Are your business strategies driving your business sustainability and growth?

2020 has been a test on many levels for small businesses. Business plans were put on hold as we had to pivot and adapt to new economic realities overnight. 

For some, the pandemic has equated to significant growth and urgency for their product or service, others a complete pivot in direction, some simple survival, and regretfully others the closing down of their business. We have had to put all of our focus and energy into making the necessary changes required for our company, our employees, and our clients or customers.

Make The Right Decision

We have had to make the ‘right’ decisions quickly, trust the process and be relentlessly consistent working towards seeing the other side of the pandemic– what we did not estimate reasonably… was the duration that we would work in this mode. As we are now in the last month of 2020, I encourage you to review how far you have come during the previous nine months if you have not done so already. 

As we continue to live and work in our new normal of ‘COVID,’ pull out your business plan and refine it to a one-page document. This one-page business plan will help guide your focus and be an easy reference to align your team on the ‘important’ and defined action you to focus on moving forward.

Day-To-Day Operation

Dealing with your day-to-day operational issues, putting out fires as they arise in the business, or dealing with staffing issues is very different from thinking and planning strategically for your business. Your one-page business plan will be a visual reminder to focus on the essential activities daily to enable your business to grow and scale.

One Page Business Plan

Your one-page business plan answers the Who, What, When, Where, How, and Why questions of your business. It also lets you prioritize working on what is essential to move your business forward and say ‘no’ to other tasks that add no value. 

‘If you want everyone on the same page in your organization, you need a one-page business plan to work from. What’s on your one-page business plan?’

–Jenny Reilly

Step 1: To start the process, I encourage you to answer the following three questions:

1. What issues or problems are you currently challenged within your organization?
2. What strategies could help your business be sustainable over the long term?
3. What strategies could help your business grow and scale?

Your answers to the above questions will help you determine shortfall areas or required focus that will need strategies. 

Step 2: What is your business vision? Where do you want to take your business in 2021? If you have a written vision statement, does it still stand true, or does it need to be revised?  Your vision statement will enable you to communicate where you are going to all internal and external stakeholders. 

Step 3: List your key business Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (S.W.O.T). This will help you strategize and focus on what you do well, incorporate trends, address competition, identify and action opportunities, and put in blockers for threats.

Step 4:   Identify 7-10 business goals that you want to focus on in 2021. Use the S.M.A.R.T.E.R goal framework.

Step 5: Your strategies should be robust and provide a roadmap towards your goal achievement. Your strategies will also help you differentiate your products and services from your competitors.

Step 6: Detail the top three to five activities under each strategy to start; this will help you commence the formulation of your roadmap moving forward.

Your one-page business plan will help you drive focus, ensure accountability and alignment of all your activities.

Execution is 75% of the Challenge in moving forward on your Goals

Once you have your one-page business plan, you are only 25% of the way done. You will then spend the majority of your time on execution. Planning time is often bypassed or shortened as individuals are eager to get started. I cannot stress enough how important the planning stage is to ensure that you have a protocol in place for your execution. 

Execution is often a real juggling act on strategy as our time is usually taken up in the day-to-day operational activities, staffing issues, and meetings. You can quickly determine if you are encountering execution or procrastination issues if:

1. You are working longer and more hours, however, not moving forward on goal achievement.
2. Profitability is decreasing as you are not focused on what is essential to move the company forward. 
3. There are continual errors that keep occurring in various areas of the business that are not being addressed. 

Execution Tips

Once you have defined your strategies, it is time for execution. Execution also requires planning time to ensure all implementation steps are done sequentially to save time and effort. 

Accountability and Responsibility of Action

Accountability enables an individual to have a clear purpose, track the action that they are completing and communicate clearly on issues, challenges, or delays as they occur. 

If more than one person is accountable for an action, the blame game can prevail, and items may be more easily apt to fall through the cracks. Multiple people can work on a project; however, assign one person for accountability purposes to be responsible for reporting back on progress and roadblocks.

After Planning

After writing your one-page plan, you should be able to state your business strategies simply, understand what you need to do to sustain the business in addition to what is required to grow and scale. 

Please reach out to askme@jennyreilly.com to book a complimentary strategy session to help you start planning business strategies, address execution challenges, or provide additional guidance in writing your one-page business plan.