The secret to an inspiring business plan

I’ve been thinking about business planning, because yes, it’s that time of year.
And I’ve been thinking about how it is often approached…as a to do, almost transactionally, something to check off a list.

But I’m thinking that business planning is way more than that, has way greater potential and purpose than that – and because it’s approached as a to-do, or not done at all—the power of business planning is often missed or not leveraged.

Business owners often start with key targets i.e. where they want to be next year in profits, revenue, and sales. I’m thinking it’s not the most meaningful or powerful place to start business planning. Generally, people are not inspired by numbers alone. They are inspired by working with an aligned team that accomplishes something meaningful together.

As much as we talk about purpose and mission, I find that very few people start there when they look at business planning. It shapes everything that comes after: the numbers, the key indicators, staff planning and development, sales and marketing strategies.

So before you start thinking about your targets and goals next year, perhaps step back and look at the year as a whole and ask yourself:
·      What is the purpose of 2025 for your company?
·      What is this year’s focus? What is this year about?

To even consider that, you might want to look at 2024 and think about what has this year been about? Because 2025 will be building on the shoulders of what you accomplished in 2024.

For instance, is the year about stabilization (after a rapid growth year or a year of major transitions and changes), or is it about building a foundation for growth (so that when you grow, you have the infrastructure and the capacity to deliver on your promises), or have you spent a lot of 2024 getting things in place and now you’re ready to put your foot on the accelerator of growth? Is the year about staff development and starting a leadership team to begin taking pressure of the owner to manage everything in the business?

Those are just some ideas of a potential purpose of the year.

Then create the year, with that purpose, as a project. What is great about a project is that it has a beginning, and middle and an end.

Stand in the future on December 31st, 2025. What will you have accomplished by then? Where will the business be? What key issues will you have addressed? Then look to see how will you start to accomplish that in January, and quarter by quarter.

Creating the context or purpose of the year will shape the project and plan on how you’ll get there. Your key measurables and accomplishments come from the purpose or context you create.