3 Effortless Tips to Kickstart Business Planning

1. Take the Business Out of Business Plan

In most people’s mind “business plan” has a serious connotation, but really creating one is no different than any other planning activity; think of it like planning a drive across the country.

Just like a long journey, you need to figure out what going to happen, where it’s going to happen and how much it’s going to cost.

Then ask yourself the same type of questions that you would for planning a long trip:

Road Trip	Business Plan
Can my car make it 3000 miles?	Is my idea any good?
Can I afford this trip?	What are all the projected costs of getting to profitability?
How far will I drive each day?	How long will it take me to reach each milestone?
Who will I bring along and who will I visit en route?	Who are the members of my team and what other help will I need?

There really isn’t any difference between planning a trip and planning a business. One seems a lot more scary and complicated but that’s likely due to inexperience and fear around losing money more than anything else.

2. Take a Moment to Dream

Recently I took a business planning seminar and I surprised at one of the exercises that the facilitator did with the group.

At first I thought I had accidentally stumbled into a new-age workshop, but it turned out to be excellent.

Before we began any business planning, we were told to close our eyes, relax and imagine ourselves 3 years in the future. To run through an entire typical day, from the time we first woke up in the morning, to going to work (presumably in our own business) and to make note of some key elements:

1. how where you dressed? In a suit, or jeans and sneakers? This would help you determine the type of business that you were creating.
2. did you work at home or in an external office?
3. did you work at all? Maybe you have sold your business and retired in 3 years?
4. what activities did you perform?
5. what kind of house and lifestyle did you have? This would indicate the earnings you would need from your business.

I felt that this was an excellent exercise as it demonstrated that the purpose of any business is to work for you. To provide you with a lifestyle that you enjoy. Without this in mind from the very beginning it is easy to get lost in the business; and if this happens then you’ll be the slave of the business and not the master.

3. Take Baby Steps

There really isn’t any reason not to do a business plan, but it is easy to make the planning process so big that it gets in the way of the actual business. But business planning is not the “all or nothing” activity that it is made out to be:

Good reasons to do a business plan

• uncover potential problems with your concept while before you are committed to it
• the writing process forces you to evaluate, focus and refine your ideas

Good reasons not to write a business plan

• in the current environment, speed to market can be the difference between riches and bankruptcy
• can be costly to hire experts to create it, then you are forced to raise more money or spend important startup funds on the plan
• you can get caught in analysis paralysis. Business plans don’t create companies or bring revenue

When I posed this question to an experienced business person who had been involved in many startups and his answer was one that I really liked. The approach was one that I was familiar with, since when I worked as a systems analyst we used the same approach in software development.

The Iterative Method

Create the very minimal plan (or prototype in the case of software) then implement it in a limited manner. Assess what you have done so far. Then re-plan and repeat the cycle.

The solution is not to see the question as of whether to write a business plan as an either/or question. It is a cyclical activity:

1. make a small plan, just the basics
2. implement your plan in a limited way
3. assess the results
4. revise, recreate, or modify your plan
5. implement again

Keep repeating the process to grow the business. By comparing the results of each round of implementation you gather crucial information about what is working and what isn’t; this information is then fed into the next round of planning.

A Quick Recap

1. Business planning doesn’t have to be overly serious. It may have to be done professionally, if you are showing to your ever serious banker, but get started with a lighter approach and then refine as need be

2. Dream about what you want the business and your life to look like a few years into the future. This will help you make a business plan that integrated with your life plan, so you don’t end up as a slave to the business.

3. Plan in baby steps. Face it there is only so much you can actually know when starting a business, so start small. Try some stuff or launch a prototype and then assess your results, re-plan and go forward from there.

If you follow these 3 easy steps you’ll find it simple to move past most business planning hurdles.

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