Yes you have probably heard it all before and you are going to hear it again.

Businesses don’t plan to fail they fail because they don’t plan.

I could also run through the alarming statistics around business failures in Australia but that would be simply pushing the boundaries a little too far.

In a recent post I talked about understanding the reasons that you were in business. If you were honest and listed a number of selfish reasons then invariably right now you are asking -”Yeah but how do I achieve those goals?” And this would be a great question.

Each and every business is unique – but they are also the same. Put your hands up if you have the following issues:

- Cashflow is tight.
- Staff are not delivering on your expectations.
- Your margins with your major clients are too thin.
- Your can’t get enough stock.
- Your creditors are looking for payments.
- Your overheads seem to be getting bigger each month.
- You don’t have all of the information that you need to run your business properly.
- The information you get is not correct. timely or raises more questions.

Well say hello to the other 99% of business out there who experience the same problems. Yes your business is unique but you also have most of the same issues that your competitors, clients or colleagues do. Business is very much about managing your way through the maze.

So how does planning fit into the process of fixing these issues? I am glad that you asked.

In very simple terms writing something down forces you to confront the reasons for the success or failure, it forces you to evaluate, it forces you to find a solution – it is a very hard thing to avoid – when its there for everyone to see.

Much like my previous post on budgeting I am not really advocating spending a ludicrous amount of time getting something together that would wow them in an MBA course. There are many simple things that you can do to get your house into order.

- Do a budget – nothing special – estimate your income and your expenses and use this to help you make decisions.
- Write a list of things that you would like to complete in the next three months – and then rank them in order. You will be surprised how this effects your decision making.
- Get a whiteboard and list the 3 things that mean something to your business – if you are a real estate agent:
– No of calls to your database
– No. of appraisals for the month.
– No of referrals for the month.

Then track how you are doing against this list.

Write down on a large piece of paper the 3 things that your staff can do today that have a positive impact on your business. Then change it each week. Example: thank each customer who buys something, have everyone in the office take responsibility for the cleanliness of the office, create an incentive to ensure that every call is answered within 3 rings.

Ok so none of the above will transform a lemon into gold but at the very least they will get you thinking about where you should be going and what you should be focussing on. Of course there are people out there willing to help and put your ideas into perspective. Do not hesitate to engage them but also make sure that that you are doing the real work so that you drive your business.

But most of all have some fun – life’s too short otherwise.