There are many intangible benefits to being in business for yourself. The satisfaction of controlling your own fate, deciding your destiny and other emotional and spiritual "perks" are good reasons to be the boss. These qualities have nothing to do with the "meat" of a business plan, however. They really cannot be measured. A plan requires measurable actions and results over time.
To describe the important parts, the acronym SMART covers the main points: - Specific - Measurable - Actionable - Realistic - Timed
Specific means definite. You really can't measure "vague". Getting specific when crafting your plan will allow you to define what you need to watch (and change when necessary). The more specific you can become in describing and tracking your business methods and practices, the more likely it is that you'll uncover hidden profits and potential losses before they happen. This means you can create more income and save more money than if you left such things to chance.
Measurable goals and targets can be managed. Without a standard of measurement, you can't bake a good cake or mix color for a painting reliably. The result will be different each time, instead of predictable, repeatable and reliable. Knowing the standards for your particular business and using them will give you control over the whole process of doing your business.
Sometimes, you can measure something, but you can't do anything about it. An actionable metric is one where you can change, tweak, modify or swap it with something else when it doesn't work. For example, there are only so many hours in a day. The amount of work that one person can do in that time will end up being a fixed amount, depending upon how the work is done. By examining the processes of that particular job and identifying the parts that can be improved, an actionable change can be implemented to increase productivity and output.
Goals need to be realistic. Too often, people overestimate how much they can do in a month and underestimate how much they can do in a year. By carefully examining how much and how fast you can increase income, ramp up production and cut the cost of producing output over time, you may actually surprise yourself with how quickly (or slowly) you could reach a goal point in time.
This brings us to "timed". There's no motive to work hard if your goal is to make a million dollars - eventually. An income of $25,000 over 40 years equals $1,000,000. Setting goals that are realistic and a bit bold can be the best way to reach them. Being overly enthusiastic regarding goals can be bad for your attitude and your business. Increasing your revenue by $500,000 by the end of next week would be unrealistic. Setting a goal to double your income every three months for the next two years may be doable and practical, assuming the rest of your plan can support such growth.
Once you begin to apply these principles to your plan, a pattern will emerge. You'll begin to see where the "bottlenecks" are that hold you back from increasing your effectiveness. Opportunities to increase your revenue will appear in places you might not have noticed, had you not applied a sound method of measuring all you could in a practical way.
Regular reviews of your business plan will permit you to modify your goals, identify problems before they grow too large and direct your strategy for the future. Being familiar with the five "spokes" of this wheel will keep you rolling along towards your goals with a minimum of friction and flat tires!
If you want to have a successful online MLM business, you can immediately separate yourself from the crowd and increase your chances of success by simply creating a business plan. Now, if you're like me, the thought of creating a plan sounds about as fun as drinking bleach. But I discovered a simple method of business planning that has made a major difference for me and my team. So how do you do it? It's simple. Here are four steps to help you create a one page business plan that can make the difference between success and failure in your business. I recommend you create a new business plan every single month, analyzing the last one to see how it did, then creating a new one for the next month.
1. State your why. You have probably heard that in this game you have to have a strong why. One way I've heard it put is, "If your why doesn't make you cry it's not strong enough." So why DO you want a successful online MLM business? Travel, a car you're proud of, taking care of aging parents, putting kids through college, serving a mission for your church, changing your zip code" whatever it is for you, write it down.
2. Set your goals. I create a business plan at the beginning of every month, so I always set a monthly goal. Some months I set financial goals, other times goals for a certain number of recruits. This month for example my company has an incentive for everybody that recruits 10 or more people, so that's my goal. Everybody's goals are different and personal, the key is to have a goal and write it down!
3. List the prospecting method you are going to use, the system you need for that method, and your budget. For example, let's say my budget for marketing this month is $200. I have three columns on my business planning worksheet, "Prospecting Method", "System", and "Budget". Under the Prospecting Method column I might list E-mail marketing and Pay Per Click. The system I use for autoresponse marketing is My Direct Connections, an all in one marketing/ list management/ autoresponse tool. For Pay Per Click I might choose Google. Then I can set my budget for each one. My Direct Connections costs $39.95 a month, that leaves about $160, so I can spend $80 on autoresponder e-mail leads (I pay 3 cents for mine, so I'll get about 2,666 leads), and $80 on PPC. I then have an area for tracking, simply titled "Results", where I write down the results from each method. My goal is to spend $50 or less per sign up. Industry experts generally agree that if your marketing costs are below $50 per person you can create duplication and build a massive, successful downline.
4. Write out your follow up methods. You have probably heard the saying, "The fortune's in the follow up." Well, your business plan needs to list your follow up method. For me, I consider every single visitor to my web-site like a visitor to my store. Now, the reason I use the internet to prospect is because I don't want to run out side my "store" yelling at passers by to come in and shop. That's how MLM worked before the internet. I just want to talk to people that are interested, and have already been to my store. So once they come to my site, if they don't join automatically, I list my follow up methods, in this case:
1. Send a personally written e-mail.
2. Send a personally written short autoresponse follow up campaign.
3. Introduce myself on the phone.
4. Send them a simple info package in the mail.
So the four steps to creating a simple business plan are:
1. Write down your Why. 2. Set monthly goals. 3. Choose a prospecting method, system, and budget, then track results. 4. State your follow up method.
This simple business plan, if followed, will result not just in personal success, but help you create duplication in your organization. And when somebody in my team is struggling, I simply ask them about their plan. They usually don't have one, which is often why they are struggling. The people on my team that have a plan and are executing it aren't having struggles in their business, they are having success!
Both Jo Han Mok & Dave Sherwin are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Jo Han Mok has sinced written about articles on various topics from self improvement and motivation, Network Marketing and Advertising Guide. Jo Han Mok is the author of the #1 international business bestseller, The E-Code. He shares his amazing blueprint for creating million dollar internet businessesat:. Jo Han Mok's top article generates over 40500 views. to your Favourites.
Dave Sherwin has sinced written about articles on various topics from Internet Marketing, Network Marketing and Marketing. Dave Sherwin is an expert network marketer that has discovered how to build a massive global organization using little more than his computer and internet connection. To learn more see:. Dave Sherwin's top article generates over 40500 views. to your Favourites.