Question: Where do you want your business to be 6 months to 1 year from now?
Do you currently have a business plan and are following it?
A person would certainly never think of building a new house without first drawing up a detailed blueprint, and then following
directions to construct it.
Yet, many people start and continue an e-business without foggiest notion of where they want to go and how they are going to get there.
Investor's Business Daily recently ran an article outlining key steps to building a strong business. #3 on list was developing an operating plan, then sticking to it.
So right now......take 30 minutes and write down where you expect to be financially with your business in 6 months, in 1 year, and in 3 years. Then write down how you plan on getting there.
For ages financial planners have touted benefits of having a budget for your household expenses. If they think it's so important for a home, then don't you think it is even more important for your business?
The plan does not have to be elaborate or highly detailed right now, you can always add to it later. Simply write something similar to a home budget. How much do you have for joining or starting a new business? How much can you afford for advertising costs?
Consider this: if you are not willing to even write down some sort of business plan, do you reasonably expect to have a thriving business 3 years from now?
#1 on IBD list was "Cash Is King." Getting into a lot of debt without quick profits to justify it, is what spelled death for many of crashed Dotcoms.
Many of these businesses had serious cash flow problems, but because money was flowing in so rapidly from investors, they chose to overspend their budgets. When bottom fell out and money tree quit producing, there was no real source of continuing revenue to meet operating expenses.
