâll make money. No jargon. No fluff.
Another common misstep? Overestimating the market. Iâve seen plans that claim, âIf we capture just 1% of a billion-dollar marketâŚâ and then skip the part about what it takes to actually capture that 1%. Realistic market sizing, based on reachable customers, is more valuable than inflated projections. If your plan canât show how youâll get your first 50 customers, your 50,000-customer forecast doesnât matter.
Nextâfinancials. This is where plans often fall apart. Either the numbers are missing, vague, or overly optimistic. We once reviewed a plan that projected 80% profit margins on a capital-intensive serviceâwithout accounting for fuel, staff costs, or breakdowns. Thatâs not ambition. Thatâs oversight. A sound business plan includes conservative financial estimates, a clear funding requirement, and a roadmap for sustainability. Investors can smell unrealistic numbers from a mile away.
Letâs also talk about tone. Too often, plans are written either too casuallyâlike a personal blogâor too academically, packed with theoretical frameworks that donât connect with operations. The sweet spot is professional but human. Write like you're explaining your idea to someone smart, but not in your industry. Thatâs what makes it relatable and real.
From our side at JOBEX COMPANY LTD, whenever weâre entering a new project streamâsay, expanding vehicle rentals or scaling up camp hospitalityâwe revisit our internal business plan. Not because we donât know our business, but because the process forces us to re-evaluate assumptions. Itâs not about the documentâitâs about the thinking it demands.
In fact, that thinking, that discipline, is part of whatâs helped us secure large projects, build reliable partnerships, and earn the trust of industry leaders. Itâs also, I believe, one of the reasons weâve been nominated for the 2025 Go Global Awards in London this November, hosted by the International Trade Council. The event brings together business minds from across the globeâpeople who donât just write plans but execute them in challenging environments. Weâre proud to be counted among them.
Soâwhat makes a good business plan? Simplicity, honesty, strategy, and structure. Know your numbers. Know your customer. Know your own blind spots.
And if I had to offer one final tip? Donât aim to impress. Aim to clarify. Because when your plan is clear, your direction becomes unstoppable.
