Taking the time to QandA group lists
QandA – Question and answer advice to grow on; the practicality of updating your business plan
From Real World MBA / S.F. group’s classes train people to run businesses article – Chronicle 1998/Brant Ward
This week on Alignable, a locally focused business networking site I recently became part of one of the other members posted to the QandA or question and answer section: What’s the best piece of business advice you’ve ever gotten?
At first, I wasn’t going to bother posting on this one – I figured I wouldnt have anything unique or memorable to share. Then I remembered my old friend and colleague, Hal Heller, whose support, friendship and insight was crucial to me when I first started working for myself. Hal was a graduate and often served as a student mentor at the Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center here in San Francisco. He was also the owner of Bay Area Motorcycle Training until his death. He had a love of seeing small and creative entrepreneurs take control and rise to success. Always encouraging people to see opportunities as a chance to explore and find new ways to rise to them. We both shared the belief that life wasn’t about geting stuck and staying in a rut. Rather life life offered each of us multiple opportunites to get unstuck if we stayed ready for them. So my answer, which I posted reflects his message told to me and others so often…
When asked on a QandA “What’s the best piece of business advice you’ve ever gotten?”
My answer would be:
The best advice I was ever told (and is often the one even I can forget to consider) is when making decisions such as developing and implementing a new strategy or direction in my business, to always “go back to your business plan, update it the plan to reflect your new activity and add the budget changes to the financial pages”. By taking the time and energy todo this routinely, with dedicated time and focus on spent on updating the business plan – serves as a perfect way to clarify if a new action fits with your goals and mission. It will also remind you to take the emotional excitement of a “new opportunity” and put it on hold for a moment while you do a deep dive into the ‘nuts and bolts” of practicality.
The yield is usually a better understanding of how the change meets your brand; helps to make your concept tighter and in most cases actually may shed light on other changes in your plan that need to be reflected.
Not updating our business plans seems to be a major action that many business owners forget once they get busy in the day to day running of the project. By going back in and revising that business plan, not only do you refresh your thinking, you ultimately, as you add update the story and numbers, get a better picture of how that change it will affect your bottom line in the both the short and long term.
FYI -Anyone can join Alignable. if you are looking to expand your local professional network. Use this link https://www.alignable.com/join/hxcabnimxncev4imoogkeg
Note: I am not affiiated with it in any way other than a member.
About Frank Strona
As a nationally known writer, educator, advisor, technology, coach, strategic engagement and content specialist, I have been active in the pursuit to improve, educate and promote opportunities that support the engaged learner and business while also preparing the workforce with the tools and skills necessary to stay competitive in a rapidly expanding technology-based world.