The Compass Question

You want a phenomenally successful business. You want your business to be predictable, profitable, and possibly even turnkey.

I want to help you do just that.

Once you know what you want, why you want it, what you need to know, and who can help you, you need a roadmap! Otherwise known as a business plan. In turn, I created a Phenomenal Business Growth Plan that our coaching clients use.

This planner will help you stay focused, organized, consistent, and uplifted daily as you learn and implement proven business systems. It will help you set your business goals and plan your business for success so that you can have the freedom you’ve always wanted in your life.

Let’s review the eight basic components of that plan.

STEP 1: Your business vision for the next 12 months

Describe how you see your business being different this year. A vision is a “picture” of your preferred future. Your vision should include sales figures, staff changes, equipment purchases, new products, services, or initiatives.

Just let your imagination run on this exercise. List everything you would
like to do. You can always edit it later.

STEP 2: Assess your business systems

One of our most popular and valuable tools is our Business Systems Assessment Tool, which lists the 50 systems of a phenomenally successful business under five specific categories: leadership, marketing, sales, operations, and administration.

How are you doing in these areas? If you get your business balanced, it will run smoother, and you’ll have a phenomenally successful business! You can’t get where you want to go if you don’t know where you are now!

STEP 3: The S.W.O.T. analysis

According to the Business Assessment, you must then identify the S.W.O.T. of your business:

• Strengths of your business.
• Weaknesses of your business.
• Opportunities you need to take advantage of.
• Threats that could damage your business.

It is beneficial to stay aware of these things as we tend to forget them until they become an issue.

STEP 4: Set your sales goal for the next 12 months

If you are going to build a phenomenal dream team, you need to fund that growth. So, this works backward and forward. You have a dream that requires a team, so you must fund that dream. Therefore, you must determine your future profit and loss statement (P&L) as you add those team members.

As your overhead goes up, you must calculate your projected net income and your overhead (fixed expense), which equals your gross profit. Then, you must determine your cost of goods sold (COGS) percentage to do this simple (but tricky for some) calculation.

Here is my thumbnail budget to help you create your 12-month financial forecast.:

1. Determine what net income you want. You need this amount before taxes to reinvest in your business and to compensate yourself.
2. Determine your fixed expenses. Add your net profit and your fixed expenses to get your gross profit amount.
3. Determine the percentage of sales of your COGS, which gives you the percentage of your gross profit. For example, if your COGS is 45%, your gross profit is 55%.

If you get tripped up here, get a coach to help you understand your numbers.

STEP 5: Create your M.V.P.

Jim Collins, the famous author of Good to Great, said that your vision should include your core values, your purpose, and your mission. I changed those words to M.V.P., as it is easier to remember and apply.

• Mission: What do you and your team need to do daily to accomplish the goal?
• Values: What characteristics are required for your team members? In other words, who will you be as you reach your goals?
• Purpose: What is your purpose? Why do you do what you do? As we discussed earlier, your purpose or your why will inspire you, your clients, your community, and, most importantly, your team.

Mission, values, and purpose. That is what you and your team need to figure out—your unique M.V.P.

STEP 6: Your future organizational chart

Describe the positions in your company and place them in the appropriate boxes. Fill in the initials of each person who is involved in the boxes in the “As Is” part of the Organization Chart, including yours.

Then, look out 12 months and determine what boxes you need to be out of. Remember, it takes time to get completely turnkey, so be realistic with your 12-month goal.

What boxes will you get out of this year? What staff changes will you make?

STEP 7: Create your performance results description (PRDs)

This is like a job description, but I don’t want anyone in my company to have a “job.” I want them to have an opportunity to grow up in the Organization Chart so the business can continue to grow. A performance results description (PRD) describes the result of that position and the performance required to achieve it.

For example, suppose a salesperson needs to make a certain number of sales (result). In that case, you can determine how many sales calls need to be made to achieve that result (performance) and describe the policies and procedures for that position.

STEP 8: Create your phenomenal marketing and sales plan

How will you generate prospects? What is your process for generating referrals and repeat business? What is your sales process for closing the sale? Your plan needs to take you all the way from visualization to money in the bank.

You’ve heard the saying, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” It’s a tough statement, but it’s true. But don’t worry, planning isn’t predicting the future; it’s preparing for it. Things rarely go exactly as planned, but when you have a roadmap, you have a destination. If you get off track, you can find your way back. These eight steps have been key for me.

In parting, here are some wise words of advice from Zig Ziglar: “You were born to win, but in order to be the winner you were born to be, you must plan to win and prepare to win before you can expect to win. But when you plan to win and prepare to win, you can expect to win!”

Remember, planning isn’t predicting the future; it’s preparing for it.