Creating a business plan for the NEW YEAR

[Norma Elkins]

Most of us know what we need to do to grow our business in the upcoming year but do we really have a "plan of action" --- how many of you would like to share some tips as to what you consider would be helpful in staying on track with a business plan?

[Tina D. Shang]

I have two lists that I keep on my desk. A To Do List and a Will Do List. The Todo list is a list of all of the things that I need to get done but that I can't possibly get done in a day or two. The Will Do List is one I create each night. This list is short term goals that I can complete in a day. It may be 40 minutes of work towards one of the long term goals on the todo list or something as simple as a phone call that needs to be made. The To Do List is a list of my long term goals, the will do list keeps me motivated because I can see that work is being accomplished when I finish a goal and get to check it off for that day. It gives me a visual of my accomplishments. If all I had to look at was my to do list I would feel like I never accomplished anything because many of those goals will takes weeks or months to complete before I can make them off.



I think this applies to a business plan in that you can take your plan and break it down into blocks and then allocate a certain amount of time and resources to each block. Make your todo and will do list for each of those blocks and this will help you have a visual of not only what you need to do but of what you have already accomplished. This works well for me because if I can see my accomplishments it helps keep me motivated.