Have you done your business plan lately?

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I have been helping contacts develop business plans lately - largely for new online businesses - and it has occurred to me that this is something that people should be doing on a regular basis! At Evolve IT we do it with all of our clients - planning and re planning constantly to stay ahead of the changes that occur in all businesses.

I know that everyone one should, and most do, produce a business plan when starting a business. This gets down onto paper a concise view of the business that you are envisioning. However, a good business plan "will provide you with an opportunity to shape a powerful business development strategy" (Balanko-Dickson 2006). It is a tool, not a task. So why wouldn't we use it constantly in our business?

Why indeed...

The idea of a great Business Plan is to analyze the problem, the issues and goals whilst identifying the objectives and obstacles in order to create a list of tasks assigned to individuals or groups with finite time limits attached to them ( Delehant, Frank, Hirsh 2006). In other words:

Look at your business and develop a plan to make it better

So, YES!!!! We should be constantly using business plans in our existing businesses all the time.

A great business plan should include:

1. Business Summary

2. Detailed Plan

3. Financial Plan

4. Supporting Documentation

5. Action Plan

This way you cover the concept, the detail, the money and any governing red tape that you need to deal with and at the end you have an action plan. THIS IS THE IMPORTANT BIT!!!!

The Action Plan:

An action plan is not merely a list. A list a linear group of tasks that have no urgency or detail attached to them. An action plan is so much more.

An action plan covers the objective, the tasks associated with that objective, the people who are to perform those tasks and the date by which they need to be completed.

So, for example, when looking at creating a marketing brochure there is the objective:

Create a Brochure

The tasks associated with that objective are:

# Agree a concept

# Approval of Copy

# Print the Brochure

# Have ready for distribution

(http://www.stats.govt.nz/analytical-reports/business-demog-stats/limitations.htm 2009)

Then you assign each of those tasks to one or more people and attach dates that correspond to the end goal, which in this case is obviously distribution of the brochure to the public.

NB: When looking at this type of thing it is best to work backwards: See below:

1. When do you want the brochure to be delivered? 1 Jan 2010

2. How long will it take to prepare for delivery? 4 weeks

3. Then when does it have to be printed by? 1 Dec 2009

4. How long does it take to print? 6 weeks

5. When does the copy need to be approved by? 15 Oct 2009

6. How long should we allow to prepare and agree on the copy? 2 weeks

7. What is the LATEST DATE that the concept can be agreed on? 1 Oct 2009

Then allow for a week or two to cater for unforeseen spanners that may get lodged in your works and you have a concept approval date of 15 Sept 2009 for 1 Jan 2010 delivery.

This is called reverse planning and it can be invaluable to your business on so many levels. "Reverse planning focuses on the long-term goal" (Hunt, Sproat and Kitzmiller 2004).

Let me know if you want me to help you, your sales team or your marketing team refine this approach by clicking here.

So why should we being doing our business plans after we have already started the business?

"Businesses are dynamic entities, yet carrying forward past data assumes a status quo situation" (http://www.stats.govt.nz/analytical-reports/business-demog-stats/limitations.htm 2009) . Businesses constantly change and market forces will never let a business stay stagnant. If your business is stagnant, then you need to review your business plan for a series of other reasons which we won't go into here.

If a business is dynamic, and therefore constantly changing, then as stated by the department of statistics of New Zealand, relying on a business plan done more than 12 months ago may not be relevant to your business in it's current state.

If your business changes, then your plans should too.

So, I think we have enough here for you to get on your way to developing a great business plan - or planning a great business. There are some fantastic documents around which give you a template. You can just search for them on Google or your preferred Search Engine.

Good luck and don't forget - if you have any questions, or would like some help with regards to any of the topics on this site, please email me a question.

Have fun.

Mark


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References:


Tips and Traps for Writing an Effective Business Plan
By Greg Balanko-Dickson
Published by McGraw-Hill Professional, 2006
ISBN 0071467513, 9780071467513
Page 3



Department of Statistics
New Zealand Government
Page: http://www.stats.govt.nz/analytical-reports/business-demog-stats/limitations.htm
2009



The nursing informatics implementation guide
By Eleanor C. Hunt, Sara B. Sproat, Rebecca R. Kitzmiller
Edition: illustrated
Published by Springer, 2004
ISBN 0387408371, 9780387408378
Page 105



Making meetings work: how to get started, get going, and get it done
By Ann M. Delehant, Valerie Von Frank, Stephanie Hirsh, National Staff Development Council (U.S.)
Contributor Valerie Von Frank, Stephanie Hirsh
Edition: 2
Published by Corwin Press, 2006
ISBN 1412914612, 9781412914611
Page 152