Experts will suggest that every new entrepreneur, including those who want to buy a franchise, needs to write a well-developed business plan. But while a lot of aspiring entrepreneurs may have their business plans in their heads, putting them down on paper seems to be a stumbling block, said Christine Hughes, training manager for Duquesne University Small Business Development Center in Pittsburgh. “Writing the plan down makes it more ‘real’ and you can’t change a plan that is written down as easily as one in your mind,” she said. “If you have your goals written down, you will work to achieve them instead of just revising them.”