by James Canada
It’s February — have you kept your New Year’s resolution?
Are you still going to the gym or hitting the park for a walk or a run? Have you managed to steer clear of chocolate or soda? Are you still on pace to read a book a month?
I ask because a recent study showed that about two-thirds of people give up on their new year’s resolutions within a month. Perhaps, one of the reasons is that they weren’t serious enough. They just had an idea and failed to sit down and strategically plan how they were going to make it a reality.
The same thing happens all the time when people try to start a business.
A successful business is more than just a great idea. You can’t just parachute jump from your day job to a business without proper planning. Yes, your business will be defined by the product, service or concept you dream of developing, but it also will be represented by the tactical steps you’ve laid out to initiate and succeed. Your plan is your primary communication method with potential partners, funders, clients and employees. Such people are drawn to entrepreneurs with a strong vision — and a clear plan for achieving it.
My partners and I took several months to complete our plan — plotting out a road map for our business journey. The plan enabled us to obtain start-up funds, develop a business model, establish a business culture, and attract the right clients and employees.
More than just an introductory letter to the world, your business plan is a guide to consult and adapt throughout your company’s lifespan. Our business’s high-level plan, which is based on a template and example I will share with you over the next couple months, guides our company’s expansion to this day. We revisit tactical elements of our plan every week. Once a quarter, the team gathers to ensure we are meeting the plan’s objectives, which support our critical success factors.
We also review the plan with our staff and align their goals as employees with its objectives. Our people can visualize the impact of their work on the critical success factors of the company. Additionally, components of the plan act as the foundation for an objective measure of the company’s success.
With a strong and well-conceived strategic plan, you can ensure that your business is not just another abandoned idea or resolution, and you can give it a vision and structure that will help the company endure and thrive through many new years.
James H. Canada is managing partner/CEO for Alliance Technologies LLC, ITEN mentor and author of “Corporate to Entrepreneur: Strategies for Success.” Contact Jim at james.canada@alliancetechnologiesllc.com, 636-734-2337 or www.alliancetechnologiesllc.com.
Submitted 2 years 301 days ago