I am often asked to assist with writing business plans. While
a business plan is often needed when you are getting financing
for your business, I find that most business owners don't
find them very useful. Why not? Because usually they are written
from a very long term frame (typically five years) and once
they are written, they are put on a shelf and never looked
at again. I'm going to suggest some ways that you can get
more out of your business plan.
Review your business plan frequently. Business
plans aren't meant to be static. They are mostly a long-term
strategic tool, but to be effective you need to look at
them regularly and update your strategies. How often? I'd
suggest quarterly. Look at which of your strategies are
working and which aren't. Do more of what works and less
of what doesn't. Ask yourself why some are working and some
aren't. What can you learn to make your business stronger?
Add a lifestyle component to your business plan.
I have yet to see a business plan that includes your ideal
lifestyle. Does a bank care about your lifestyle? Probably
not. But you should. Take time this week to add a lifestyle
page to your business plan. At a minimum, include how many
hours you want to work, where you want to work, how much
vacation you'd like and what schedule you want. Then go
through your business plan and make sure your business strategies
support your lifestyle strategies. What you may find is
that you'll have to add strategies for hiring additional
staff, streamlining operations, and creating better business
systems.
Turn your business plan into an action plan. Your
business plan is all about long term strategy. It's the
big picture about how you'll run your business. Take that
long-term strategy and turn it into a short-term action
plan. For each strategy you have in your business plan,
write a short-term action plan. Include what the actual
activity will be, what resources you need to do it (employees,
money, time, equipment, etc) and write out a detailed plan
for it including deadlines. This plan should be for the
next three to six months. The action plan should include
every step you will need to take to accomplish each goal
in your plan.
The first time you do these exercises may take between two
and eight hours. It depends on how much detail you provide.
My experience shows that the more detail you include the more
effective your plan is. The next time you do this (remember
to review and revise this quarterly) it will take a lot less
time. Each time you do this will build on the time before
and your planning will become more and more effective. Now
you've got a business plan that works.
If you'd like a sample business plan that works, please email
me and I'll send you one that you can use as a model.
Michael Clark - Start up business resource guide and
consultant, Michael Clark has been crafting best small business
ideas for over 20 years. Michael is a serial entrepreneur
having opened multiple successful small businesses over the
last 12
years. For more small business success stories and business
resource groups, visit his web site at http://biznbeyond.com
