There are three stages to planning a business So, how do we take those stages and turn them into a business planning process?
My reason for creating a One Page Business Plan was to help micro and side-hustle business owners plan more easily by removing the jargon and minimising the complexity of the business planning process.
However, I am a firm believer in getting to grips with what goes on under the bonnet, so let’s take a closer, step-by-step look at the process by diving into the three, key elements of:
- Strategic Planning
- Business planning, and
- Action Planning
Let’s Start the Business Planning Process with Your Strategic Plan
Your Strategic Plan is the place where develop your crystal-clear understanding of why this business, why you, what success means to you.
Knowing what you want to achieve is fundamental. It will help you plan your business in a way that truly enables you to answer those key questions that make a truly usable business plan:
- What is my business idea?
- Who are my customers?
- What will I sell them?
- How will I sell to them?
- What will I charge for my products and services?
- What is my brand?
- How will I market my products and services?
- How will I manage my finances?
- What will I do if things go wrong?
Being able to answer these questions in-depth will give you the solid foundations your business will need. They will also underpin all the other types of planning you do.
When Business Planning – Start with the Future, then Work Back
In another blog, I wrote about the importance of taking your business Back to the Future (in a way that isn’t too dissimilar to the classic film!)
The Five Year Timeline document I use with my clients, or a simple piece of paper and some Post-It Notes, will help you project yourself into the future, as you analyse where you want to be, who you want to work with, and what you want to be doing.
You must be specific.
Things you can’t analyse or measure don’t fall into the ‘achievable’ category; how are you going to know if you have achieved the turnover you want if your target is ‘get more customers’?
‘Onboard 10 new clients’ – now that’s an achievable target!
Don’t forget your personal life, too – for example, if you’ve got children, how old will they be in five-years’ time? What will that mean for you in terms of responsibility?
When you’ve finished, take a look at where your business is now, answering the same questions. You will now be able to map out a route that leads you from where you are now, to your ideal future.
The very best part about Back to the Future planning? You can tackle all those big, scary objectives in gradual ‘baby’ steps that do a good job of taking the fear away.
For example, trebling your annual turnover seems much more do-able when it’s planned over a five-year period.
Putting Your Strategic and Business Planning Process into Action!
Your action plan covers the methods you will use to achieve the business objectives you outlined in your strategic plan and the targets you set in your business plan.
An example could include selling an online course for people to buy and download. You may plan to sell 10 courses for £250 each.
Once you’ve planned out your strategy, you can then work on an action plan that will help you achieve it.
In this example, your action plan would include actually designing that online course, within a specific time frame.
Don’t forget to make those action plan tasks into clear SMART objectives (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound) – that way, you’re far more likely to complete them!
Why Planning is NOT a ‘One-Time Only’ Activity
The worst thing you can do for your business is to dedicate time and effort to the business planning process – and then put those plans away in a drawer and forget all about them!
Your plans should always be relevant and ‘live’, regularly revisited and updated to take account of any changes in your life and business; or even because after a few successful years in business, you’ve developed the confidence to start aiming higher!
If you fail – so what?
Failure is how we all learn, grow, and ultimately develop the courage and the confidence to dust ourselves off and try again.
To put it another way, the fantastic thing about the business planning process is that it sets out a realistic course for you to achieve those goals…which can eventually lead to the kind of success other people only dream about.
In the meantime, what methods have you been using to plan for your business? Is there anything you’ve found particularly challenging? Feel free to share your thoughts and questions below.