Planning: Forget The Detail

We know the old clique about failing to plan. The advice in every “Starting a Business” book about how important a plan is. I know If I want to keep fit I have to plan a training program and follow it, if I want to drive from A to b I have to plan the journey and stick to it. So what about business? Well-read any book and they will all highlight the need for a good plan.

The problem is some of the plans they recommend writing need a PHd to understand. Personally I don’t see the need for such in-depth planning. I’m not going to the bank asking for money so I don’t need to show my plan to anyone. Just as well because I’m probably the only one who can understand it.

When I sat down to write my plan I kept it short and simple. First I asked myself what was the objective of the plan? What I wanted my plan to give me was visible measurable results over time. I needed to be able to measure what success I was having from the stratergies I was deploying.

I also needed to map out a strategy, where I wanted to be in six months and how I planned to get there. I needed to create monthly targets, which I could strive for, and that’s about it. I know this plan wouldn’t pass muster with the bankers but who trusts bankers anymore. I mean what plan were Northern rock and Hbos working to.

My plan is written on three pieces of A4 paper. Yes I agree not very detailed but it has enough information for me to check that I’m meeting my targets. What I didn’t want to do was spend months with my elbows spread on the desk going over projected figures. You can plan too much until you are too afraid to move, a condition known as “analysis paralysis”

I wrote a small plan then just launched. Once I started to get real data in from the real market I was then in a position to make some changes to the plan and to be more concrete about what strategy to use to achieve my goals. I don’t see the need for one of those forty page business plans full of projected figures. I think taking action is more important.

It would probably have taken me six months to study how to write a detailed plan and then to write it. By which time I could have a bridgehead in my chosen market and be getting real data to work with. I know having a plan is good practice and will help keep me on track but I also know that too much planning can be a bad thing. Preventing us from taking that important step into the arena until all the conditions are just right. From my experience of life the conditions are never just right, there’s no point waiting for the heavens and stars to align before taking action. Life’s just too short for that.

Wasting Time

The success of any business depends on how well we accomplish those never ending tasks we have to do every day just to keep the business running. We also have to plan, start and finish the numerous projects we need to complete to push the business to another level. If you are running your business while holding down a full-time job good time management is critical. Without it we’re heading for failure. There’s always daily tasks that need doing like answering emails, reordering stock and posting orders.

I have had to become strict with myself when it comes to managing my time. I have a full-time job so eight to nine hours of my day is accounted for immediately. There is nothing I can do about that time. So I looked closely at where my time was slipping away, how I could use my time more productively.

The first biggest time stealer I identified was the internet. It is so easy to waste time aimlessly surfing the net. I realised that I was reading the news and checking the papers on the net. Following one lead after another just ate minutes that led to hours until I realised that I hadn’t accomplished anything. I had to plug this time wasting hole quick.

I have imposed some serious self-discipline on myself and come up with a system that is working well and making me more productive. Now when i go on the net I have a definite purpose. A tangible task or tasks to do. It maybe updating the website, answering emails or processing orders. Whatever task I have I work logically on that task until it is completed. No aimless surfing, no reading the news. I am focused on what I have to do. Aswell as ensuring I’m more productive it makes me feel better when each daily goal I have done. I turn my computer off with a glow of achievement. I have a list of tasks i have to do and I tick them off one at a time. Looking at a fully ticked off task list is a great ego booster.

Prioratising my tasks is also effective. I have a number of projects on the go all the time, some of these are long-term projects which I’ve launched as part of the long-term stratergy to ensure my business becomes a success. While it is important that I take steps towards the completion of the long-term projects it’s more important that I process the daily orders and look after my customer base. Dealing with the day-to-day running of my business is my priority. I clear this away first then I am free to work on my other projects.

That great modern time consumer emails has to be kept on a tight leash or it will devour your time like a hungry wolf devouring its prey. I filter spam out through my system before it gets to me. Having a spam detecter on your computer is essential. The ones that get under the radar of my detecter i delete without opening. My time is precious and i don’t want to waste it on reading about some offer or other that i never asked for.

I send a monthly newsletter out and until recently i did this through outlook. As my subscribers increased writing my newsletter and posting it to each individual subscriber was beginning to take days. I solved this problem by joining an auto e-mail responder service. Automating this part of my business has saved me hours of extra time every month.

I think the key to good time management is to keep a track of how you spend your time for a week and identify areas where you are wasting time. Once they have been identified you can then remove the waste and become more productive. Because I work shifts I get time on my own at certain periods of the day. For example when I’m on the afternoon shift as soon as my wife has gone to work and I have dropped my granddaughter off at nursery I go into my office and work feverishly on my daily tasks. I stay focused on them until I have completed them. Only breaking off to take the dog for a walk before returning to my computer. I work up to the last minute before setting off for work.

My aim is to get all my business work done so when i return home I can have a shower and sit with my wife in the room. While she’s watching the telly I’m sat with my laptop on my knee, either writing some copy or reading how to optimize my site. As well as the job and the business I have to ensure I leave enough time for family matters. It can be a complex balancing act but with good self-discipline it’s possible and rewarding.