Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Stop Chasing The Money

Rule # 3.  Have aBusiness Plan.  

The Fear Factor

I know this sounds like ano-brainer but you might be surprised at how many businesses don’t have a  plan other than a spreadsheet if even that.  What this creates is a primary  focus on weekly/monthly revenue. A certain myopia sets in not to mention paralyzing fear.  You stop paying attention to what else your business needs and that catapults you into a reactive state of mind.  Not Good. 

A Business Plan is Your Friend

A business plan done correctly is your friendand it’s not only about the numbers. It is the engine that drives because quitesimply it causes you to look at every aspect of your business; what’s working as well as what’s not, what needs to be strengthened, what needs to be eliminated, and more. Even if you are tiny (as in one person). this is still a criticalstep.  You’ll find that you startthinking about the End Game or another way of putting it is what it looks like when you are successful; who are your primarypartners who help you get there; what the market is out there and what you doand don’t know about it.  It doesn’t haveto be an over-whelming exercise- but it needs to be done.  Financials are important of course but ifthat’s all you look at you’ll never grow because you’ll be stuck on that bottomline. Mike Michalowicz suggests in his book The Toilette Paper Entrepreneur, that you break it down into quarters and call it a prosperity plan.  I happen to agree because it's an excellent idea that makes sense.  By doing this, you can set goals that time triggered and measurable which sets you up for an action plan that you can achieve.  

A business plan really doesn't have to be a big, cumbersome document that never gets looked at again.  It can be simple and to the point and doable.  I encourage you to set yourself up for success and get one done. 


Ellen Smith 

Encourse Marketing 

Your Success is Our Business


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