The Unplanned Approach to Business Planning

There are more than 2,500 businesses started every day in the United States of America. That’s an astonishing number. The sum of all small businesses in the USA is more than 26 million, which is around the same as the entire population of Canada, the country where I live.

I find this oddly comforting. To me, it means there is abundant opportunity and more than enough business to go around for all of us. I like to envision all of the individuals whose businesses started with a highly personal decision and passion. I know from the statistics that many of these people decided to pursue self employment after careers, as an alternative choice based on their desire for ultimate freedom and flexibility.

More than ever, these businesses are being started and operated from a home office, funded by personal finances and bootstrapping. Many of them are service-based, meaning there is little or no inventory and low overhead. The business is fueled by pure, high octane heart and brain power. Most of them only need a small number of regular clients to be financially successful and sustainable.

Yet every time I meet with a group of small business owners, I hear the same concerns. Working harder than they ever did in their jobs, they start to resent the demands of the business. They feel guilty for the time they take away from their families. They get tired of constantly chasing to get clients. They lose sleep at night because they’re not making as much as they expected, and for many, not even close to what they need. They grow disillusioned. They are afraid they’ve made a huge mistake and that it is irreversible. They start to wonder if it’s time to give up and get a real job. So much for freedom and flexibility.

If this sounds familiar to you, or if you are early in the decision process whether or not to leave your career, it’s true that no one can guarantee your business will be successful. Business is a game of chance.

But to quote Louis Pasteur, a pioneer of science, “Chance favors the prepared mind“. Or Ben Franklin, who said ” An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Either way, it means that some focused time spent planning your business will pay off in the end.

There are two things I know for sure. Number one, is that the most common issue I see among dissatisfied business owners is that they did not take the time to figure out what they wanted from their life and how the business relates to this.  Number two, is that it is very rare for an individual to end up in the exact business they started. As the business matures, it often shifts. As the person running it develops her sea legs, she often finds her interests change.

This might seem like I’m contradicting myself. Why plan if you are going to change it anyway?

The reason is simple. You have a better chance of getting where you want to go, and you’ll be alert along the way to recognize signs that your course needs correction. You can’t fix what you can’t define. Recover, or repeat.

Here are some tell-tale signs of service businesses that are un-planned:

• No clear definition of an ideal client or market
• Random prices
• Custom quoting for everything (no standardization)
• Charging clients by the hour
• Prices too low and rarely increased
• Only one service offered
• Too many random services offered
• No clear path of choices for the client to continue the relationship with you
• Rollercoaster cash flow

If you are new to business, you’re at the perfect place to think about what you want, what you need, how you like to work, and who you’re ideally suited to work with. These are the very first decisions that need to be made to begin to custom design a business that will fit you. After that is the time to explore the type of business model that is going to best serve you, what your streams of revenue will be, and how to package, price and market to get you and your services in front of the right people – the ideal clients that you uniquely are designed to serve.

If you’re in a business that feels like a job, there are always options. You can revamp, reinvent or release it. It’s your choice!

There are always ways to:

• Make more of what you already have, by leveraging what you do in new ways
• Adding other sources of revenue
• Taking your services to a new market
• Streamlining your operations
• Transition strategically – in or out

When you feel out of control, do what’s in your control. You are not a victim of your business. The power to create the business that works for you is in your hands. Take it back!

P.S. Take a peek at the Year End Special tab if you want to reclaim your business and start 2011 off on the “right foot”

Want to use this article? You can as long as you include this footer: Sherri Garrity is the Chief Corporate Fugitive and creator of the Five Keys Success System^TM  for ex-corporate employees and aspiring entrepreneurs who want to break free from the confines of their corporate experience and live outside of the ordinary. The Corporate Fugitive system demystifies the business of setting up, managing, marketing and growing a successful and extraordinary business. Visit www.corporatefugitive.com for information and step-by-step resources to take you from overwhelmed employee to extraordinary entrepreneur.