4 Things Your Business Plan Must Have
Businesses of every type, including coaches, need a business plan. Don’t think you can skip by on this important step because you offer a service instead of a physical product. Every business can benefit from a business plan.
First Step, Focus.
When you create a business plan you need to focus on the reasons for your business:
Who do you want to serve?
What do you want to provide?
When do you want to start?
Where will you set up shop?
Why do you want to start such an endeavor?
How will you meld all these things together to create a prosperous business?
These are the primary reasons why you’re going into business and they should always be at the forefront of your mind when making decisions.
Something else to focus on is your big dream. How much money do you want to make over the next 5 years? Do you want to sell multiple products or have several locations? Everyone’s big dream will be different but you should write it down as part of the plan.
Second Step, A Plan.
Think of your business plan as a mountain. Your mission statement is at the base of the mountain while your big dream is at the peak. Everything in between is what you need to plan and these steps should also be incorporated into a business plan.
What products do you want to create? How often do you want to produce a product? How can you implement some passive income or affiliate income into your business? Are there any speaking engagements or online summit opportunities that will expand your reach and your followers? What can you add to your sales funnel for those not yet ready to commit to coaching?
Third Step, Action Steps.
This is where your planning steps are broken down into smaller, actionable steps. Instead of just saying I want to write a book, break the process down further. How much time can you dedicate each day to writing? Do you want to self-publish or find a publisher? You’ll need to hire an editor and someone to design the cover. These are actionable steps that can easily be crossed off your to do list once completed.
Don’t be thrown off here. You don’t need to plan 5 years’ worth of action steps at one time. The idea is to plan a year at a time, keeping your focus in mind, so that the action steps become a pathway or a blueprint to your big dreams.
Forth Step, Hire a support team
A common piece of advice from business coaches to those who want to grow their business is to hire team members who can do the support work so you can focus your efforts on money-making tasks. In other words, don’t waste your time doing bookkeeping or answering emails because you’ll make more money selling your signature program or coaching clients.
So how’s a business supposed to run smoothly when you’re not doing those necessary support tasks? Simple…you hire people to do those tasks for you. There are expert Virtual Assistants who can create an organized inbox with filters, folders and labels in mere minutes. There are expert Bookkeepers who find joy in numbers and live for balancing your books each month. And there are still others who adore creating online content and helping customers with their questions and problems. This is the team you need to create.
There’s Not Enough Time in Your Day
If this is your excuse for not getting tasks done, then it’s time to hire at least one team member. Make a list of your most pressing tasks that need doing and hire the appropriate person for the job. Start small if necessary, paying a Virtual Assistant for 5 hours a month, for instance, and then work up from there as you become more comfortable delegating tasks to her. You’ve just gained 5 hours in your month so use it wisely.
You Can’t Clone Yourself
How on earth can you coach your clients while also getting prospects into your sales funnel and creating books or other signature programs? You can’t, plain and simple, because there is only ONE of you! This leads back to you doing the money-making tasks. Hire a ghostwriter to write your book or programs; hire a Virtual Assistant to help with administrative tasks; hire a Customer Service Specialist to answer your phones and client questions. While they work, you work on building relationships with your clients and prospects.
You Don’t Have Time to Learn the Latest Technology
Technology is wonderful and keeps improving every day but who has the time to learn all these programs and apps? There are many tools for designing graphics but instead of fooling around for hours to design your book covers or social media graphics, hire a graphic designer who already knows about design and color principles and likely has the latest and greatest design program. There’s no learning curve here. You only have to explain your vision to the designer and let her take over.
Again, focus on your money-making activities. This will serve you well.