Business Growth Plan?? UGH!!

BUSTED!!

I know that was your first thought.

OK – before you think I’m gonna dish out dry old business growth plan jargon (snore), let me stop you right there!

Sure we’re gonna be talking about growth strategies and plans but in true Ridgetop Virtual-style, it’ll be doable, actionable and totally blow-your-mind fun! I promise!!

You totally know I don’t do dry and boring when I’m cooking so why would I do it now?

But here’s the thing… business growth plans {as stodgy as that may sound!} are vital for any entrepreneur – even yours truly. I’ve already shared how to take charge of your business growth plan so today I’m going to talk about what your plan actually needs.

Thaaat’s right. Get your pens and paper out, beautiful, we’re gonna put a plan together to supercharge your business! WOOT!!

5 Juicy Elements for a Go-for-Gold Business Plan

1. The 5 Ws and 1 H

Nooo, I’m not gonna give you a lesson in essay-writing. However, your business plan must focus on the 5 Ws and the 1 H.

The 5 Ws – Oh you just knew those would come back to haunt you, didn’t you? Remember all of those writing classes teaching you how to write a good article? Well there you go!

Say hello to my little friends (said in my best Al Pacino voice)

The 5 Ws – Who What When Where and Why. They’re baa-ack!!! AND they brought along their little buddy How.

In other words..

a) who is your business for or your ideal customer,
b) what will your business growth look like,
c) where will you be focusing your growth efforts
d) why do you want to grow
e) when do you expect to meet your milestones
f) how will you be making all of this happen

The subsequent sub-heads go deep on all of these. However, if you were to ask me for a single page growth plan, I’d recommend you just answer these 6 questions to get a plan that is implementable and action-oriented. Pretty simple, huh? And you get to put the 5 Ws you learned in elementary school to good use. LOL

2. Show Me da Money

What revenue generating streams will you be turning the heat on for your growth?

Your plan must include the moneymakers so that you can focus on them instead of adopting a hit-and-miss approach.

3. Metrics Matter

Yes they really do matter. For reals!

How will you be tracking your progress? What metrics will you be measuring to see how fast or slow are you growing?

You need to ensure that your business growth plan has room for all of this. Some of the common metrics that coaches can track are number of email subscribers, number of podcast listeners, number of clients as well as revenue generated and of course, expenses.

Don’t forget to factor in and track expenses in your growth plan because otherwise those expenses will be coming out of your personal pocket. And you do NOT want that.

4. Competition Can be Good

Who is your competition?

Before you say “I’m my only competition! I’m unique!!”. Well of course you are but here’s the thing, dah-ling – you will always have competition.

You don’t need to do what they’re doing or even worry that you’re not doing it but at the same time you can’t stick your head into the sand and ignore them either.

It’s a fine line, this thing. It’s good to be aware.

You need to keep your eyes on the ball and at the same time keep track of how fellow coaches or consultants are growing or even, how they’re failing so you can tweak your own growth strategy accordingly. Ever looked at a competitor and said “Wow! That is just so wrong!!”? You can learn from that to perfect your strategy.

5. Stay Strong

Finally and most importantly, focus on your strengths. You need to play to your strengths and for areas that you need improvement in, hire out!

No point wrestling with your website when instead you should be out there hustling your little heart out, right?

Your business growth strategy or plan must include your core strengths and areas that you’d like to hire expertise in.

I know, I know! I can hear ya, loud and clear. “Pammm, I’m not making enough to hire out right now!”

That’s okay! We’ve all been there. But girrrrrl you have to understand that we’re planning for the future here. You may not be able to right now but you soon will, right? So, it’s non-negotiable that you list the areas you’d like to outsource so when you do have the budget, you aren’t spending time wondering what to allocate it to. Sound good?

Alrighty then, there you go! 5 ignore-at-your-own-risk elements for your business growth plan.

Tell me, which one of these would you find the toughest to tackle and I’ll give you my best expert advice in the comments!