Congratulations, you’ve just started your new business! And as daunting of a task it may have seemed to get your business off of the ground, the hard part isn’t over yet. In fact, it’s never over at least until you retire.
This comes as quite a harsh dose of reality for many new entrepreneurs. Initially, so much focus is placed on the “finite” goal of getting their business started (getting the investment, etc) that once accomplished, they lose sight of the other needs of the company all of those other small “details” just seem so insignificant in comparison.
This “Tada! Syndrome”, and a failure to evaluate the company as a whole, are two of the biggest challenges to new business owners.
If you have a “Whew! Glad that’s over!” attitude toward the writing and sale of your business plan, you’re headed for trouble. A business plan is not simply a document you write and file, or use for an investment and tuck away.
It is a continually changing guide for you to run your company by, like a constantly updated roadmap. The goals and standards you set forth in your plan should be compared, regularly, to your actual performance.
As an employee at someone else’s company your boss did this for you every time he/she evaluated your performance. You need to implement a way to evaluate your own performance now, and your business plan provides the perfect tool to measure with. Check your actual monthly cash flow with that of your projected cash flow in the business plan. Are you ahead, behind, why? If sales aren’t what you’d planned, re-evaluate your approach, find a better way, and change the plan.
What’s the point in using it if you’re just going to change it anyway? Good question.
As a private pilot I tend to compare things to my time in the sky. As a rule, you always plan your flight in advance you don’t just jump in the plane and take off. Down to the last gallon of fuel, 1 knot of wind, 1 foot of runway, you know everything in advance. However, not all flights go as planned. Unexpected weather, mechanical problems, etc can cause the original plan to turn worthless in no time flat.
What do you do if your plan no longer suits the current situation? Evaluate your new position and change the plan! Re-plan your flight, all of the details, and then stick to that plan. The same is true for your business.
You didn’t just jump into it hoping for the best, you researched and wrote a very detailed business plan. If unforeseen circumstances (they’re always popping up) render your original plan inefficient, re-evaluate your current situation, edit the plan, and stick to it. Think of it as a way to prevent you from making “on-the-fly” (no pun intended) decisions.
Don’t allow yourself to make whimsical operational changes without seriously considering the long-term affect (positive or negative) they may have. When you sit down for your next commercial flight, wonder for a minute about how prepared that pilot actually is, how strictly will he follow that flight plan that uneasy feeling in your stomach should give you a good idea of how your investor feels about you running your company (are his/her dollars safe?).
That plan of yours, no doubt, outlines a vast range of responsibilities to be managed in your company, and while writing it you were conscious of every one of them. Now it’s time to leave the runway.
Scott Karch, author of BizPros plan writing manual, is a six-year veteran of writing successful business plans and finding capital for new businesses. He currently serves as BizPros President and as a loan officer for Main Street Mortgage, which provides both residential and commercial financing. As an Honorary Co-Chairman to the National Small Business Advisory Council, Scott was recently named the Kentucky Businessman of the Year. You may contact Scott at scott@1bizpro.com or by visiting the BizPro website at http://www.bizplansonline.com.
