There are businesses that get created, grow and flourish without a plan, but they are few and far between. Most SMB’s (small and medium size businesses) are stuck somewhere, for a myriad of reasons; i.e., lack of capital, wrong people in the wrong seats, poor leadership, operational inefficiencies, a marketing program that is not working, etc., etc., etc. Thus, the benefit of a consistently updated business (or growth, if you prefer) plan. Not just for start-up businesses, but of equal importance to those who are already in business. There are some great resources that you can use to create and maintain your plan. Two (2) that I use with clients are,
- LivePlan
- The One-Page Marketing Plan
Missing, however, is a format to use in “digging deep”, posing questions that require you to think through the issues that form the base of a business structure that is created for your definition of success. Note, I did not define success for you. That’s up to you.
Anyway, back to business (growth) plans. I have created two (2) documents that you can use jointly, or separately to create your plan, then enter data into an on-line plan like LivePlan, or not. You can access either or both by following these links.