I remember writing my business plan. I was on a vacation with my family sitting on the bed in the hotel room on my laptop writing up my vision for the future. It was something I put together when I was super new to the freelance entrepreneur business owner game. If you’re anything like me you wrote one too then filed it away and didn’t look at it again for a long time. Here’s why that’s a mistake and why I now revise it yearly.
Businesses change as times goes on. What you sell and your audience change as you learn more as a business owner even if you’re taking over as the new owner of an existing business. A good business plan will detail out the structure of the business, it’s goals, its ideal audience and more. These parts change regularly and any time they do the business plan needs to be looked at again. The same goes for a pivot in offerings. Those changes in what the business sells brings with it different audience, business structure and more.
I didn’t realize any of this when I was a new business owner. I figured business plan was a document you used to get funding and was a sort of one time deal. It never occurred to me that my business was going to change as time went on. That my audience or goals were going to be different as I got to be different. This blind spot ended up being a huge problem because I had no roadmap for how I wanted the business to progress. I didn’t know who my competitors truly were or what success looked like. I was running my business in the dark and it cost me a couple years worth of growth.
As the old adage goes, now that I know better I can do better. Now I sit down every year over the holidays and I plan for my businesses future and that includes revising my business plan.
If you’re struggling with creating or revising your business plan, I highly recommend looking bringing in a business coach. They can walk you through the entire process and make it understandable and easy!
Don’t run your business in the dark, make and revise your plan!
By the way, If you’re ready to invest in your business’s branding and give it a new look, I can help you! What I do is help small businesses create marketing materials and logos that help them get leads and grow their business either through my done for you design service or my design consulting service. Either way, your designs not only look better, but they will help you stand out to your potential customer better and you’ll be on your way to selling more and stressing less. Curious how I can help you? I’d love to invite you to a FREE 30 minute 1:1 Getting to Know You Strategy Session. Email me today and let’s chat about how design can get your business where you want it to be and see if working together makes sense!