Freely available to any entrepreneur or business owner are a selection of power tools that will enable to you build a business to any level of success. I’m not talking about the electrical kinds of tools, cool as some of them may be. I’m talking about the business power tools called Plans & Goals.
Business plans, strategic plans, marketing plans, operations plans, import/export plans. Every business owner who is successful will have some or all of these tools built and sitting in their office. Perhaps under a pile of other binders, buried in a corner of chaos as in my case, but they’re there. The power inherent in these tools is in the building of them. Once written, they are good to review & update periodically, but their ultimate power lies in the writing of them.
Business Plans
If you’ve ever tried to access money for your business you are well familiar with the business plan. The blueprint of construction, the vision of the end structure. This is the first tool you need to build, and probably the hardest if you’ve never done one before. The level of detail demanded by some lending houses can be mind numbing. However, without a blueprint for your business, you’ll wander aimlessly, tacking a board up here or there. The end result – a structure that is unstable and unusable.
Marketing Plans
Getting the word out about your business, defining how you’re going to present your business, addressing issues like branding, advertising, targeted revenues and detailed expenditures. This plan is your tool to lay out the trip to your success. You get into the nitty gritty of how The Word of Your Business will be spread to the eager masses of your target market. Don’t know who your target market is? You will by the end of writing this plan.
Strategic Plans
Little talked about, yet a tool of amazing resource. Strategic plans are where you put up the rooms and decorate the walls of your structure. They fill in the gaps, help you to analyse your structure, make corrections and ensure your continued direction to success. Of all the power tools, this is the plan you keep in front of you, stuck on your wall to follow, review and update frequently.
Operations Plans & Import/Export Plans
These are a little more business specific. If you produce a tangible product (not services), then an operations plan is a good thing to have. This is another one of those “keep it on the wall”type plans to follow. Closely related to project management but on a slightly wider scope. Import/Export Plans are essential for anyone looking to buy/sell outside of their country. Learn about the foreign market and how your product will fit in.
Goals
This would not be a complete discussion of power tools without a word on goals and goal setting. Effective and measurable goal setting is a learned skill that comes with practise, but once perfected, becomes the engine that drives your day. Goals are where you set a specific target by a specific date. For example, to increase gross revenues by 10% in 3 months. There’s the goal. Now with that in mind, what is your task list going to look like to get you there?
Goal setting works in every aspect of life, whether it’s business, personal, spiritual, fitness/health, toys, or whatever it is you want to achieve. By writing it down on paper and defining dates you now have the motivation to kick start that project and keep it’s momentum going.
There you have it. For the cost of a pad of paper, a pencil and some thinking time, you generate five amazing power tools. Once created and used properly, these will guarantee your success in achieving your dreams and help you to realize your passions.
