Writing a business plan is a very important step to achieving success in any of your business endeavours. In order to reach your goals, it is essential to be able to have a clear plan laid out in front of you. A good business plan will take into consideration all aspects of running a business and will be a useful guide that you can use as you go along.
However, many entrepreneurs and small business owners create business plans with one or two important elements missing. These aspects that have been overlooked will have a significant effect on the success of the business, whether immediately or a few years down the line.
Take a good look at your business plan – is there anything amiss? Here are a few of the pieces that might be missing from your business plan and how you can make sure you fit them in.
Specific, Quantitative Goals
When you look at your business plan, do you see vague objectives or clearly defined goals for your business? It is not enough to simply choose a general direction for your business, as this makes it very easy to get off track.
A business development plan will be much more effective when you have clear objectives that can be quantified with results and analytics. Use numbers and measurements whenever possible and keep track of your progress so you can be sure when you have reached your goal.
Time to Nourish Your Health and Wellbeing
In your enthusiasm to grow your business and achieve success, you have created a highly ambitious business plan that will have you reaching your goals in record time. But have you overestimated your abilities and forgotten to allow for the fact that you are human? It is important to allow room in your business development plan to take care of your own personal well being so that you can avoid getting exhausted and burnt out in pursuit of your goals. This usually results in getting ill and having to take time off anyway, which is no fun and sometimes even impossible if you are running the business yourself.
Many of us feel that taking time out for holidays or breaks is self indulgent, but it has actually been proven to improve productivity. Give yourself room in your plan to take a week or two off so that you can recharge your batteries and come back with renewed vigour.
Realistic Financial Estimates
One of the biggest mistakes that many entrepreneurs and small business owners make when putting together a business development plan is to incorrectly estimate the financial side of things. This is perhaps due to an attempt to make the financial outlook of the business look rosier than it is, but underestimating costs and overestimating profits is a recipe for disaster. When the real numbers come in, you will find yourself struggling to stay afloat.
It is crucial to make sure that every business development plan includes an accurate set of numbers when it comes to the financial side of things. In fact, it is often better to estimate on the conservative side. You will need realistic numbers so that you can make the best choices as to how to run your business successfully.
If you have made a business plan and it is missing any of these important key elements, perhaps it is time to give it another look. If you need help putting together a comprehensive and thorough business plan, there are professional consultants that you can work with who can help you make projections and plans for the future of your business.
Paula Whately is a small business owner who knows firsthand the importance of putting together a solid and thorough business development plan.