Benjamin Franklin once said if you fail to
plan you plan to fail, so here are 7 simple tips
to help you get a business plan done that
sets some objectives for the coming year.
00:00:00 – Intro
00:00:10 – Why we don't plan
00:00:44 – Tips for business planning
But I guess to me, taking the time to stop and actually set 3 to 4 objectives for the coming year just helps clarify the thinking and also gives you a bit of a direction. So I'm going to give you 7 tips to help you do a very very simple business plan in 1 or 2 hour. Benjamin Franklin once said if you fail to plan you plan to fail, so here are 7 simple tips to help you get a business plan done that sets some objectives for the coming year.
Number 1, is understand why you're doing it. Don't do it because it's a tick the box exercise, do it because you're looking for direction and guidance over the year.
Number 2, keep it really really simple, the key points should fit on one page, it doesn't need to be volumes and volumes of paper.
Number 3, look back over the last year what went well, what didn't go so well, chat to the team what learnings can you do from that.
Number 4, if you do nothing else do a simple SWOT analysis, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. it's old-fashioned, it's been around forever, I'm sure we've all done it, but it's a really good exercise.
Number 5, break your business into 5 key areas when you're thinking about planning. The planning part of your business, the sales and marketing part, the operational part, the finance and admin part and the people part. Think about your business from a collective approach and choose 3 to 4 objectives that you want to achieve for the coming year that fit into those 5 boxes.
Number 6, set some KPIs that you can measure your activity and understand what you're doing.
Number 7, put it all together and share it with the team. This exercise might only take 2 or 3 hours, it might take 2 or 3 days.
If you’d like to learn more about how PlanA Consulting can have a huge positive impact on your business, then contact Hutch today on 021 748 142 or john@planaconsulting.co.nz
Regards, Hutch.
