It surprises me how many people have started trading and don’t even have a draft business plan in place. Your business plan is the basic tool that should be guiding your business every step of the way. I mean would you go on holiday to a completely different new country with the intention of going on a few excursions without a map of how you are going to get there? Or better still not even ask a native where the best places to visit are or the best route to take? It’s the same principle with your business, how do you know which step to take if you haven’t even thought about where you what to go? Yes I know business planning is time consuming and you just want to get out there and just starting making loads of money. But, think about all the unnecessary mistakes you would avoid if you spent a few hours a week prioritising your business strategy.

Having a business plan is not the only thing you will need for business success, you need to be thinking about your own personal development as well. We are not all equip with the relevant business skills to be a master in our profession. We need to be honest about the area that we need to grow in and spend time or even money in homing that area until it becomes second nature to us.

For example you may need to polish up on your networking skills, or maybe you struggle to close deals which would generate more revenue into your business, or maybe you just need to go on a course to brush up on your IT skills. Whatever area you need to work on, don’t think of it as taking profit away from your business, it’s actually a good investment that will pay off in the end if you stick at it. The more skilled you are in what you do, the higher your efficiency and confidence levels will raise.

If you are struggling to see the result you desire in your business, then you might need to both revisit and revamp your current business plan. If you don’t have a business plan, I suggest you stop what you are doing right now and go and create one. If you have a business plan in place, but want to develop and strengthen yourself as a person, then I encourage you to start reading books around the area you want to develop and find courses to attend. In a short space of time, you will hopefully start to see positive results in your business.