How to Strategically Plan Out a Purposeful & Profitable Year
There are typically two types of entrepreneurs: one who plans and the other one who flies by the seat of her pants. I’m sure you know who these women are. The planner has everything mapped out from the beginning to the end of the year. She geeks out over systems and processes. She’s mapped out her strategic plan in Asana, and by January 1st, she’s ready to take the year by the horns. The other type is the one who just goes with the flow. She plans based on how she feels. She’s had every intention to plan for the New Year, but let’s be honest, she loves the creative work and somehow “life” and “work” always seems to get in the way when she’s ready to plan.
Now I’ll admit that I fall into the planner description, but let’s be honest: many entrepreneurs don’t have a plan, especially not a strategic plan. We may plan, but unless that plan supports the purpose and goals of our business, it’s just a piece of paper. But here’s the thing about successful businesses: successful businesses don’t happen by chance, they happen by design. That means intentionally taking the time to design and plan out a purposeful and profitable year. In order to achieve your business goals, you must have a purposeful plan that allows you to execute your goals and vision. Learn how you can strategically plan and design a purposeful and profitable year in business.
Reflect and Connect
It’s important that before we move forward that we look back on what did and didn’t work this year. Think about it, professional athletes review their films and their performance before they begin a new season. Business review their KPIs (key performance indicators) to see what they need to continue, pivot, or adjust.
Go back and look at your business month by month. How much revenue did you earn? What drove that revenue? What was your focus? What worked? (Think offerings, promotions, marketing strategies, etc. What didn’t work? What held you back from getting your desired results? How does that inform how you will move forward in the following year? Reviewing your year will help you know the direction you need to go in for the next.
Design Your Life
Life and business go hand in hand. A lot of times our personal values are reflected in the way we run our business, so before you plan out your year ask yourself, "What does a life and business that you and God love look like to you?”
From there, get really specific by painting a picture of your ideal life in the New Year. What does a typical day look like? Imagine yourself at the end of next year. What matters to you most? In what ways have you changed? What changes or shifts do you need to make to be aligned with future you? The answers to these questions will reflect what will need to change in your life and work.
Design Your Business
It’s critical that you have a vision for your business. Where there is no vision, the people perish (Proverbs 29:18). But it’s not enough to cast the vision, you have to write it down to so you can see the clear action steps you need to take (Habakkuk 2:2-3). Cast the vision for your business by asking yourself these questions:
What does success look like in your business?
Consider your clients, services/offerings, team, profit, revenue
Who are your dream clients?
What is your current take-home pay?
What is your goal take-home pay?
Current revenue?
Goal revenue?
What is the gap to fill that?
What offerings generated the most and least revenue?
What do you plan to offer for 2019? Do you need to increase prices? Get rid of Services?
By taking the time to cast the vision, you are setting the direction for your business.
Set Your Goals
Now that you’ve reflected on the year and designed your life and business, it’s time to set your goals. I always say that your purpose gives you foundation, your vision gives you direction, and your goals give you focus. You want to set goals that will help you to carry out the vision for your business. Take the time to brainstorm goals that are relevant to your vision. From there, select the top three to five goals that will move you closer to that vision within the year. Here are some tips to be even more strategic with your goal setting.
Think about why it matters and how it will move your business forward.
Invest in the support you will need.
Consider the training you will need.
Round up in the tools you will need.
Create an action plan that will help you to accomplish your goals.
Once you’ve hammered out all the details, take your goals a step further by making sure that they are S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound). The more specific, intentional, and purposeful your goals are in business, the better.
Create Your Strategic Plan
Once you’ve defined your goals, let the planning begin! Did you know that every minute you plan saves about 10 minutes in execution? Yes, that’s right. And according to the e-Myth, business owners who plan outperform those who don’t by 60%. That means you can reduce the time that you spend every day throwing spaghetti at the wall waiting for something to stick by simply taking the time to strategically plan.
Here are three ways for how you can start to intentional design your year:
Plug in time off into your calendar. Schedule any time off, vacations, holidays, or sabbaticals so you can plan/work ahead.
Plan your promotions. What are you selling every month? Think about:
Your Signatures Services/Products/Offerings
Upsells
Smaller Offerings
List building promotions
Create your marketing plan. How do you plan on marketing these offerings? Remember marketing is how you will fuel your business.
Do you have a strategic plan for your business? Remember that if you fail to plan, then you will plan to fail. Increase your chances of success by strategically designing your purposeful and profitable year. Need help? Click the button below to download the Purposeful and Profitable Business Strategic Guide.
Make it your most purposeful and profitable year in business ever by enrolling in the Visioneer Business Coaching Program. In the program I will work with you 1-on-1 to cast the vision for your business and put the systems and structures in place to grow it. Get the accountability, support, and strategy you need to grow your faith-based business vision. Click here to learn more and apply for a complimentary Clarity Session.
