Time to review and refresh your business plan.
Launching your small business will have no doubt brought about a great deal of joy, perhaps some independence, and as you set off on this journey you most likely prepared a business plan, either in details or simply as a big goal jotted down on a piece of paper to keep you focused and motivated.
No matter how you started, you are here now – Congratulations! I am sure that you have learned many lessons learned along the way but, here is something that may help as you continue to navigate your way forward. Here is something I ask Small Business Owners when they first engage me to help them scale or to optimise their business: “How often have you looked at your business plan since you’ve first started?”
Have you taken the time to revisit it yourself? How far have you and your business come from when you first started and have the goal posts moved? Have you made adjustments to changes that have occurred and to what you now see as your end goal?
Let’s be honest, it’s probably time to refresh your business plan. In fact, even if the end goal has not changed, taking the time to refocus and plan ahead is guaranteed to be a valuable exercise. The reality is, it doesn’t have to be difficult or boring!
Here are 5 tips on how to start:
Crystalise your vision
Know your Unique Proposition
Identify your target client
Know your end goal
Review your business structure
Crystalise your vision - your purpose
With knowledge and experience behind you, now is the opportunity to reflect and redefine why you’re in business. Your drive and commitment when you first embraced this journey was done with passion and a vision of wanting more for you and, most likely, more for your family.
Knowing how to effectively communicate your vision is critical as it not only creates a roadmap for you but for those around you. The first questions I ask my clients when they engage me are: “what was your vision when you first started? Is that driver, that passion still there?”
Your passion and commitment can be seen by those around you in the way you engage with people, the way you communicate. It’s that passion that people buy into, that’s why being able to define your vision and to share it with others will support you in reaching that end goal.
Your vision needs to be a big bold statement. Keep it simple so that everyone can understand it and see themselves as part of your journey.
Here are some well know examples:
Bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete – Nike
A just world without poverty - Oxfam
To provide access to the world’s information in one click – Google
Your vision should be Future Focused – create a big picture and be clear what your business will be providing in years to come. It needs to serve as guide to the business plan and strategy. It needs to be:
Clear so that it can shape decisions
Relevant to your purpose so that your employees are motivated by it
A reflection of the businesses values.
It is a great way to identify what will genuinely underpin the way you do business.
Know your unique proposition - what problem are you solving?
When you first started, you most likely identified a gap in the market or could see that you would be better equipped to provide a service that was not meeting the demands and needs of clients.
Now that you have established the business, take the opportunity to reassess your unique proposition: does it still reflect the needs of your clients or is there an opportunity to tweak and adjust?
This type of review requires knowledge that only time and experience can provide. Take the time to really review what you’re doing differently, what sets you apart from your competitors, and see if you can enhance your offering.
Here are a few questions for you to reflect on:
Do you offer a service or a product that is specifically different to your competitor? What exactly are the points of difference?
Is there a guarantee element that is different? If so, what aspects are different and how does this serve your clients better?
Do you have flexibility in the offering that can be customised? Is this of value to your clients?
Whilst you might be able to answer the above questions yourself, it would be valuable to ask your employees and your clients for their opinions. You might be surprised at the answers they provide you.
Identify your target client?
This is a key point that I ask my clients to focus on. As your business grows it is important to narrow in on who your target market is. This will not only help you better communicate your message to attract the right client, but will also ensure that your offering meets their needs.
Refining your ideal client is a process that drills down into the needs, wants and pains of your clients. You need to better understand what motivates them, what their interests are and what drives their decision making.
Here are some of the things you might want to consider when defining your ideal client:
What age and income bracket do they belong to?
What are their values and beliefs?
Does quality or quantity drive their decisions?
Do they look at ethical elements when making their decisions?
These questions will help build a story and create a visual of who your customer really is: how they speak, where they might be located, and possibly what they do for fun. This may also identify that your ideal client is very different to who you assumed or that it has changed from when you first started your business.
Know your end goal.
If you don’t know what your end goal is, it makes it pretty difficult to know when you have reached your destination.
Knowing the forward direction, the roadmap with all the milestones and pieces in between is vital. Start with the end in mind and work backwards
You need to take the time to really consider what your business needs to look like from your offering to your staff and even your look and feel. Your objectives need to be well articulated.
Use the “SMART” outline as a guide:
Specific: Your Goal needs to be specific so that there is no room for interpretation.
Measurable: Every step and every outcome need to be measurable. You need to know how many staff you need to achieve each milestone, what strengths they need to help you. Even how may days a week you will be working.
Attainable: Have you outlined your Goal so that it can be achieved? Have you identified milestones that can be achieved? Achievable targets put people are in a positive frame of mind: as they reach a target, they then strive to achieve more. It creates momentum and encouraged them to stretch. Also ensure you still have the right skill set amongst your team and, if not, look at how you can bring that into the business.
Relevant: Ensure that your goals align with your service or product and that your actions align with your vision and purpose.
Timely: Like any successful business, you need to set out clear timelines for every stage. When you set these out it helps your staff collaborate and work towards these timelines.
Knowing your destination and when you need to get there closes the gap and leaves no room for interpretation. You are all on the journey together and driving in the same direction at the same time. At this stage, you have outlined the end goal – your vision, now you need to create milestones for your business plan and consider who, in the business, can support each stage.
Review and set out your new short-term goals so that you can also celebrate the small bursts of success. The key here is to bring everyone on the journey. It’s a collective game plan.
Review your business structure
This would be the first step for a new business but, even for an existing one, it’s important to take the opportunity to review it regularly. Your business structure as a small business is one of the most important decisions that you’ll ever make, as is the legal structure. It’s not only critical to your day-to-day operations but it also impacts your tax position and possibly on the personal liability that you may hold.
It is also important to recognise that your business structure is something you need to review as your business grows, as your legal and financial needs will change over time. When reviewing and refreshing your business plan, you might want to seek legal advice on the different structures.
Being prepared and accepting that things change in business and in life means that you take the opportunity to constantly review, refine and plan forward again. Adjusting as you go means you keep your finger on the pulse and stay nimble and focused on the end goal.
Success in business is what everyone dreams about and aspires to achieve but you must first ensure that you invest in yourself and your people. Ensure you have the right team around you and that they have the right commitment. Know your value and see value in others. Constantly recognise the small wins and share them with those around you.
Be clear about the end result and ensure you plan for it will ensure you don’t get to the end and have to go back to start again.
At Solutions2you, we help business big and small review their business plan and make sure they are equipped for long-term success. If you need to create or refresh your business plan, please reach out or book your free 15-minute consultation and we’ll be more than happy to help you.