How to write a Business Plan you’ll actually follow…

The biggest mistake I see most Business Owners make?

Not having a plan or strategy for their business growth.

They think that a business plan is for people just starting out; that it’s only about finding clarity to get going.

But here’s 2 things I know to be true from working with hundreds of business owners;

What got you here will not get you there.
By the time you’re comfortable with a sales process, it’s probably out of date.

There is a difficult line to balance; staying innovative and ahead of the competition, yet having the stability and consistency your clients need to build trust in you.

The answer? A really good strategy.

What do I advise my clients to do?

We have annual goals and quarterly implementation plans; we know the destination we are working towards, and we work on a Quarterly Strategy that will get us there.

Working in 3 month sections allows us to keep up with an ever changing industry, whilst giving us enough time to actually see the fruits of our labour.

So…

How do we write a plan we can actually follow?

(Not just one that will end up gathering dust in a drawer somewhere)

I use 2 methods side by side to help my clients to build their business plans.

The Sat Nav Analogy

If you were in a car in Central London and you wanted to drive to Glasgow, you wouldn’t just start driving. You’d end up caught up in one way systems, road work diversions and could just as easily end up heading towards Bristol.

Most likely, you would grab your Sat Nav and put in your destination. It would give you a couple of route options and from there you would ta “start” and then follow the turn by turn directions.

Your Business Plan is the same.

You input your destination > your goal.

You consider your route options > your strategy.

You follow the directions > your tactics.

The Strategy Pyramid

This analogy also breaks the process down into 3 sections, however it adds some detail to the goal section that I feel adds a huge amount to help us map the strategy.

Again, our tactics are chosen last to help us achieve our strategy, and our strategy is decided second to help us reach our destination, but instead of just an arbitrary goal, the first section of this analogy considers our mission.

Our mission is made up from 3 parts;

Our Purpose
- Why do we do what we do
Our Mission
- What are we trying to achieve with our business
Our Values
- How do we show up every day

I consider this to be the “vehicle maintenance” part of the sat nav strategy.

Because it’s useful to have a goal, but how are you setting that goal? and importantly what is guiding your behaviour to get there?

The two most important factors are our mission and our values.

Our mission is the higher calling of our business; for example, mine is to help people enjoy the here and now of their lives more. I achieve this by helping people to earn more, and work less, so that they can enjoy their work/life balance more.

Our values are then the things that are most important to us, which guide our behaviour.

Please please don’t say integrity, honesty, trust and authenticity… they are the worst brand values imaginable…. (here’s why..)

Your brand values should show distinctive and informative glimpses for your clients into who you are and how you will act. They differentiate us from our competitors and when our clients align with our brand values, we know that they will be great clients.

How do we write a business plan we can actually follow?

Ask yourself these questions;

What are my unique brand values?
What is the bigger mission I am achieving with my business?
Where do I want to be in 12 months time?
- What do I want to have ticked off?
- How do I want life to look for me?
What can I focus on for the next 3 months to move me towards my annual goal?
What actions do I need to take to achieve that?