And for all of you that like my business-related articles on the blog, I wanted to leave you with something that can be of great use when you’re a businessperson yourself. It’s practical, and very effective (at least to many people!): it allows you to track and see your progress. Does anything ring a bell? It’s a habit tracker, but for your work life; today, I wanted to talk about a 5-year plan for your company!
A lot of people when they first start with their business lose themselves in the newfound glory of following their dreams; that is why there are many instances in which people’s business flop. They forget that there are many tasks they need to do, and often fall behind them because of x, y, or z. To escape their pattern (don’t worry, we know you won’t follow in their footsteps), you should start creating year plans for your company! Why? Because they will keep you on track with your tasks, and you will be always reminded of your progress.
Now that I’ve (hopefully) persuaded you into creating a 5-year plan, I will show you how you can do it yourself!
1. Think of how you want to grow your business
Yep – all you need to do in the first place is to consider all of the projects and ideas you can develop and bring to life in the following 5 years.
Do you want to meddle with international shipping for instance? Do you want to plan a project that will get local support? Whatever you feel is a good way of growing your company is a good start for the plan you’re about to make.
When you have your ideas, it’s time to think about how you can achieve them.
2. Make a list of everything you want to accomplish, then list all the things you need for their accomplishment
For instance, you would love to create an online space where students will study together. You have experience with graphic design, but you don’t have resources when it comes to creating a platform yourself. If you want to bring this project to life, you have to hire somebody who is tech-savvy and who can create a platform which you can design later on. Think about all the projects and all the things necessary for them. Sometimes, when you do this, you will find that some of the projects are impossible due to lack of resources, and that’s fine. Think of other projects you can complete in the next 5 years and think of all the things you need for their completion.
3. Decide on what projects are the most important and the most beneficial for your company
Naturally, you know that some of these projects matter more than the others in order for your company to grow. In this step, you need to list them in order of their importance so that you can start planning on how to bring them to life.
4. Set your deadlines!
Depending on how you organize your business, there will be different deadlines for different projects. Since you’re making a 5-year plan, you can split your deadlines in years; for instance, you will have completed some minor projects by the end of 1st year, and by the end of 3rd one of your major projects will be published.
5. Follow your plan and see your goals come to life!
That’s really just it. Good luck with creating your 5-year plan! I wish you all the best!