Never Ask ChatGPT to Write Your Business Plan
The boxes were all checked. But the fit was all wrong. It needed to feel like a joyride.
When Buying a Car Feels Like Writing a Business Plan
Last week, Rick and I went car shopping. We’re planning a long cross-country road trip, and we wanted a vehicle that could handle both the journey and our digital-nomading lifestyle.
When you’re buying a car, in theory, you start with every vehicle in the world to choose from, until you don’t.
As soon as we began to list out our non-negotiables, the universe of options shrank dramatically. Rick wanted all-wheel drive for off-road adventures. I insisted on dual climate control because, at this stage of marriage, I refuse to fight about air conditioning. (I swear I’m allergic to AC. Anyone else?) Apple CarPlay was a must because we figure it’s time to live like it’s 2015. A sunroof for bird watching? Non-negotiable.
We took those constraints, plugged them into my AI bestie, and asked for its top five suggestions. With our list of perfect-match car models in hand, we visited dealerships. We test-drove. We listened to hard sells. We (Rick) fought with sleazy car salesmen. But at the end of two full days, we still didn’t buy a car. All the boxes were checked, but something felt...off.
Zippy, the One That Got It Right
That night, I had to dig through my files for the ownership papers to our other car—a Volcanic Orange Mini Cooper, our university kid now drives. That car, I lovingly nicknamed Zippy, was mine when I started law school. Tucked into the file was a note I'd written to myself on the day I bought it:
“When I first saw it, all I wanted to do was get in and drive it. Leather seats. Racing ceiling. Electric sunroof. It made me feel like I was going somewhere.”
That was it. That was the feeling we were missing. Zippy didn’t just meet the specs, she matched where I wanted to go.
My law school car was the vehicle that made the hour-long drive to the university bearable. It was fun, it made me smile every time I got in it, no matter how much I wanted to cry from trying to cram constitutional law into my 40-year-old brain.
A Business Plan Is Just a Blueprint
As I took the backseat to endless car negotiations last week, my mind wandered to the law firm I’m building. Starting a business can feel like shopping for the perfect car.
I started with limitless possibilities.
I mapped out my big, hairy, audacious goals.
I listed my constraints, read all the expert advice, and drafted a plan that, on paper, appears to take me exactly where you want to go.
But a business plan is just a piece of paper. It can look perfect and still be wrong because the true test isn’t logic. It’s a gut feeling.
I, the founder, am the driver. And if the vehicle doesn’t feel good to drive, meaning, if it doesn’t light me up or make me feel like I'm going somewhere, then it doesn’t matter how tricked out it is.
I won’t want to take the wheel.
Build What Your Future Self Would Drive
After all the test drives, Rick and I went back to the drawing board. This time, we asked a better question: What car will feel like we’re moving forward?
We ruled out the ones that didn’t fit our lives, but within our budget, we got creative. We didn’t just want a car that worked. We wanted a vehicle that would take us somewhere we actually wanted to go.
The same is true in business.
Don’t build something that just checks the boxes. Build something that feels like movement. Energy. Forward motion. Build something that feels good getting there.
Your Business Should Feel Like a Joyride
If you're just starting out or stuck deciding what to build next, skip the deep AI research for a second. Skip what everyone else says you should do. Skip what other similar businesses have done. Skip the perfect on-paper business plan. Instead, sit still and ask: What do I want to feel every time I sit down to work?
Excited? Energized? Like you're on your way somewhere meaningful?
That feeling is the real roadmap. That’s your business plan.
And that’s the business worth building.
Not the one that just “makes sense.” But the one that makes your heart race. Because you know it’s taking you somewhere that matters.
🤖 Try This with AI
A 3-Sentence Prompt to Check If Your Business Feels Like a Joyride
(Warning: May result in existential insights and a sudden urge to redesign your entire website.)
AI Prompt for Founders:
“Act as a business alignment coach. Ask me five questions to uncover whether my current business model actually supports the life I want to live. Keep it warm, intuitive, and a little unexpected—like a friend who knows me better than I know myself.”
Not the business plan that just “makes sense.” But the one that makes your heart race. Because you know it’s taking you somewhere that matters.
Sonya
P.S. Does this lady only talk about cars? Is this another driving post? I thought this was a business blog.
P.P.S. We landed on our new-to-us car this weekend, and every time I start the engine, it feels like my heart is floating up through the sunroof.