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Why You Need a Business Plan – Mary T. O’Sullivan
By Mary T. O’Sullivan, MSOL
“If you do not know where you are going, every road will get you nowhere.” – Henry A. Kissinger
Building a business is a challenging undertaking. Most people dive in and start doing before they have a strategy, goals, vision, or know what values are driving them. People try many different approaches but as statistics show us, about 90% of all new business startups fail, most in the first year. It becomes a stark reality as you watch everything you’ve invested evaporate and you are only left with mere vestiges of your dream. And there are many ways to improve your odds in my area of expertise, the coaching and consulting space: hire business coaches, seek speaking engagements, writing, conducting webinars, etc. And I have tried them all, with some variations of success. But the thing I have not tried before is writing a business plan.
What I came to realize was that I was stumbling around in the dark, stabbing at any opportunity that floated past. I had no systematic way of attracting consistent business. After consulting with a mentor from the Small Business Association (SBA), it became painfully apparent that without a business plan, I’d never have a path to success. In my office building, I’d watch my fellow tenants grow their businesses by leaps and bounds, while mine stayed relatively the same. What was I missing?
I did my research, and I adapted the SBA’s business plan template, which really made me think deeply about what I was doing, why I was doing it, how I was getting there, and what actions I needed to take along the way. In essence, what worked and what did not. I liked the organization of the template because it forced me into codifying my mission, vision, values, and goals for the business. Each section specifically asks for details on all aspects of your business.
In the Executive Summary, I describe my company’s services, client base, the future of the company, the company description, mission statement, principal members, and legal structure. Since I am a sole proprietor, this section was almost intuitive to write. Since I’ve been doing this work for several years, I know my client base and what they want to achieve, and I know what my mission is: to serve leaders in business, high technology, medical, pharmaceutical, and highereducation who seek personal and professional growth.
The Market Research section was interesting to consider. It includes a much more detailed description of the coaching and consulting industry, including the ramifications of the pandemic and the post-pandemic period. It also asks for comprehensive research on the client base and how I propose to work with them. It required exploration of studies on the impact the pandemic had on the industry and on the clients the industry serves, and what the recovery period looks like. Also addressed is a competitive analysis, and any regulations which are required of the industry.
The remainder of the business plan addresses products and services, pricing, intellectual property rights, planned research and development in the industry, the growth strategy, client communications, and a sales plan. After spending hours on my business plan, those remaining sections remain untouched as of now. There is so much work involved in each section, writing the business plan can end up being a huge time commitment, so best to work on it a few sections at a time.
I’m glad I finally am writing a business plan. It’s already helping me look forward to the rest of 2022 and into 2023 with anticipation of many opportunities to come. Looking back, it’s helped me make decisions about which way my business is going, and how I want to spend my time working on making it a success.
“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” – Peter Drucker
Connect with Mary:
www.encoreexecutivecoaching.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/marytosullivan/
Read all Mary’s columns here: https://rinewstoday.com/mary-t-osullivan-msol-pcc-shrm-scp/
Mary T. O’Sullivan, Master of Science, Organizational Leadership, International Coaching Federation Professional Certified Coach, Society of Human Resource Management, “Senior Certified Professional. Graduate Certificate in Executive and Professional Career Coaching, University of Texas at Dallas. Member, Beta Gamma Sigma, the International Honor Society. Advanced Studies in Education from Montclair University, SUNY Oswego and Syracuse University. Mary is also a certified Six Sigma Specialist, Contract Specialist, IPT Leader and holds a Certificate in Essentials of Human Resource Management from SHRM.