Most company owners spend more time planning their vacation than they do planning for the growth of their company. Let’s take a fictional family vacation and draw a few comparisons between vacation planning and business planning. Let’s assume you live in Winston-Salem, N.C., and you are going to drive to Fargo, N.D., for your family vacation. The year is 1965 and GPS has not been invented yet. The trip will involve mom, dad, five-year-old Daniel and three-year-old Suzy. The departure date is roughly 90 days away. What is your plan of attack?
Step one involves making a decision to not just drive to Fargo but also your final destination. You must select lodging. What sites do you want to visit while there? What features does your lodging need? Will the kids want to swim? Do you want air-conditioned rooms? Remember, this is 1965! What attractions do you want to visit at your final destination and along the way? This not only requires planning, but it also means everyone is part of the process.
You have selected the You Are Going To Love It lodge. What’s next? Get the car checked out. It’s a long drive, so schedule an appointment at your local car dealership to be sure the tires, motor, brakes, etc. are all in good working order.
What about food? The kids are going to need snacks for the trip or you will be stopping every 30 minutes. Besides that, it’s 1965 — so there may not be a McDonalds at every exit. DVD players, iPads and cell phones don’t exist yet, so Mom better take games to keep Daniel and Suzy occupied. It’s going to be a long trip.
Now it’s time to purchase maps for each state you will be driving through and plan your route. You now know how far you will drive each day, what attractions you will stop at along the way, and you have made hotel reservations for each night.
With much joy and anticipation, the departure day arrives. The family is up early and you are on the road by 8:15 a.m. (You were planning on leaving at 7 a.m., but somehow you will make up the time along the way.) Out come the maps: Dad is driving, and Mom is the navigator. Mom looks at the map and informs Dad he needs to turn right on highway 142 about 45 miles down the road. Right, left, left, right. Mom checks the map as the miles roll by and keeps Dad informed. You are now three hours into your three-day drive. At this point, you have missed two turns, the kids are bored with the games, you have stopped three times for potty breaks and the little people are hungry! It’s nearly noon, and you are now two hours behind schedule. “Why did I ever suggest driving to Fargo?” Dad thinks. “Oh yes, we are meeting my brother and his family. The kids will love spending time with their cousins!” Dad is at least mentally refreshed at the thought of spending time with his brother’s family, since it’s been nearly four years since you have seen each other. His brother hasn’t even met Suzy!
It’s now 8:30 p.m., and you arrive at the hotel too late to go swimming. The kids are upset, Mom and Dad are frustrated and Plan A is to get everyone in bed ASAP so you can be on the road by 7 a.m.
The next two days don’t go much better. You have lost your way twice, the kids are hot and the snacks are gone. Fortunately, there was only one near accident and if Daniel asks you one more time, “Are we there yet?” you are going to put him up for adoption!
When you finally arrive, your brother and his family are waiting for you. The next week goes great, exceeding your expectations. All the hard work, planning — and even the frustration — was worth it.
So what about your business? Have you spent even 30 minutes thinking about where you want to be two, three or five years from today? When the typical company owner is asked his or her business plan for the future, the normal reply is something like, “We want to grow and make more money!”
That is not a plan for growth. Creating a business plan will not only help you set specific goals, but it will also force you to spell out the steps to reach them. I am 67 years old. My business plan has changed a bit. My current goal is to create enough repetitive income to support my family for years to come. That means I need a business plan to accomplish that goal. Grandy & Associates offers a program called the Profit University Audio Series. This is a subscription-based monthly audio series for contractors, associations, distributors, manufacturers and small-business organizations to place on their website as a member benefit. My homework is to create a specific business plan to reach my goal within a reasonable amount of time. Your homework is think about your company over the next month. What goals do you want to set for the next three to five years?
