If you are already in business, planning to start a business, or have a great idea you want to run with, you might be wondering if you need a business plan. The answer is–yes–everyone needs a business plan! Unfortunately, most people don’t know where to start, and the thoughts of writing the plan can seem overwhelming. When you look at the business plan piece by piece and understand why you need it, the process becomes much easier to accomplish.
Where to Begin the Plan
Beginning your business plan starts with having a fundamental knowledge of exactly what it is that you do. By knowing who you are and what you do, you can form a meaningful mission–and having a mission is vital to the success of your business because it defines where you are going and the steps you will take to achieve your vision. To keep from getting bogged down, it is essential to dispel the myth that the mission must be long and drawn out. It can be anywhere from a line or two to a short paragraph. The intention is not to be lengthy but rather to lay out a plan to get to your desired destination.
What Goes in a Business Plan?
Once your mission is complete, the best place to begin is with a one-page business plan. To get started, I have an online program that I created in collaboration with CreativeLive that will take you step by step through the process. The best part is that you will have painlessly completed your business plan by the end of the lessons. It’s that simple!
As a strategist, I ensure that my clients understand that the reason for having a business plan is to create clarity. When you are clear about what you do, where you are going, what you want to achieve, it is much easier to design a path toward success. The business plan allows you to define what success looks like and develop a plan for growing it through establishing financial plans, the structure of your products, marketing, hiring, and all other aspects of your business. It also allows you to be prepared with a strategy of how to keep growing your business from year to year.
Business Plans Evolve
Business plans evolve as your business grows and your needs change. Your mission may stay the same, but the plan’s size depends on where you are in the process. In the beginning, a tight, short version of a business plan will work, but as your business increases in size, so will your business plan. Once you grow to over half a million dollars, and we’re talking about really making money and growing the business, it will be critical to have an extensive business plan in place supported by the right people and strategy for even more growth.
At the Growth Architect, we want to help you dispel the fear of writing a business plan and give you the tools to help make your vision happen. If you want to know more about getting started on your business plan, then watch my video--let’s grow!
Beate Chelette is The Growth Architect & Founder of The Women’s Code, a training company specialized in providing companies an ROI on Balanced Leadership. She has been named one of 50 must-follow women entrepreneurs by the Huffington Post. A first-generation immigrant who found herself $135,000 in debt as a single parent, she bootstrapped her passion for photography into a highly successful global business and eventually sold it to Bill Gates in a multimillion-dollar deal.
Beate works with business leaders and supports organizations by developing and providing training the training, tools, and expertise to create and maintain a balanced, equal, and inclusive work environment that fosters creativity, employee engagement, and corporate growth.
Recent clients include Merck, Women’s Legislative Caucus of California, Cal State University Dominguez Hills, Small Business Development Centers (SBDC), NFTE, CreativeLive, the Association of Corporate Growth, and TracyLocke.
Beate is the author of the #1 International Amazon Bestseller “Happy Woman Happy World – How to Go From Overwhelmed to Awesome” a book that corporate trainer and best-selling author Brian Tracy calls “a handbook for every woman who wants health, success and a fulfilling career.
To book Beate to speak or train please connect here. Your Time Is Valuable!
