The Road less traveled… Business Plans

Ideas have never been my problem. I have always had tons.

The issue is sorting out the really good ones from the time-sucks and then continuing follow-through. It is one thing when you are working a 9-5 and there are absolutely clear expectations for you (answer the phone by the second ring or whatever). But for the past 3 years I have been responsible for creating goals, meeting them, and lately, brainstorming revenue steams and R&D.

The clear expectations have to be internal. Twice (well, three times, really) within the past three years I have been involved in a new business enterprise, and the actual specifics of the expectations change but the generality that they NEED TO EXIST do not.

When I started real estate, I was halfway through the licensing course before it dawned on me that there was no base salary, and it would be a good couple of months after I was licensed and with a broker before I got that first paycheck. That would be if I walked in the door of the brokerage I wanted to work at, was signed on, and found a client virtually that first week.

My list became my best friend. I spent the first 20 minutes of each day setting up what I needed to do, then prioritizing it. If I went home after only having done 5 things, then they were the most important 5 things that I had to do for the day, and there was no way I could feel bad about my efforts. iPhone user? There’s an app for that.

My business plan was actually the heartbeat of each list. The list was formed to support the plan, and the plan made it easy to prioritize the list. If you know you need to make a certain number of calls a week and haven’t accomplished that, straightening out the paperclips (or taking the afternoon off) became suddenly irrelevant.

I posted on Facebook that I would be working on my business plan for next year, and Brian Craig, a really focused Realtor with Keller Williams in Ann Arbor, responded by telling ma bout his 411 plan:

A 4-1-1 is a one page goal sheet for the year. It has your goals for 4 weeks, your goals for 1 month, (which change every month) and your goals for the year.

Basic samples can be found on www.productivitywarrior.com

It shows both Business and personal goals. I keep mine as the first page in my planner.

Incredible idea. When I finish my plan, I am heading over there.

But why even bother with a written plan, anyway? Don’t you know what you need to do anyway? Consider this. And there is also something about the written word that helps to turn objectives into realities.

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