Plan for Success

By Robin Wydryk, Partner

Success in business doesn't happen by accident. It takes planning. Yet too often small business owners and sole proprietors get so caught up in day-to-day operations that they fail to make time to plan for their future.

There are companies that are successful despite a lack of planning, but many more are scrambling just to keep up with day-to-day demands. This exposes them to risk, presents unnecessary challenges and prevents the company from growing to the next level.

It also creates unnecessary stress for the owner/manager who can't understand why he or she seems to be working harder and harder with fewer returns. If you want to get off the treadmill, you have to consciously decide to make time to create a vision for your business and your personal lifestyle, and build a plan for achieving it.

So why do so many business owners have trouble fulfilling this seemingly simple step? The biggest obstacles to planning for the future are time and resources. You may have good intentions, but it's difficult to facilitate discussion on your own or you may lack the willpower to schedule a block of time that will take you away from your business.

Consider appointing a facilitator to hold you accountable and keep the process on track. This can be someone you trust - a lawyer, accountant or business colleague. Or you may want to consider joining a business peer group, where business owners meet on a regular basis to share challenges, opportunities and solutions.

The bottom line is clear - if you want to realize success and expand your business, you need to plan for growth. We use a thorough program to take our clients through these steps, but for small firms, the owner or management team can accomplish this by stepping back to look at the BIG picture:

Focus first on the things the company is doing well. This will reinforce the company's positive path and will help you assess what improvements or adjustments are needed to stay ahead of the competition and continue enjoying success.
List what you want to accomplish - don't bite off more than you can chew. Pick the two or three actions that will provide the greatest benefit and set out an action plan to accomplish those goals.
Put the action plan in writing, with time frames and designate a champion. It's surprising what gets done when a plan is written out and someone is responsible for executing the plan.

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