Being in the Business of Planning

When I first went into business for myself in 1999 with my meeting planning company, The Laureli Group, Inc., I did what a lot of first time business owners do and jumped right into business without a business plan or even a thought to how things were going to look in 3 years, let alone 3 months.  I was focused on the moment and on the next piece of business.

Three years later, I decided to apply for the highest levels of certification in the meetings industry, the Certified Meeting Management designation.  It was in the process of earning this designation that I created my first business plan, as it was required as part of the curriculum. Wow, what an eye-opener!  It took all that I I knew about my business, marketplace and finance and combined it with the results of market research and resulted in a 3-year plan complete with projections for future growth.

The amazing part was when I read it again about 2 1/2 years later, and discovered that most of what I had projected had come to be.  Just the process of writing down my desires and putting numbers and ideas into place gave me so much more clarity.  And with that clarity, I was able to direct my company and its future growth.

Today, at Pick My Brain, the greatest need we see with our customers is the need for a business plan.  Many of them are working hard, setting goals, but often without a strategy or without accurate information.  I believe that the greatest value in building a business plan comes from the planning itself.  A business plan is not an end goal.  It is a live process, and it is in the planning and implementation of the steps created that the success comes.  Sure, if you want to secure funding, you'll need an actual finished product to present; but if you want to grow your business, you must always be planning, projecting and taking action on those plans.

Because of this need, we've implemented a 12-week Business Plan Package that takes our clients through the steps of creating a plan a step at a time.  We've found 3-months to be a time frame that allows the busiest of business people the opportunity to build
their plan while still managing the business at hand.  

We'd love to hear from you!  Are you in the process of creating a business plan?  What are your challenges?  What have been your successes?  What would you recommend to others going through the process?