Today I’d like to talk a little about the small business planning process and how it can be easy to get caught up in the process and hit a wall.
Planning to Plan
There's no shortage of big goals or ideas. And most of the time, we don't hesitate to begin the planning process on how we're going to achieve those things.
But, while planning is good, too much planning can be the very thing that stops us from any sort of real progress. Planning can be a way to feel like we’re making progress, but without actually doing the thing you’re hoping to someday, do.
This is common for some new entrepreneurs. They spend years thinking everything through, trying to make sure the plan is perfect before they launch that small business venture that gets built up to be some sort of monumental task, when in reality it’s not. In the end, they get stuck in that cycle of too much planning and failing to act, being overly cautious. Too much information, and failing to make a decision.
We take an idea, put some thought into it, and formulate a plan on how we're going to approach it. At the end of the day, we pat ourselves on the back for starting a plan, because we think planning is hard (well, actually, it’s not).
Then… inevitably, as we continue planning, we realize that there's a lot of hard work required to turn our plan into reality. Not only hard work, but a big time commitment. Or, even worse, our plan requires us to put ourselves out there. To be uncomfortable and expand that comfort zone as I talked about in episode 41.
Months later, our plan is still a plan. Not only is it still a plan, but we've exhausted the idea. We may have even moved on to something else. Another idea, another plan. And the cycle continues. Lots of plans for lots of things.
In the end, all of that effort spent planning, ultimately turned into inaction. Why? Well sometimes it’s a lack of confidence. We’re not sure that we can do what we think we can do. Or even want to do. We have a dream about accomplishing something and then we end up talking ourselves out of the very dream we thought up in the first place.
Sometimes it’s pride. We see ourselves as a certain person with a certain image and becoming a first time, small business owner may not be something that you can easily swallow, because it takes a certain vulnerability to be in learning mode. And that may conflict with all your degrees.
Sometimes it’s reputation. People know you as a certain type of person and if they saw you firing up a Website and putting yourself out there, well, what would they think? You might be surprised to find out that some of those people might be a little jealous. Because it takes courage. It takes guts. And for my international listeners, the American slang for courage is guts.
Sometimes it’s fear. Fear of failure, or about what others might think. Fear of committing to something that might not work out in the end. And by the way, failure is an option. Because we learn the most through failure. I’ve said this before, but remember, failure isn’t the opposite of success, it’s part of success. It’s how inventions become successful. It’s how any business becomes successful. They learn through what didn’t work the first time, or the second time…maybe even after the tenth time.
Now please don’t think that I’m saying we should expect failure or embrace failure. Because you and I both know that if we go into something expecting to fail, we probably will. But give yourself that freedom. If failure isn’t an option and you don’t ever try because you’re afraid to fail, then you’ve already failed.
Learning through failure is a mindset. It’s a commitment. Again, it’s giving yourself that freedom to try and learn and try again.
Implement that business plan in the simplest form. See if it works. Find out first hand what works and what doesn’t. Make improvements. This is what a true entrepreneur does.
Clarity comes with the marriage of movement and meditation. It’s great to think things through, but you have to combine it with actionable steps. If something isn’t working, you’ll be able to act on it and make adjustments. But you need to have movement to do that. You know that old saying ‘You can’t steer a parked car?’
The hard part is doing, and learning, and making improvements on what’s working and what’s not. The hard part is putting yourself out there, expanding that comfort zone and taking a risk. And then taking another risk…maybe bigger than the one that you just took. Putting your money where your mouth is. The hard part is being vulnerable and humble. Taking advice from people that have actually done what you want to do.
Maybe you’re in your 50’s or 60’s and this thought of being vulnerable, or in learning mode is just too much for you to handle. You saying to yourself, you know too much to be in learning mode. You’ve got the degrees to prove it. You can’t see yourself taking advice from someone that isn’t on the same intellectual stage as you are. This has nothing to do with your skillset, it’s all about the mindset. If this is you, you’ll need a mindset reset. You’ll need to lower your shields in Star Trek terminology, and let others help you through this process.
Because what’s the hardest part of the hard part, it’s believing in yourself.
Taking the First Step
But I’m not here today to discourage you from all your planning. Hey, there’s a lot of people out there that don’t plan at all. They jump into things that they didn’t really think through, and their venture dies on the vine because of it. Planning is a good thing. I’m all for it.
But if you’re such a planner that you even make a plan to plan, then maybe it’s time to rethink your strategy.
Peter F. Drucker said, "Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work."
Don't get me wrong, like I've said, planning is an incredibly important part of any successful venture. But unless that planning turns into something, in the end it's just a words and paper.
So what should we do?
It's simple. Just take the first step. Which step is the first step? Well, there could be a lot of options here for which one’s first, but if you’re prone to overthink things, then don’t let this hold you up. The first step is just something that "gets things going" towards our goal or dream. We usually know what that first action is, but we're often afraid to start that journey because the destination is at the top of a massive mountain.
Taking that first step is always the hardest, but it's also the most important.
Once we gain some momentum and start experiencing real progress towards our goals, those daunting tasks that we identified in our plan start to seem, well, a little less daunting.
But I promise you, that in the end, you'll be glad you took that first step instead of watching your initial plan collect dust because you never actually tried.
What Taking the First Step Looks Like
So what does taking the first step look like?
If you need some help on deciding what the first step is, how about this one. Tell somebody what you want to do. And not just in simple terms, but tell somebody something significant. ‘In 1 year, I want to have my own online side business and to make $1000/month.’ By telling somebody, you’re making it more of a reality. It’s the start of a commitment.
Life is short, but it’s the longest thing we ever do. That being said, it's important that we commit to being bold. Being people of action. Not only will our own lives benefit from such a mindset, but society as a whole, and those around us, will also benefit.
Do you have a dream that just seems too good to be true? It's natural to dream of things that you want to do someday, but currently can't. But, to realize your dreams, at some point you must stop planning and start taking action. Hey, if it doesn’t work out, then you at least tried. You at least took a chance and believed in yourself. And that’s a lot more than most people in this world. Most people don’t even try.
Try these strategies to help jumpstart your goal-achieving actions:
• Keep in mind that you can accomplish your goals as long as you're moving in a forward direction. It may take some time, depending on how large your goal is, but moving forward will get you where you want to be. Taking action, regardless of how small, moves you forward.
Consider the language you use. Which is more effective, "I am going to start a business," or "I am starting a business"? How about the difference between "I’m planning on getting groceries some day," and "I’m getting the groceries"? The differences between these two statements could have a huge impact on whether you're actually doing something, or just thinking about it.
Break goals into smaller bites. Rather than creating this lengthy plan that will take years to fully realize, why not break your goals into smaller pieces that you can achieve one at a time? Setting goals too far into the future can really hamper your ability to take small steps in the right direction now.
If you're struggling to move from planning to actual accomplishments, try breaking your goals into smaller pieces by putting a timeline to them. In the next month, you’ll do something. Then next month, you’ll do the next step. But start now, not next month.
You'll be amazed at how motivational a little success can be!
Check out my FREE, E-book of the Month Club that deals with a lot of the core issues that small business startups can have.
Website: www.tomclairmont.com
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