The phrase business plan conjures images of a forty-page document full of charts that gets written once, shown to a bank, and then forgotten in a drawer. That kind of plan is largely a waste of effort. A genuinely useful business plan is short, honest, and alive. It is a working tool that clarifies your thinking, guides your decisions, and changes as you learn. The goal is not to impress anyone. It is to make sure you understand your own business well enough to run it. Start With the Problem You Solve Every viable business exists because it solves a problem or satisfies a desire for a specific group of…