Mapping out your business plan
How do you plan a trip when you’re going somewhere unknown? For our summer holiday we drove a long way and whilst we used Google there were decisions we needed to make as we had so many options.
We had to decide between a route that was mostly motorway or we could take mostly A roads route which was more scenic, had better stop options and would also let us see a 50ft straw Paddington. The scenic route would take 10-20 minutes longer. The second route was the best choice for us even though it was longer because of the entertainment value for our children but also because the stops meant there was more space for driver swaps. Also the garden centre on the route makes AMAZING lunches!
It got me thinking about business and planning. As a business owner you have to make some kind of plan and make some decisions. There’s no avoiding that. Those plans and decisions will make a difference to how the business grows and how the business affects you as an individual. Whilst making the plans aren’t optional, you can make plans that work best for you as the business owner.
Looking at making a business plan in the same way you would plan a journey let’s breakdown creating a business plan.
Where are you headed?
Setting the goal matters. When you’re going on a journey you wouldn’t normally just jump in the car and drive. You’d be headed towards a destination.
So what’s your goal in the business? Perhaps there is a course you’d love to launch or you want to get 100 orders or you want to grow your social reach. If you work out a destination then you can create the rest of the plan to fill in the gap.
Which route works best for you?
What do you need to consider in the plan? For our holiday travel we needed to consider having 3 children in the car, we needed to be able to stop for rests and for lunch and having the option to easily stop and swap drives was also important.
In my business decisions when making a plan I have to consider my time constraints, my other roles in life, my skills, my support and my finances. To create a plan that is actually achievable I must take into account those things, to not do so means that the plan is likely to fail before I even start. I also need to consider if I need any extra help from professionals or tools.
How long will it take?
We were driving to a deadline as we had a ferry to catch so time did matter. When it came down to it the extra 10-20 minutes was something we could adjust for but if it had been an extra hour then maybe it wouldn’t have been an option.
When do you want to hit the goal? Maybe you want to manage it before a holiday, a new month or before the end of the financial year. Is that deadline manageable? You can only work that out once you know what you need to do to hit the goal. You might want to consider if a Virtual Assistant will enable you to hit the target in the time frame you’re hoping for.
What do you need to complete the journey?
We fuelled up the car the day before since we were leaving early, we’d purchased the ferry tickets, hired a car so we had enough space for everyone and their luggage and I made sure that I had a back up driver in case my pain was too high to drive the full distance.
Do you have the tools? Does the product you want to make need something new? Will you need to learn new pieces of software for the course you want to launch? Would it be wise and time saving to hire an external person, like a Virtual Assistant to help you with the administration or to support existing work whilst you start up something new? Finding a Virtual Assistant who is already experienced in a piece of software could save time and money.
When you look at making decisions and plans in business it can be helpful to break things down. Breaking the process down will make sure you are realistic about time, tools and support that you need to hit those goals. This is important for your business and for your wellbeing too. Setting yourself up for success with goals, support of a Virtual Assistant when appropriate and having a plan will all help you to thrive.
What would you love to achieve? Have you been putting things off because you just can’t see how you’d get there? Do you need a Virtual Assistant to help you make the plan or to help you achieve the plan you’ve got?
