Do you have a business plan? Most small businesses fail largely due to lack of proper planning. It seems rather obvious – imagine trying to build a house without a plan. How will you know if you’re on the right track while you’re building it? What will it look like when it’s done? To increase your chances of success, it is essential that you write a business plan which will include short and long term goals, as well as clear ways of tracking your results. Even if you’ve been in business for a number of years, it’s not too late.
There are, of course, business owners that do very well without ever having written a business plan. They basically fly by the seat of their pants, don’t know where they are going, but somehow business is good. Just because some businesses do well without planning does not make their method a prescription for success. Had these business owners implemented a well thought out plan, they would have been much more focused, organized, and no doubt even more profitable.
There are many good books out there that can help you with your business plan. These go into great detail about how to conduct market research, a statistical analysis of your target demographic’s buying habits, how to design pricing for your product or service, and much more.
Your business plan can be long and detailed, but it need not be. At the very least, it should include your goal for the year, a 5-year goal, and a marketing strategy to be implemented to meet these goals. It’s amazing how much focus and control you will gain over the direction of your business once you begin the process.
For example – “In 2005 XYZ company would like to add 1,000 new accounts and increase revenue by $200,000. To do so, we will do direct mail, telemarketing, and an extensive radio ad campaign.” This should be followed by details of how specifically this will be implemented, broken down into monthly and weekly mini-goals . Will sales people have to be hired? How many? How much will the direct mail and radio ads cost, and how much revenue should they generate? What is plan B if any aspect of your marketing plan fails? All of this should be included in your basic plan.
Most important of all, keep in mind that your business plan is not written in stone. Rather, it’s a living, breathing document which should be reviewed often and changed when necessary. If, during the course of the year you find that a particular goal is too high or too low, simply adjust it. If a marketing technique doesn’t work the way you hoped it would, change it or try something else. Rather than allowing luck to determine your success, YOU will be in control! Happy planning!