Planning for more fun, cash, time and success

As the owner of a small to medium business, you may have heard it before – construct a Business Plan. But you know where you’re going – right? You know what you have to do – right? Sitting down and writing out what’s in your head is boring – right? A Business Plan is the most important tool you will ever develop for your business. It’s not boring because it is the way for you to have more fun, more cash, more time and more success. Let me deal with three myths around Business Plans: 1. I already know my path to the future Your human mind has a habit of agreeing with you. When you don’t write down and share your plan, when you don’t do what you ‘thought’ you were going to do, your brain tells you that’s OK because you weren’t really going to do that yet. The result is often procrastination and non-achievement. 2. I want to be able to follow opportunities Think of a Business Plan as the route for a journey given what we know before we start. Let’s take our own boat to Bali (not as hard as running your own business). You know where you want to go, you know where you are now and you will think about the route for the journey. You will include issues such as how far from a coastline will you travel, what are the hazards, where will you refuel, what permits are required. Then, along the way, you decide that a couple of days in Broome would be great. That’s OK – just check the change against the plan. Will I accept a shorter stay in Bali? Can I change my refuelling plan? Are my permits still OK? If everything checks out then go ahead – have more fun, cash, time and success. 3. Business Plans just gather dust Yes – many do. At NOW Business Mastery, the difference is that we add N-Gauge that prompts you periodically (choose weekly / monthly / quarterly) for feedback against your plan. Using N-Gauge, your Business Plan becomes your process of managing your business. As an essential management tool, the Business Plan becomes a living, working pathway. No dust, just more fun, cash, time and success. So get out your pad of paper (or clear your computer screen) and start by: – Capturing your Aspiration; – Determining where you are now; and – Constructing (in writing) the planned route for your business journey.