If You Fail to Plan, You're Failing To Plan -- Really!

Business plans - easier than you think, critical to
prolonged success-and on one page!


Planning is bringing the future into the present so that
you can do something about it now.
-Alan Lakein

"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." I've been using
this adage several years to market my One Page Business
PlanR services. It's simple and straightforward, and I know
that it's true! I'm always amazed at the people who pay it
lip service when I'm talking with them - and then do
nothing else.Smart people, ambitious people, people who are
excited and passionate about creating their own
mini-empires - and yet they don't plan! And so I began to
wonder why.

I can't address issues of motivation or psychological
temperament, but I can share what I've seen among my
clients and heard from countless other business owners over
the years.

1. Avoiding pain? Some people seem to dread the idea of
writing a business plan. It makes them long for something
less painful-such as a root canal! And that's too bad
because the reality is that creating a plan for your
business can be painless and, dare I say it, even fun! Most
small business owners keep their plans in their own heads.
Working through a planning process, such as the One Page
Business PlanR, helps you get your plan on paper and that
is the first step towards making a "dream" real. And that
leads us to.

2. Write it down. Your plan is only as good as the paper
it's written on. No written plan = no plan at all. I can't
emphasize enough the importance of a written plan to a
successful business. I've talked to way too many business
owners who tell me, "I don't need to plan because it's all
in my head and I'm keeping track just fine, thanks." And
you know, this may be true for brand new businesses or
very, very small businesses. But here's the problem: You
want your business to grow beyond your capability to keep
track of every little detail. Don't you? You want to be
able to vacation without your business falling apart,
right? Maybe you plan to retire someday or sell your
business - how can you turn it over if it's only in your
head?

Many business owners believe they don't need a business
plan unless they are seeking funding. You can certainly
make the case that having a plan is even more important
when it is YOUR money, your dreams, and your livelihood at
risk!

A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow -
Proverb

What I suspect happens is that well-intentioned people
start off without a plan and figure that they'll create one
when their business grows or they start hiring people. What
I say is that it's just about too late then and that often
leads to.

3. Overwhelm. It's a buzz word, right now, I know, but it
speaks to a large group of people, many of whom have found
their way to my door. Not enough time, not enough money,
too many commitments, too much stress. They have no balance
between their personal life and work life; it all blends
together. Almost invariably, these folks don't create a
formal plan, or if they do, they create it once and never
looked at it again.

A business plan is a blueprint for your business to follow.
The best plans help you monitor your business and set
priorities. They help you determine what you're going to do
on a given day, week, or month. Business owners can look at
presented opportunities based on how well those
opportunities fit into their vision and just say "no" to
all the rest. Having and using your business plan will also
help you distinguish between dreams and.

4. Goals. Goals are not pipe-dreams or wish lists. They
are realistic and achievable. How do you test for realism?
When you've completed your planning process, you'll have
identified the key objectives you're trying to reach, and
have strategies and action plans to reach them. When you
pair a goal with strategies and action plans, they must be
in alignment. If one area is off-kilter, then your
expectations of what you could do might be too high -- or
more likely-- too low. Note that you'll only see this when
your plan is out of your head and on paper!

Goals are not dreams. Goals are what will keep you going on
a day you just don't want to go into the office. They will
compel you to try new things or continue doing what's
working. Goals are not things you write down just to have
written down some goals. They're important. Your goals must
make sense, have due dates, have numbers tied to them that
you can monitor and catch things when they're not working.
Eventually, you'll be able to make decisions and set
priorities just by looking at your plan every day.

The best business plans help you monitor your business and
set priorities. They help you manage your time, so you can
schedule what's important and not just the crisis-du-jour.
And in the case of the One Page Business PlanR process, you
end up creating a marketing plan as well as a business plan
- all on one page! Wondering how to get started? How
about..

5. Step 1. Before you even sit down to write a plan, do
some dreaming... Think about sitting at your desk a year
from now... what do you want to be celebrating
professionally? Personally? If money or time or hiring
employees isn't a problem, what do you want your business
to look like a year from now? Just write it all down...
don't edit yourself or worry about your spelling. What
would life be like if you achieved your goals? Look like,
feel like...

If you can see a vision of what your business and life
could be in the best of all possibilities, you have taken
the first step towards achieving that vision. But don't
stop there! Create your business plan and if you already
have one that's fallen into disrepair, fix it! Let this
useful, living, breathing, document ensure that you're
planning NOT to fail!

Create your one-page business and marketing plan today.
YOU CAN DO IT!


If You Fail to Plan, You're Failing To Plan -- Really! - To learn more about this author, visit Maria Marsala's Website.

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