Planning Procrastination was the subject of my last monthly Business Support Bulletin. At a time of year when business owners are reflecting on the achievments of 2012, I thought it would be useful to publish it as a blog as well. (If you are already signed up to the monthly Bulletin this blog will be a reminder, if you haven’t there will be a new Bulletin out shortly, so sign up!).
Want to know why business owners find it difficult to plan effectively? Here are 5 common reasons why and what to do differently.
- Not enough time. Many of us when we start our business become successful through trial and error rather than careful planning. There comes a point, however, when we have to spend less time working in the business and more time working on the business.
- Start but don’t finish. How many times have you sat down to really think about the future of your business and either been distracted, or simply given up. The task seems overwhelming.
- Over complicate our plans. We imagine our plan must be extremely detailed or we may have downloaded a template and are struggling to make it relevant to our business.
- Go it alone. We all need help but we are sometimes too busy or discomfited to admit it.
- Produce a plan as an end in itself. We give a sigh of relief on producing our plan and assume that’s the end of it rather than the beginning. Things carry on as usual with no change.
Here are some real changes you can make, starting from today, to make planning work for you in your business to get results.
- Make planning more of a priority and set aside (at least some) time.
- Simplify your planning approach so you are able to finish what you start.
- Tailor your planning style to your business and personal style.
- Find help and support that works for you.
- Plan, Act, Review – develop your planning approach to include these steps.
Need some help? Download the Business Planning Summary Guide or apply for your One to One.
Happy Planning!