Plan your work, work your plan.

One of my greatest mentors-my father- used to tell me that a plan hasn't been thought through unless it has been written down.  It is surprising to find that a lot of small  business owners step out to raise investment or borrow money with little more than a concept of what they would like to do.   They know they have a good business idea and they know they need money, but they haven't WRITTEN the business idea down in a comprehensive way and they haven't WRITTEN down the definition of their capital requirements.  Writing a number down on a napkin isn't going to get the job done.

One of the first jobs of a business developer is to translate his/her  business ideas into a full fledged business plan.  A business plan is to a business manager what a chart is to a navigator.   You wouldn't have much chance trying to sail to the Caribbean without a chart. There is a good chance you will end up on the rocks.     Without getting into mind numbing detail, there are two  parts to the business plan: 1)a pro-forma which is a month by month list of expenses and revenues projected over several years , and 2) a sources and applications of funds (capital requirements).  Here's the thing, you can't define your capital requirements without doing the pro forma.  Sorry.

Now you have your plan written out, you can see how much time it will take to get to positive cash flow, and you have defined how much money it will take you to get to a cash positive situation.  Step one- plan your work- is done.   Now comes the hard part: working the plan.

I know of NO plan I ever wrote that worked out on time and on line all the way to the end.  There is always new information that comes along that you couldn't foresee.  But guess what?   You have your plan and you can update it as new information comes in.   The plan will inform you during the execution phase.  It will tell you where you are behind schedule and have to push harder.  It will tell you what job descriptions you need to write to build your team.  It will tell you whether key personnel are doing their job adequately.   It will tell you where you are over budget and have to make adjustments. On the other hand, having a plan and not using it to inform business decisions is a little bit like having a roadmap but never taking it out of the glove compartment.


The author, Philip Stephano, is a social media marketing strategist in Bucks County,  PA.  He is passionate about helping local and regional business around the country to use social media as an effective tool to find local prospects and customers. To learn more about Stephano go to http://about.me/philipstephano