It is a quiet week this week, as one project comes to an end and waiting for a phone call to get the next one kicked off. Because of that, I have taken advantage of this lull in activity to do what I promised my bank manager I would do about 7 months ago and develop a business plan.
When I was in a group setting up the now disbanded Mercia Research & Strategy, we got a business plan together very early on in the process - in part to ensure that all partners understood what we were getting ourselves into, and in part to have something to show the bank. But despite the fact that two of us at least had a planning background, we never systematically reviewed that plan. It may be one reason why we drifted apart - we didn't take the time out to review and put down in writing our thoughts and ambitions and knowledge under a few key headings.
With Plantagenet Consulting, it has been a similar pattern. In the initial phases, there was some stuff on the backs of envelopes or scrawled on my white board, and when I saw the bank, I blagged it a bit, along the lines of "you know me and my track record and my prudence with money". This week I am setting time aside to review a number of key themes:
- What are my aims short term and long term?
- What are my targets?
- What are the markets I am targeting?
- What are my former, current and desired client bases?
- Who are my competitors?
- Who are my collaborators and partners?
- What do I do well?
- What are the services I can offer and how does that link with above?
- What are my marketing messages, and do they link with any of the above?
And that is just a start, as within those topics there are a whole other set of issues and linkages. I have developed a template of headings, and I am in the process of filling those headings in very honestly. I am spotting a whole range of actions and activities that have got to be done to make Plantagenet Consulting interesting to the markets that I want to be in, which will keep me well occupied in the long summer evenings, assuming the weather doesn't improve.
I am also identifying the training and self development that I need to do to get me where I want to be, the tools and skills that I need to provide a fully rounded service in the areas I want to work, and am starting to work on that self development.
This business planning lark might seem a bit luxurious and nebulous, but if I get it right and then follow through with those identified actions, I stand a good chance of meeting my first year targets for Plantagenet Consulting, and that means that it is time well spent.
If any other micro-businesses out there would like to try out my template and process, feel free to contact me via a comment on the blog or via the e-mail contact on the about link on the right of the screen.
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