If you still haven’t drafted your business plan for 2019, you’re a little late to the game. That being said, I’d rather you develop one late than not create one at all. To help you begin the process as quickly as possible, let’s review several key points to consider.
Begin with vision
There are three components to company vision. The first element has more to do with you than your company. Remember: The company’s vision starts with the entrepreneur. Here’s where you’ll need to do some soul-searching. What’s your vision for your life? Where do you picture yourself in five or 10 years? What’s important to you? (In other words, what are your priorities?) What do you like to do? What are your financial goals?
After you figure out your personal goals, determine the role (or roles) your business will play in your life vision (this is the second component to company vision). What does your business need to produce, and how does it need to behave for you to reach your goals? Note: The difference between where your business is today and where it needs to be in order for you to reach your long-term goals is the structure of your business plan.
The final component to company vision is purpose. Think about the core beliefs you want to build your entire business on. Goals are more powerful when they impact others. Think about this: How do you want to impact your employees and customers?
Evaluate your three-year business targets
Three-year business targets give you wiggle room. Three years is far enough out where you can make some mistakes and have some setbacks, but still get to where you need to be. The primary goal here is to determine the amount of MRR you’ll need to add over three years to reach your annual net revenue profit goal. It’s important for you to remember this: Your sales and marketing plan will be geared around your MRR goal.
Use your three-year targets to develop your one-year plan
To construct your one-year plan, use the information you gathered from developing your three-year targets and your current financials. Determine your goal for each revenue categories, including recurring services, non-recurring services, product revenues, etc. Then, afterward, take a look at MRR, average MRR, net profit, etc. Lastly, keep yourself in check by listing the most important things you need to do to make your plan a reality.
Draft your quarterly action plans
Your quarterly action plan should be very similar to your one-year plan. For each quarter, set your revenue targets and calculate your sales goals. Then, again, outline the most important things you need to do to make sure you implement all your plans.
Share your business plan
I always encourage members to share their business plans with their company to hold themselves and employees accountable. If you don’t have any employees, don’t worry about it: Share your business plan with your spouse or mentor to keep you in line.
Stop pushing off your business plan. If you still haven’t developed one, sit down today to get the ball rolling. Without one, you’ll be stuck in the same spot a year from now.
