A lot of people have been asking me how to develop a great business plan. As I started writing down notes on the subject, I reflected on the steps I took to create my business plan and what it took to follow through on it. Today, I’d like to discuss this subject and also tell you about five books I believe will help your business.
There are seven components I wrote down pertaining to the development of a great business plan. The first is to have a vision. You need to understand why it is you want your business to be successful. For some further reading on this point, I recommend checking out Simon Sinek’s “Start With Why.” This will help you develop the mission of your business, which will then carry through to helping you create a culture and energy that fits your vision.
The next book I recommend is “The SWOT Analysis” by Lawrence G. Fine. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. The first two components are internal qualities you should examine within yourself, and the last two components refer to external factors. Thinking critically about these components will help you narrow down the purpose of your business and how you want to target that purpose.
Another book I think you should check out is “SMART Goals” by Jacob Gudger. This book specifically will help you set and reach goals in a practical manner. SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. These are all qualities that a good goal should have. An example of a good goal would be wanting to earn $100,000 in real estate from ‘X’ number of homes at an average commission over the next 12 months.
But in order to reach these goals, you’ll need a strategic plan. For this, I recommend reading “Mastering the Rockefeller Habits” by Vern Harnish. (You could also read “Traction” by Gino Wickman, and/or “Rocket Fuel” by Gino Wickman and Marc C. Winters.)
Next, you want to consider the time frame. Develop your plan for moving forward by dividing goals and projects into the next one, three, and five years. If you just develop three to five goals you need to accomplish each quarter, you will reach your goal in five years. Gary Keller’s “The One Thing” is a good read that covers this subject.
The final thing you should do is to develop systems and processes. The best thing you can do is to stay in production, but hire an admin to help you develop these things while you’re continuing to produce.
If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
