When Good Business Planning Goes Bad

There’s nothing worse than being a meticulous planner and having things go wrong, but it’s even harder when you’re a business owner trying to make it! Every business has their difficulties, but a solid business plan can help you out of most of them. When things go wrong in a business, it’s because a business plan wasn’t adhered to, or written at all. 


A lot of small start-ups don’t understand the importance of sticking closely to a business plan. The business planning cycle of today is as intricate as it is vital for the survival of a new company. Strategy that isn’t executed correctly happens to most businesses, but if you want to create a solid business foundation, follow our business plan tips to stop your business from falling apart! 

Focus on the customer – not you. Your business may be your baby, but it’s all about the customer. Your focus needs to lie with the customer first before anything else instead of how they fit your company goals. You need to meet the needs of the customer and you should fashion your business plan around that. Customers are constantly bombarded with what they should be buying every single day – so make it easy for them to choose what you can offer. 

Get your finances straight. Business plans need clear, concise forecasts showing projected profit and loss and where you plan to get your financing from. If you have finances in place, show this alongside debtor finance options to help you bridge the gap between invoicing clients and clients paying you. This way, you will never be left out of pocket. If your finances are straight and forecasted correctly, then you will have a much easier time of things when it comes to approaching the bank for financial backing! 



Get your team invested in your vision. This is your company, your goal and your baby and your team need to be on board with you to understand exactly what it is you want to achieve. Your staff need to feel motivated and if they can see exactly where they fit into your plans for success, you’re more likely to have a productive team. Staff productivity is important for your vision to be realised, so ensure that you gain excellence from all your staff. 

Understand what your competitors are doing. When you’re mocking up your business plan, you need to be able to show how you can do something different to what your competitors are doing. Showing how you can best them is important, sure, but your competitors are already successful in what they do. Instead of focusing on the competition, focus on how they became a success, then adopt a similar mindset. If they’re doing well, then clearly you need to write a business plan that challenges and overcomes their goals. 

Your business plan doesn’t have to be one that is weak and disintegrates at the first hurdle. A strong team, a good will and a lot of hard work can get you where you want to go.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Post Top Ad