A business plan won’t help you reach your goals

In the August 2024 edition:

• Business plans vs. strategic plans—you may be surprised at the differences, and which one will actually help you get shit done ✅

• A treasure trove of marketing tips, tactics, and strategies for all the DIY marketers out there (soooo, all of us) 📢 

• An oddly inspiring story from one of the best podcasts of all time 🦈

SOMETHING USEFUL

A business plan won’t help you reach your goals—but a strategic plan will

I talk a lot about creating strategic plans, and very little about writing business plans (though I help business owners with both.)

There’s a reason for that—while they may seem similar, they’re completely different documents with different purposes.

A business plan is like a blueprint drawing. It’s a detailed image of what you’ll get if everything goes perfectly. Think of an architectural plan—you can “see” the building, but there’s no information about where the materials will come from, how long each step will take, or who will do what on the construction site.

It’s not action-oriented; it’s just a beautiful picture of what could exist.

A strategic plan is like GPS directions. It names the exact destination (your goals), then provides steps for how to get there. You follow the route, taking each step incrementally and checking to see what the next few steps are. If an obstacle appears, you change your route.

It’s tactical, dynamic, and 100% focused on getting you to where you want to go.

Let’s dig in a bit on the differences between these two types of plans, so you can decide which one you need for your business (maybe both, maybe not!)

Business plans vs. strategic plans—a 3 point comparison:

WHO is each type of plan for?

A business plan is for you, the owner, and potential partners who may invest in your business:

• Making a business plan helps you define what your business is for and how it will work. It forces you to be thoughtful about everything from your finances to your customer experience. If you don’t need to show your plan to anyone else, you may do all this work in your head without writing it down.

• But potential partners, like lenders or landlords, will want proof you understand how your business will function, especially the financial details. This is why you need a written business plan to apply for a loan. No one wants to take a risk on a half-baked idea.

A strategic plan is just for you, the owner:

• Making a strategic plan helps you define & organize your goals and create a step-by-step path towards them. It forces you to be thoughtful about what’s important to you, what you truly want or need to achieve, and exactly how to achieve those goals.

HOW do you use each type of plan?

A business plan is a static, theoretical document:

• The usefulness of a business plan is mostly in the process of creating it and the thought that goes into it—it’s a worthwhile exercise. But once you’ve finished writing it, you may not look at it again. If the reality of running your business is very different from your original plan (isn’t it always 😅), the plan quickly becomes obsolete.

A strategic plan is a dynamic, living document that you look at every day.

• A strategic plan is an action plan. It has specific tasks and deadlines that connect directly to your business goals. You need to make a updated one every 6 months or so, to stay current with what’s happening in your business and incorporate your new ideas. A great strategic plan is structured, but responsive to changes in your priorities.

WHAT is in each type of plan?

A business plan contains a lot of speculative analysis and general information.

• Market research, competitive analyses, 5-year financial projections, staffing plans—you can base them all on what’s true today, but things always change and your projections may not hold up. In my opinion, it’s better to create these as you need them, so they’ll actually be useful.

• A business plan also has a lot of basic information about who’s involved in your business and how it works. Your business structure, product/service info, management team, industry overview—again, all great things to think carefully about, but not very action-oriented.

A strategic plan is all about what you want to achieve and how you’ll get there.

• Your strategic plan is a direct statement of your priorities. It’s what you’re doing every day to become successful (whatever that means to you.) Whether you’re focused on community engagement, profitability, growth, or something else, a strategic plan lays out the exact steps to achieve your goals.

To wrap this all up—a business plan is important, especially if you need to think through your business idea before launching it or you need to convince someone else that you know what you’re doing. But it won’t propel you toward success. A strategic plan, carefully crafted and often updated, is what will help you define, map out, and reach your goals.

Need help with making a business plan? Get in touch with me, or consult this huge library of free business plan examples.

Need help with making a strategic plan? I have a service for that! Learn more, read client testimonials, and see an example strategic plan, here.

SOMETHING NEAT

Demand Curve is a marketing agency focused on startups—and not all startup tactics are relevant for all types of small businesses—but I’ve found that their email newsletter is often full of clear, helpful marketing information.

Since marketing isn’t my area of expertise, I’m always happy to find useful information to help me be a better marketer. Here are a few articles from their Marketing Growth Vault I’ve used recently:

• The Best Marketing Channel for Your Business

• 6 Tips to Improve Your Copywriting

• How to Write Marketing Emails That Convert

A LITTLE TREAT

This American Life is one of the longest-running radio shows (now podcasts) of all time, with 800+ episodes full of stories large and small about life in America and around the world.

I loved one of the stories in last week’s episode, “Swim Towards the Shark” and wanted to share it with you—click the link and start at Act 1, If I Only Had My Brain (though the whole episode is worth a listen!)

WORK WITH ME

This newsletter is for everyone, but a one-on-one consulting engagement is tailored to you and your business. Here’s how I can support you:

• Business Action Planning—For solo business owners with a lot to do, and never enough time. We’ll refine, prioritize, and organize your goals, and I’ll create a road map for you to get them done. (My most popular service—currently scheduling for October.)

• Operations Analysis—Is your business built on a strong, long-lasting foundation? An operational deep dive will reveal any cracks or weaknesses, and tell you exactly how to fix them.

• General Consulting—Get expert support with business challenges like workload sustainability, financial fundamentals, pricing, client communication, and more.

When you’re ready, schedule a free 30 minute intro call with me.

Thanks for reading—see you next month. If you have a business owner friend who would find this newsletter useful, please share it with them!