The Top Habit for Successful Small Business Owners

Posted on June 18, 2008 by David Gass No Comments

“Put it in writing!”

After many years of working with thousands of small business owners I have seen some common habits of those that are successful versus those who are not. One of the most common habits revolves around the phrase “put it in writing”.

Small business owners who took the time to write out a plan for their business were much more successful in starting and growing their companies. In fact the SBA Office of Advocacy recently reported that businesses that had a written business plan were six times more likely to succeed than those that didn’t take the time to write one.

The more detailed the plan the better. I am not talking about writing a couple revenue goals of what you want the business to have in the next year or two. I’m referring to a detailed written plan of your company. You should have as part of the plan: financial pro-forma / projections for the next five years broken down by revenue channels and expense categories. Don’t just say Marketing – $10,000. You need to be specific about where you spend the money, is it Google Adwords, Radio Commericals, Money Magazine ad, etc. In addition to the financial projections you need to have an executive summary, market analysis, management team description, competitive analysis, and marketing overview.

The top 10 primary reasons every business needs a written plan are:

1. Provides a clearer understanding of the business and its environment
2. Helps identify strengths and weaknesses of the business
3. Aids in the identification of opportunities and roadblocks
4. Provides the benchmarks to evaluate future performance
5. Promotes consistency throughout the organization
6. Ultimately saves time and other resources
7. Aids in the start-up process
8. Aids in the search for funding
9. Mergers and Acquisitions
10. Aids in stockholder and investor relations

Once you have a plan developed you need to put into action. Here are five steps to using a written plan:

• 1st – Complete the Written Business Plan
• 2nd – Create an Action Plan
• 3rd – Create Metrics to Track Progress
• 4th – Meet Frequently to Stay on Track
• 5th – Make Changes as necessary