Do I Really Need a Business Plan?
Let me guess, writing a business plan is not in the top 5 list of your current Small Business "To-Do" list? Am I right? It's probably somewhere near the bottom under file quarterly taxes and scrub the office commode.
What if I told you though, that writing a business plan could rapidly fast-forward your results and give you amazing clarity and direction in your business? Would you bump that business plan up a few notches on our "To-Do" list? I know I would!
You don't just need any old business plan for you small business though, what you need is a Better Business Plan!
What is a Better Business Plan and Why do I Need One?
I bet that when you think of a traditional Business Plan you think of a long and boring document full of information that you'll never use and probably don't even see the use of while you're writing it. Sound about right?
Well, if that's the case, then you are in definite need of a Better Business Plan! A BBP is a plan designed for small business owners to use as a guide and a compass to navigate the ever-changing oceans of business.
As a small business owner you wear a thousand different hats and fill a hundred different roles in your business, so it is absolutely essential for you to have a place where all of your dreams, ideas, tasks, and roles come together to point you to where you want to go. This is the role of your Better Business Plan.
What Goes into my Better Business Plan?
In short; all of your hopes and dreams and how you plan on making that a reality! While that may seem a little cliche, your business plan should serve as a place to capture your goals, dreams, and plans for your life and business, as well as, provide real-live actions steps on how you plan on making those dreams a reality.
Your business plan should be a living, ever-changing document that grows and adapts with you as you grow your business. It should be the first place you turn to when you want to brainstorm new ideas, launch a new product, revise the budget, or add new employees.
It should also serve as an over-arching map of the multiple aspects of your business. An effective business plan covers your ideal work schedule, big-picture goals and visions, marketing strategies (including social media), day-to-day budgets, customer profiles, service statements, and so much more.
As you can see, your growing business could really benefit from having everything together in one place where you can revisit your goals and plans over and over again as you climb the ladder to bigger and bigger wins!
What Should I Cover in my Better Business Plan?
The biggest challenge with almost all of the business plan resources out there is that so many are outdated for today’s small business entrepreneur. Your growing business needs a plan that covers the very important topics of work/life balance in scheduling, social media strategies, influencer marketing, and blog/website planning, just to name a few!
- Your Better Business Plan should go into detail on:
- Your personal goals in and out of business
- Your unique selling preposition and how you're called to serve
- A business overview including who you serve and how
- 3 different types of business goals
- Actions steps for reaching those goals
- Marketing strategies and timelines
- Social Media strategies and schedules
- A visibility plan
- Scaling/growth plans for the next quarter and year
- Online marketing plan with action steps to achieve an online presence
As you can see, there is a lot that goes into an effective and use-able business plan, but once it's completed, you'll have a resource that will partner with you in the growth of your business forever!
How do I Create my Better Business Plan?
Congratulations! You have realized the importance of having a business plan that guides you through meeting your goals while keeing your sanity!
Now, how do you go about creating one? If you are the scrappy, entrepreneurial type like I think you are, you have 2 choices.
Choice 1: You can go the do-it-yourself route and spend countless hours researching, downloading, and compiling lists of info and tips on writing a business plan, all while wondering if you're covering what you really need to create a plan that will guide you to sucess, or only confuse you further....
OR:
Choice 2: You can be smart and follow a tested and and proven system to create a business plan that will have you energized, excited, and ready to tackle your big goals with clarity and focus!
The "Better Business Plan Masterclass" has been strategically designed to give you a huge bang for your buck and an amazing return on your time investment. To check out all the details and learn how you can craft a personalized business plan in only 3 hours, click HERE!