To Grow (Explode) Your Business That's Why When It's In Your Head It's Not Going to Happen
Before becoming an executive business coach, in my previous career as an electrical engineer I discovered some key practical things about business planning that showed me how to explode the growth of a business.
When I was in college if I was asked to design something my designs always worked?.on paper.
When I got out of college, my boss would frequently come to me and ask if I knew how to design this or that. I always answered confidently, ?Sure, I know how. Pointing to that space between my ears.?
Then I would design it on paper. And the first aha I learned was that once written down I could see more than I could when it resided between the ears. This piece just didn't come together with that piece?.and that one?.and that one?.
So, I would gradually work out all of the gotcha's until all of the pieces worked on paper.
Then I'd go build one?..
And it almost never worked. I had made an assumption about something in the real world that wasn't quite right. I'd missed something about the real world. So, I'm working back and forth from the ideal paper design to the real world result until it started working in the real world. Then I'd go back and document that on paper.
Now the real BIG AHA!
I don't believe there is a self-respecting engineer anywhere in the world that is ready to release his design to production when production is screaming for it. The reason??? Once the engineer has a real working example on paper things start jumping off the paper at you. You can see things you didn't even think of before. There are new concepts there.
?Gee, I didn't see that. If I change this'it?ll work better.? Or..?Wow, over here, if I do ____ then it'll be cheaper to produce? Actually, once it's on paper and working it's almost never ending what you keep finding.
And I had said to my boss, ?Sure I know how.? But it was between my ears. I learned that you have to get it on paper to start seeing the gotcha's before you can fix them, and once you build a real one you start learning new things about how to optimize, how to make it cheaper, how to make it work better, and it never ends. There are so many opportunities to make it better. Now, let me ask you one more question:
How many people do you know that are running their business ?between their ears?? How many are saying ?I know how??
I actually have had companies tell me ?Get out of my way, I don't have time to plan. I have to produce NOW? Then they call me back in a few months asking for help after they have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars.
That's when the real aha hit me. After putting it on paper I've seen those same business jump 5 times, 10 times in revenues in just weeks.
So, how many do you know that are running their business between their ears and have never put it on paper? Or, some may have put it on paper, but it's setting somewhere on the shelf.
The opportunity to grow your business, BIG TIME, is ?having a written plan on paper, determining the KEY measurements that will be important and will deliver the results we want. Having clear targets and goals, evaluating what you see and fixing all the gaps, on the paper, BEFORE finding them in the real world. ?Then implementing the plan, again finding what is different between the paper and the real world and fixing them. ?Then evaluating the results from the real world, comparing against the key measurements and where we expected to be. ?Optimizing the results'If we are tracking the RIGHT things, keeping good results measurements, I guarantee that you will find an AHA that will increase the output of your company, a department, a work group, by 2-10 times. And many times we find several ways to multiply a business over and over. It's almost always been a given with the companies we've worked with.
Getting a business off the ground is not an easy thing to do. It requires a lot of hard work, a good plan, and a little luck. Most people can handle the hard work part and you'll either be lucky or not, it's the planning part that most people have trouble with. Many people looking to go into business for themselves have no idea what a business plan is or even looks like let alone how to write one. Luckily the internet provides a lot of resources to give you a hand. But some circumstances may cause you to forgo a business plan right away. In that case you may not have one yet or it's been collecting dust for the last year or more. Well it's time to remedy the situation.
Your business plan is a plan for the future. It's about both where your company currently is and where you want it to go. It will be used to convince others such as banks and potential investors about the strengths of your company and its ability to grow and thrive. Your business plan reflects how much you know about what you do. As well as your industry, and your competition and their products or services offered. There is an old military saying goes no plan survives contact with the enemy. Well neither will your business plan. You will need to update you business plan regularly to keep it relevant.
That's one of the things that most people don't realize. As time goes on situations will change. Your goals change, opportunities come and go, and the realities of your market change. Maybe you land a big customer that helps change your finances or an advertising campaign is more successful than you thought it would be or it could have been less successful. It is not to say that things will change dramatically in a short period of time but over months and years they can. Your business plan needs to reflect that and stay up to date with the current situation and your future plans.
Your business plan is a tool to be used to help you guide your business. It is something that you can refer to frequently to make sure you stay on track. A good business plan has the ability to communicate to others what you are trying to achieve. Especially when you are in the process of searching for money.
As a manager as well as the owner of the business it helps you evaluate the progress you've made based on the goals you'd set when you first wrote the plan. Your business plan will always be a work in progress. It will grow and evolve as you gain experience from running your business and dealing with the industry you're in.
And finally it of course helps you plan out what you would like to see happen with the business. Hopefully your business plan will help you to recognize potential problems to your growth. You should be able to identify other possible markets and customers you'd like to eventually pursue. And it should allow you to clearly see what your financial goals and projections are. If nothing else it forces you to periodically take a hard realistic look at your business so you are prepared for the future. Having a well prepared business plan is never a wrong move.
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Alan Boyer has sinced written about articles on various topics from Small Business, Sales and Negotiation and Hypnotherapy. Alan Boyer, President/CEO of The Leader's Perspective, LLC () is a leading breakthrough specialists. He has worked with the worl. Alan Boyer's top article generates over 14800 views. to your Favourites.
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