Just Like a Building, You Need a Blueprint for Building a Better Business
It doesn’t matter whether you’re a solopreneur or have a team. If you have been in business for 30 years or just starting out. Regardless of the kind of work you do, the organizational plan for your business is as important as the work you do…maybe more.
Too many people run their business on a wing and a prayer. They just roll the dice and hope things work out
If you own your business and aren’t intentional about the organizational operation of your company, it is likely that you won’t make it past your 5th year. This is according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Just think about the number of businesses that you have seen come and go over the years.
In my 40 years of being in business I have learned a lot of lessons, some of them the hard way. Let me tell you, the tuition for “The School of Hard Knocks” is expensive.
There were times when I got behind on taxes so I could pay bills and times that I got behind on bills so I could pay taxes. Neither of these is a very good business plan. One of my SHK professors once told me, “When you steal from Peter to pay Paul, you make Peter a Paul bearer”.
If you want to avoid the need for a pallbearer for your business…you need a plan.
It’s common for people to start a business without a plan. Generally, someone has learned a trade or a craft and for whatever reason they decide to go into business. Most of the time they have given little, if any, thought to the business operation. They show up every day working hard and then, surprise…you owe some taxes and haven’t saved any money to pay them.
You need a plan, a blueprint for building the business.
There are a lot of similarities in constructing a sound building and a constructing profitable business.
Both need –
- To start with design plans – the thing that gives you a clear direction of what you want the outcome to be.
- An architect – the person that can see the vision of what the finished product will be.
- A solid foundation – the thing that will support you when the storms come.
- A good framework – the thing that holds everything together.
- A builder – the person that reads and understands the plans and puts all the different pieces together correctly.
- The proper tools – these are what allow the pieces to be shaped and fastened together in the right places in the right order.
- A good team – these are the different people with the different skills and knowledge needed.
It doesn’t matter if you’ve been in business for years or are just starting out…
YOU NEED A PLAN.
If you or someone you know would like to minimize the time spent attending “The School of Hard Knocks”, then follow or share our Weekly Solutions with people who could use some help with a business plan.
Finding solutions for building dream businesses is what we’re about at Solution Building. If you have questions about business plans, contact us below.
Revised and reprinted from 02/24/18