Many business owners (especially those from non-business backgrounds) 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 at whatever 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 in a state of overwhelm and frustration, with a slow growing business.
Spending some time planning all of your business activities is crucial if you want to be successful in the long run. 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 crafting your own strategic business plan.
PLAN – schedule a time in 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 planning 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!
QUERY – what are you going to offer during the next 90 days; 6 months; 12 months? I like to have a flexible 12-month plan, but then have 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 my overall vision?” This is where understanding the strategy behind your business comes into play. It’s no good deciding you want to host a live event or offer an online training course, if you don’t understand how this fits into your ‘Overview’. All roads must lead you to that “Big Picture View”.
EXECUTED – now that you know what you are going to offer and when, it is time to put that plan into practice. One thing I do in my business is “reverse engineering”. I always start with the end 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 promotions if you work backwards from the start date of the class. That way I can also see if I’m leaving enough time for promotions or if I need to adjust something somehow.
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
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