Q-05Direction
I want to grow but do not know what to do first
Many ideas, limited time and money, and no clear order.
Growth plans fail when there are ten priorities. Choose at most three goals for the next twelve months, put a number and a date on each, and write the first action for this week.
4 things to look at
- No finish line. “Grow” has no number, so nothing is ever done.
- Too many fronts. A new product, a new branch and a new website, all at once.
- No order. Things that depend on each other are started together.
- No review. Nobody checks whether the plan is still being followed.
Checks you can do yourself
These cost nothing but time. Do them in order. If they answer the question, you do not need us.
Describe twelve months from now in numbers
Sales a month, number of customers, staff, branches. Numbers, not words such as “bigger”.
Choose three goals and test each one
Is it specific, can it be measured, can you actually reach it, does it matter to the business, and does it have a date? See How to write a goal you can measure.
Break each goal into actions
Each action gets a month and a person. Start every action with a verb that produces something: sell, build, hire, open, reduce from X to Y.
Name the biggest risk for each goal
Then write one thing that would reduce it and what you will do if it happens anyway.
Put the review in your calendar now
The same day every month. Fill in the one-page plan and bring it to that appointment.
- You have more than three goals and cannot choose.
- The goals need other people, and they have not agreed.
- You have written plans before that were not followed.
- A partner or family member sees the direction differently.
One-Year Plan
A plan that fits on one page, so it gets used. Three goals at most, each one measurable.
N$899
Related questions people ask
Should growth always be the goal?
No. For some businesses the right goal for the year is to be more profitable at the same size, or to depend less on the owner. A good plan starts from what you want.
What if things change during the year?
They will. A plan is revised when the facts change. That is what the monthly review is for.
Related questions
I make plans and do not follow them
The plan was good in January. By March nobody had looked at it.
OpenSomething is wrong and I cannot say what
The business feels stuck, and there is no single obvious cause.
OpenI am about to buy software or equipment
What to settle before you compare products or sign a quote.
OpenTell us what you are trying to decide.
You do not need a business plan to talk to us. Say what the business is, what you want from it and what is in the way. A Business Check-up costs N$199 and comes off any other service you book within 30 days.