How To Make A Business Plan

Happy Hour With the Pasternacks

As parents of four, vacation looks a little different these days. We no longer just jump into the car and leave for a weekend getaway. Planning our vacations is KEY to ensuring we actually have a successful vacation. From just asking simple questions like, Where are we going? What are some things we want to do? How much should we budget? These are just a few of the MANY things you think about when going on vacation. When making a business plan, model it after your vacation thought process.  

No one wants to go on a chaotic vacation, or a vacation that ends early due to poor planning. Throughout our years of dream chasing, we have learned that our creativity truly flourishes if we have a laid out plan for our dreams.

In today’s video, you will find all the tips on how to make a business plan, and we are going to walk you through the business plan that we use!! So grab a drink( or two), download the business blueprint and follow along as we walk you through how to make a business plan. 

Your Business Name

Determining a business name tends to be WAY overthought. So many people think they need a super creative name or fancy thought out idea. Now, we aren’t saying that your name is not important, if you can come up with something super creative( GO FOR IT). The business name should be easy to say, and honestly just be simple( you can ALWAYS change it down the road). Establishing your business name should not make or break your business. 

Mission Statement

A mission statement should encapsulate all of your passions in one sentence. It is a powerful way to show your clients the WHY behind what you do, and should be transformational for your clients.Your mission statement can show potential clients how you are going to serve them through either a service or a product. Your clients will relate to your business statement and it will draw them into wanting your service or product. 

Ps: We know the mission statement takes time and can be HARD to perfect. This does NOT have to be public starting off and can be changed as your business is growing and shaping into what you desire. 

 

What is the problem you are solving?

Honestly, this can be super simple and should be straight forward. Change your mindset from showing others what you provide, to showing them a problem that you will solve.

What outcome do you want your customers to have?

You are the pilot taking them on a family vacation, and HOW are they going to get there?  How are YOU going to help them solve their problem?  No one wants to get on a 20 hour plane flight with 4 kids, so give your client a memorable experience. The journey should be transformational. Clients will refer people based on their experiences, if they had a 20 hour turbulent plane flight with four kids………. their experience will not be the outcome you want your clients to have. 

What Products do you offer?

Go crazy, and list off everything you could possibly offer.  Your products/services need to help your client solve their problem.  IF you are struggling with what this should be, google a company that is in the top 5  the same niche as you. This will help give you a vision and show you the products or services they may offer.  Looking at others, will also show you what others are NOT offering and can help you decide what you may want to offer. 

Figure out who is your Ideal Client

Thinking about your ideal client involves asking these two questions: What age group, and what demographic?  This allows you to narrow down your market and relate to the individual on a personal level. This will help you to know what problem you are trying to solve, and you know the service you have will solve that problem. Sometimes your ideal client looks like you! You may have started this business because of an experience or problem that YOU had. 

Marketing Plan

First off, your plan needs to be sustainable. If this means posting once a day or once a month, this strategy will vary from business to business as you determine the best platform to reach your clients. Find a plan that you can implement consistently regardless of all the ups and downs. It can be so easy at the beginning to say you are going to do it all, and then burnout happens. Focus on the strategy that works best for you and stick to it! 

Your projected revenue, expenses and profit.

Decide on a projected revenue, by determining what you want in the next 5,10, and 15 years. Envision the lifestyle you want to live in the future. Identify your “need” goal and your “want” goal. Your “need” goal is essentially providing for your personal budget.  What do you need in order to make ends meet, and what “ideally” do you want to bring in. Break down your business into different expense categories, operational expenses and product expenses. You need to determine the profit from each project, this is the net profit you make when delivering your product or service. Your operational expenses are your overhead cost, such as a building, utilities, subscriptions, and managing expenses. Getting an idea of your  product and operating expenses, allows you to better understand your projected revenue. This step allows you to properly “price” yourself in order to be profitable for the future. 

We cannot emphasize enough our 5 minute business blueprint, this blueprint walks you through each of these steps and really helps you gain an understanding of what you want for your business. If you haven’t grabbed it yet, grab and drink and download it here. We hope today’s episode helps you have a clearer vision of what you want for the future of your business. 

Cheers 🥂, 

Mark and Nicole 

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