Business planning is an important staple for your business. It is not a one-time a year activity, but it should be a monthly occurrence. Many small business owners neglect the business plan’s focus because they are caught up in the routine of the daily operations and wonder why they aren’t reaching the desired goals.
Here are 5 reasons your business plan should have prime real estate on your desk.
1. To know if you are on track
Hope is not a plan! By setting long and short-term goals inside of your plan, you can stack the small ones to reach the longer ones. Tracking can only be performed when these goals are established. Tracking is the way to measure if you are able to obtain your desired goals.
2. To make adjustments
There is never a straight line to follow. There will always be bumps and turns that your company faces. With a continuous plan, you can have the ability to make the necessary adjustments to place you back on the line. There are many types of adjustments that can be made, customer, product, delivery, team, operations, marketing, and of course, financial adjustments.
3. To document your plan
A business plan cannot be stored in the founder’s head. It must be documented and communicated to the team and advisors for it to be effective and achievable. As with most things, if it is written then it has a great chance of being achieved. When the plan is in clear sight and referenced for decision making the results are higher. The team must know what is expected of them and the written form leaves no space for interpretation. Having the plan known by all allows for everyone to push in the same direction.
4. To forecast needed resources
Forecasting is a prediction of a future event. The event will often need additional resources to achieve it. Rarely does business growth come without additional resources. So the plan enables you to create a list of what is needed to support the desired goals. Ensuring that the time, finances, people, supplies, and logistics are in place or can be put in place for the necessary growth. This support doesn’t need to be a permanent decision, it can be temporary too.
5. To find new opportunities
Business planning allows you to dream. Looking for new opportunities to innovate and grow is part of the planning process. New opportunities come in many different ways. They can be improvements, new product lines, or reduced competition. If you are not continuous in your planning, you will likely miss what is there.
For many, business planning is done annually, if at all. I encourage you to use this powerful tool as a regular guide for your business and its growth. Use the plan to help you make the best of all of the decisions that come up. If you do, I promise you that you will have an easier path towards your success.
Marcia Riner is a business growth strategist and CEO of Trajectory Consulting. She helps service firm owners to optimize their business, drive growth, and be in a great position to sell it someday. Together, she helps you create your roadmap to improve, scale, and maximize the value of your company.
Marcia hosts a weekly podcast with videos on YouTube @ www.Youtube.com/profitwithaplan and audio @ www.profitwithaplan.com
She runs a masterclass that teaches business owners how to optimize and scale their business so that they can sell it someday @ www.Scale2Sell.biz
Want more great ideas, download Marcia’s newest eBook “Think Outside The Box – 10 Reasons To Get Your Business Sale-Ready Now” available on www.TrajectoryBiz.com
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