Degree, planning have no relation in micro businesses

There is no correlation between the education level of micro-business owners and the practice of strategic planning in their companies, reveals a recent study by Dan Geller, president, Instant Strategist, a strategy-research company.

Geller says that despite the fact that 70.56 per cent of micro-business owners (businesses with 25 or fewer employees) hold higher-education degrees, they are no more likely to engage in strategic planning, which is the leading factor in promoting business success than those who have not earned degrees.

Geller studied 228 micro companies in Northern California and found that 163 respondents (70.56 per cent) hold bachelor's, master's, or post-graduate degrees; yet, there was no correlation between the educational level of the micro-business owner and the practice of strategic planning in the company.

In other words, incidence of strategic planning did not go up with higher education.

Based on previous scientific studies, which established correlation between the practice of strategic planning and micro-business success, and Geller's study, which found no correlation between the educational level of micro-business owners and the practice of strategic planning, the conclusion is clear "" higher education is not a factor in micro-business success.

Geller's findings raise a question. Why would highly-educated business owners, who have the knowledge and who understand the importance of planning in business, not practice such activity?

One reason is that micro-business owners lack the time to do so. Since traditional strategic planning methodologies were designed for very large companies, they are complex and time consuming.

To help micro-business owners practice strategic planning, even though they have very limited time and resources, Geller developed the Instant Strategist methodology, which allows one to develop a valid and practical strategic plan in less than eight hours. "Clearly," says Geller, "even a busy business owner can afford that."