the better you define what the business will do . If you find money coming in from unplanned activities , it ’ s time to ask yourself whether your business scope should expand or you should cut off that income stream in favor of limiting how the business will make money .
Who does what ?
In every business , there are two minimum activities : ( 1 ) rendering a service and / or selling a product ; and ( 2 ) collecting income for that service / product . If you ’ re a small business , it ’ s easy to get caught in the vicious cycle of doing everything because your brain says , “ there are only two activities – selling and getting paid for selling .” Who ’ s scheduling the services or marketing the products ? Who is ensuring your invoices are getting paid ? Who talks to the irate customer complaining about your service ? Who picks up supplies for your office ? Who balances your business checkbook ? See , every business actually has dozens of needs and someone or something has to fulfill those needs . When your business is small and not making a lot of income , it ’ s easy to do it all . As things grow , your “ team ” should as well . However , your team doesn ’ t always need to be a person . Sometimes a program like QuickBooks can simplify your bookkeeping and enable you to operate efficiently without hiring someone . Scheduling apps like Doodle mitigate the need for an administrative assistant to handle scheduling . Other times , you can ’ t avoid hiring a real person . For this portion of your plan , you need to line up business activities with a person or solution ( i . e ., app / program ). As you go through that process , you ’ re going to notice gaping holes in your team .
Summing it up
Writing an effective business plan doesn ’ t require weeks of effort and thousands of dollars . It just takes your personal effort and commitment . If you take the time , your business will have a roadmap towards success . And here ’ s a final word of advice : rewrite your business plan twice per year and you ’ ll see your business advance more quickly .
Brock Shinen has been the go-to for industry experts , cutting edge initiatives , and ministry leaders for a quarter of a century . With a love of people , a strategic eye , and a zeal to help his clients succeed - Brock thinks outside the box , but always with his eye on the goal and now , he ’ s sharing secrets to success in his new book , The Christian Entrepreneur : Dream , Plan , Execute , Grow .
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