Many business owners I meet have a natural allergy to planning or 'consultants' who tell you what you already know and charge large fees for a report that sits in a drawer. Although sometimes it is the very fact that you are too close to your own business to see the wood for the trees that it takes someone on the outside to point out what in hindsight is glaringly obvious.
Recently, I worked with a client who was setting up a professional service business and was required to have Professional Indemnity Insurance and was wading though reams of application forms.
Prior to our planning session she had constructed a brief overview of her business and her ideas for how it would be established which she would have included in the insurance application. However, after our work together she submitted her insurance proposal with a straightforward but comprehensive business plan which demonstrated beyond doubt that she had seriously considered the business and how she was going to develop it.
As a direct result she benefited from a massively reduced premium - so a direct link was established between her planning activity and a tangible return on that investment.
That wasn't the only benefit though! During our work together, we discussed many small steps that she could take to establish her new business effectively and successfully, all of which focused on bringing in new business, looking after her existing clients to retain them and to be more efficient in the new way she was going to have to work in setting out on her own.
So when considering your plans:
- Know where you want to get to
- Think about your services and products and why your customers will buy from you
- Have a plan of how you will get your message out there
- Understand the resources you will need to deliver those services
- Make sure you have contingency plans in place for emergencies
- Have a cash management plan in place
- Write down your plan - this shows you are serious
- Surround yourself with a support system of people you can trust to guide you when you need it
So, till next time - get planning!