A business plan is vital for a successful business. It aids in securing financing from a banker or investor. It is also a powerful management tool to set objectives, focus on goals, and avoid potential pitfalls. The process of writing a business plan enables you to consider all the aspects of starting a business—ranging from identifying opportunities to exploring risks to putting dollar amounts to ideas; the business plan makes you think about the highs and the lows, the advantages and the disadvantages, and the potential for success and failure. Although there are businesses that are successful without a business plan, significantly more businesses that fail to plan also fail to succeed.