The importance of annual planning as a solopreneur or small business owner

 

Annual planning is common practice amongst big businesses, but for some reason, many solopreneurs and small business owners seem to think it isn’t something they need to do. That is so far from the truth. A solopreneur or small business owner might not need to go through the exact same planning process that a big business goes through, but taking the time to think about the year ahead and create an annual plan is key. Keep on reading to find out the importance of annual planning as a solopreneur or small business owner.

 

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THE IMPORTANCE OF ANNUAL PLANNING AS A SOLOPRENEUR OR SMALL BUSINESS OWNER 

 

Annual planning allows you to think bigger 

As a solopreneur or small business owner it’s common to always have your head down, working hard, to ensure the success of the business on a day-to-day basis. There isn’t much time set aside to think about the future of your business and what you achieve through your business. That is why annual planning is so important. It is that dedicated time to stop working in your business and instead work on your business. You have the opportunity to think about the whole year ahead and what you would like to achieve.

 

A lot can happen over the course of a year, especially when you are intentional with how you invest your time, energy and money. When creating an annual plan you can really allow yourself to think big about what could be possible for your business and then you can review and decide what you will commit to making happen.

 

Annual planning ensures you measure what matters

After you’ve done all that blue-sky thinking you’ll come back to earth and set some goals for the year ahead. Once you’ve got those goals you can then choose what milestones you are going to set in relation to your goals. And you can decide what metrics you’ll use to monitor your progress.

 

In business, it is too easy to get sidetracked by vanity metrics (hello social media follower numbers). By deciding your milestones and metrics as part of the annual planning process you can ensure you are measuring things that directly relate to the goals of the business.

 

Annual planning enables you to invest with confidence

A key part of the annual planning process is looking at the finances of your business. To grow your business you are going to need to make investments whether that be in upgrading your technology, building your team or working with a business mentor or coach. Read about how to choose the right business mentor here. 

 

Investing in your business is normal, but that doesn’t mean making a big investment isn’t scary. When you do annual planning you are able to forecast your income and expenditure. This process will enable you to understand the possible profitability of your business. Having a good understanding of these numbers will enable you to invest with confidence because you’ll understand the money you have available for investing to support further business growth.

 

CREATE YOUR ANNUAL PLAN IN JUST ONE DAY! Like the sound of creating an annual plan, but tight on time? I have a tried-and-tested process that I’ve used for years to guide business owners through the annual planning process in just one day. You fill in a questionnaire before our day together. Then on the day I’ll guide you through my annual planning process, take notes so you are free to just talk and then create your annual plan and timeline. The next day you can get back to your day-to-day work and you’ll receive your plan and timeline. It couldn’t be easier! For more information and to book a 2024 Strategy Day click here.

 

Annual planning allows you to properly prepare for making changes in your business.

 

Businesses evolve over time. Sometimes due to external factors and sometimes due to internal factors. Regardless of why a business changes the fact is that the change needs to be managed to ensure it doesn’t have a negative impact on the business. For example, it could be that you are thinking about changing your niche, offering different services or increasing the size of your team.

 

By creating an annual plan you can think about how to successfully manage that change. It may be that you need to be taking action months before the actual change to ensure a smooth transition and you can map that out in an annual plan.

 

Annual planning helps you to stay focused and avoid shiny objects 

As a business, there are always going to be new opportunities thrown your way, but as a small business, the reality is you can’t do everything. Everything you say yes to means you are also saying no to something else. That’s why it is so important to intentionally choose what your business is going to do and then stay focused.

 

When you have created an annual plan you’ll have a clear vision for the year ahead, as well as a list of goals you want to achieve. You can refer back to this document throughout the year when new opportunities come your way and make a decision about whether that is going to support what you are trying to achieve or whether it is just a shiny object that will act as a distraction and lead you down a different path.

 

Annual planning ensures you have the necessary resources

Thinking big is one thing, but does your business have the resources to physically achieve those goals? A key part of annual planning is looking at the resources you currently have and seeing if the business has everything it needs to successfully deliver the plan. As a solopreneur or small business owner personnel is a limited resource so you’ll need to carefully review your goals for the year and establish whether they are achievable with the number of people who are currently in your business. It may be that you need to build your team or invest in new technology.

 

Annual planning will ensure you aren’t working in a vacuum

A key part of the annual planning process is to look at the external world. For example, big businesses really understand their market. They know who their main competitors are and pay close attention to what they are doing. As a solopreneur or small business owner it can be dangerous to pay too much attention to your competitors. It is too easy to fall into a trap of comparison, which isn’t good. However, it is good from time to time to review your competitors, and doing it once a year as part of your annual planning process makes sense.

 

Annual planning allows the business owner to confidently take time off

Taking time off as a solopreneur or small business owner is difficult. So many business owners start the year thinking they’ll take X weeks off and then it never happens. Annual planning will help reduce this. When you create an annual plan as a solopreneur or small business owner one of the key things to do is block out your holiday (It is what I make my clients do first before we plot anything else). Blocking out your holidays from the beginning will mean that as you start planning in everything else you can identify early if something is going to impact you being able to confidently take that time off. For example, if originally you had booked a week off and during the planning process you plan to do a launch the week after your holiday you might decide to change your launch week or holiday.

 

That’s it. You now know the importance of annual planning as solopreneur or small business owner.

 

Annual planning isn’t just for big businesses and now you can see the many reasons why it is important for solopreneurs and small business owners to create an annual plan.

 

To be clear the annual plan doesn’t need to be pages and pages long. In fact, in many ways, the power is in the thinking that happens during the annual planning process. In terms of the annual plan, it can be a few pages and a timeline.

 

Are you going to start making annual planning a must-do activity in your business? Let me know in the comments.

 

 

WANT HELP TO CREATE YOUR ANNUAL PLAN? You can absolutely create a plan by yourself, but you don’t have to! I have a tried-and-tested process that I’ve used for years to guide business owners through the annual planning process in just one day. You fill in a questionnaire before our day together. Then on the day I’ll guide you through my annual planning process, take notes so you are free to just talk, and then create your annual plan and timeline. The next day you can get back to your day-to-day work and you’ll receive your plan and timeline. It couldn’t be easier! For more information and to book a 2024 Strategy Day click here.