Many business owners (especially those with a non-business background) struggle when it comes to creating a strategic business plan for their business. Chances are they have never run a business before, and even in their “employment” days they were not involved in day-to-day business management.
So when it comes to running their business, they struggle!
“I still have to figure out (sit down and learn) how to do this!” a business owner told me earlier this week.
They have a dream for their business, they are experts in whatever it is they do, but they have no idea how to take that idea/dream and turn it into a viable and profitable business… so they continue to be overwhelmed and frustrated, with a slow growing business.
Spending some time planning all the activities of your business is crucial if you want to be successful in the long term. It’s not just about planning your business – you need to understand the strategy behind what you’re going to do. And you also need to understand how all the different pieces of your business fit together to create a cohesive business.
Today, I’d like to share with you my simple 3-step process for sitting down and creating your own strategic business plan.
PLAN – Schedule a time on your calendar to work on your business plan. Some people choose to take a mini retreat away from their office. It could be spending the day at your local coffee shop or going out of town for a few days. Or you can just schedule an hour or two and sit quietly in your office to plan your business (the advantage of doing it in your office is that you have all your business information right there). What works best for you will work best for your business. But the important thing is that you schedule the time to create your plan!
CONSULTATION – what are you going to offer during the next 90 days; 6 months; 12 months? I like having a flexible 12-month plan, but then having a very specific 90-day plan. It’s much easier to focus and implement in a shorter time frame than to do it over, say, a 12-month period. Sometimes planning so far in advance can be overwhelming. But it’s important to have that “big picture” in place so you know where you’re going.
Also, when you’re deciding what to offer, ask yourself, “Does this make sense? Does it fit into my overall vision?” This is where understanding the strategy behind your business comes into play. It’s no good deciding that you want to host a live event or offer an online training course, if you don’t understand how this fits into your “Big Vision”. All roads should lead you to that “Big Picture Vision”.
EXECUTED – now that you know what you’re going to offer and when, it’s time to put that plan into practice. One thing I do in my business is “reverse engineering”. I always start with the completion date in mind and then work backwards. For example, if I offer a 4-part live training class on a specific date, what do I need to do to promote that training class and when? It’s much easier to plan for promotions if I work backwards from the class start date. That way I can also see if I’m leaving enough time for promotions or if I need to adjust something in some way.
There you have my simple 3-step process for creating your strategic business plan. No, go ahead and create your own!
(c) 2013 Tracey Lawton