In the Beginning

In the beginning ….

If you chat to the average business owner, ask them to describe the last holiday they had. Then ask them to explain how they planned the holiday, and you can expect to get bored with all the details. They searched for a place to go, they checked prices for flights, car hire and hotels. They planned what they would do every morning, afternoon and evening. They planned their meals and which restaurants they would use. They planned their leisure activities. They literally planned every minute of the day for a week or three.

Then ask them what planning they did to start their business. Most business owners will give you a short story. It is a fact that most business owners do not plan.

I have seen it happen over and over again. Years later – no business model, no strategy overview. In fact most businesses never do these. Why?

I believe that consultants and accounting firms contributed to the problem. They took a simple planning thing and made it complicated so that they could charge for consulting services. But it is unnecessary. Planning is simple, all you need to know is what is required. That is what we teach you. What is needed and how to keep it short and simple.

Business plans for an SME do not need to be 20, 50 or 100 pages. You only need 10 pages at most, and that includes 3 pages for finance. You can go over a little, but keep it short, crisp and to the point. The real benefit of the document is writing it. It helps you to get your thoughts sorted out and helps you to understand where you are going with the business. The writing part helps by allowing you to check it once a month and make sure you are still on track. It is so easy to lose track of your planned direction. An opportunity can come up and you take it. This is fine if it is a once off deal. But often it is an opportunity to start or buy a new business. Then suddenly you have two businesses, and you have planned for neither and then the problems start. Cash flow issues, technical issues, insufficient staff to mention a few.

So, plan for your businesses as you would plan for your holiday. Would you get into your car on a Friday afternoon with your family, drive until you run out of fuel, and then have your holiday there? Highly unlikely!

! So why risk your investment in the business, your wealth creation strategy and your business?

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Be smart, think, plan, do, then think, plan, do every month when you review to check you are online.