Nobody really likes to write a business plan. But I think most people can sketch a business model. Entrepreneurs usually have a bias for risk and action and writing a business plan is sometimes a burden. From my experience, I believe three big obstacles are that 1) it has to be written in full sentences in a word document 2) it requires planning too long in the future 3) theory, models, graphs are paralyzing.

As a strategist, I've used tons of different models to work out different kinds of strategies in the business/marketing fields – corporate, sponsorships, branding, communication, new product launch, e-Commerce, content marketing, social media. Then there's jobs to be done, business model canvases, disruptive business models, industry forces, blue oceans, etc. It's easy to get lost.

So when I stumbled upon this model via HBR, I was instantly hooked. It asks you to sketch your business model, not to write a whole business plan. It is the most basic questions that every successful business must answer. It's the building blocks of your business model.

source: https://hbr.org/2017/10/a-short-guide-to-strategy-for-entrepreneurs

“Entrepreneurs who design their business around these questions will have a leg up when it comes to crafting strategy. The challenge of strategy is to develop an integrated view of the workings of your business and how it creates and captures value within its operating environment. ”

— Kevin J. Boudreau

It's a model, not a plan. And entrepreneurs have very good instincts about how their « engine » will work. So less writing/planning, and more sketching. And the model if really easy to adapt to the different kinds of business/marketing startegies I've mentionned before.