If you have decided to start your own business, then you are probably starting to feel a bit overwhelmed with everything you must do. While it can be very exciting to have your own business, it can also be quite stressful if you don't have a clear plan.
Success in small business is marked by the need for a lot of drive and energy to get the business off the ground. However, with so many things needing the attention of the owner, a well thought-out business plan is also needed. Without a plan the business owner could become a busy fool - rushing from one activity to the next but not really achieving anything significant. Planning will ensure the business moves forward and not leave things to chance.
Having a plan with time lines and tangible actions will build and sustain momentum for the business. Regularly reviewing performance and progress against the plan will prevent the owner from slipping into fire fighting mode. Also, celebrating key events like closing the hundredth deal or launching of the website will enthuse the staff working in the small business and give them a sense of accomplishment.
A Robust Business Plan can Lead to Success
Peter Block in his book, The Answer to How is Yes: Acting on What Matters [Berrett-Koehler, 2002] says: "We often avoid the question of whether something is worth doing by going straight to the question "How do we do it?" In fact, when we believe that something is definitely not worth doing, we are particularly eager to start asking How?"
The manager who works hard but not smart will waste time attending to challenging, time consuming tasks that are not value adding or important. The small business owner is running a business so needs to attend to all aspects of running a business, especially things like corporate culture.
He has to avoid filling his day doing the things he likes rather than the things that need to be done. The successful entrepreneur avoids such bear traps by taking a step back from the day to day activities of running the business and setting clear plans. A strong leader will ask why something needs to be done rather than simply asking how to do it.
The tech entrepreneur who pushes aside his able staff to personally fix a bug whilst ignoring the supplier invoices piling up on his desk is heading for trouble. Also, the restaurant owner who spends too much time at the "front of shop" chatting to customers and not enough time ensuring the food preparation is of a high enough standard will soon find she has no customers to chat to.
Using Diaries, Calendars and To-do Lists are Good Planning Habits
Planning what to do by using a checklist will stop the small business owner getting bogged down in the wrong tasks. The body shop repair owner in the example above should have asked himself what needed to be accomplish that day. A simple diary entry or to do list would have highlighted when the suppliers needed to be paid and would have helped him identify when the car repair needed to be completed. Neither task needed to be carried out by the owner, he simply had to plan to make sure they were done on time.
Using a checklist will ensure progress is made and a momentum is built up. The decisions and actions needed to move forward will be made - the specific steps needed to keep the business moving will be made. Also, diaries and calendars will all help the busy owner from getting bogged down in the day-to-day running of the business so that they can focus on the most important things like sales.
In summary, it is all too easy for business owners to get involved in doing things that others can do or things that are not essential. Often, people put off the tasks they do not like but which need to be done. Using diaries, calendars and a to-do list will help the manager step back from the day-to-day running of the business and plan on a longer time scale.
