Plan to Plan or Plan to Fail

• Few small businesses can afford the luxury of doing business without developing plans that define their business's goals, tactics and budget. Yet many businesses operate without a clear understanding of something as central to operating a business as identifying the financial goals of the businesses. They operate without understanding the demands of the business from manpower, resources, financial or other important dynamics and yet they are incredulous when their business eventually falters or fails.
  
  The best small business plan idea is to develop a strategic plan. This is not an easy undertaking and may require work and thinking outside the normal operations of the enterprise. Often, small business owners fail to devote the time needed to create a plan or don't do the due diligence necessity to ensure the plan is based on current information and realistic expectations.
  
  

Thnk Big

• Even Google and IBM were at one time a mere glint in an entrepreneur's eye. Every small business plan should include some activity or initiative that stretches the boundaries of how the industry currently defines that business.
  
  Whether these are brainstorming sessions where employees are allowed to make suggestions in an atmosphere of openness, or outreach made to another company with the goal of creating synergies for future cooperative work initiatives, small businesses should include these growth initiatives in their plan. Small businesses must think big. The seeds of small business ideas sown today might be reaped as large business crops another season.
  
  

The Contingency

• You've worked hard to develop your business plan, covering all the knowns and trying to anticipate any unknowns. But things fall apart. You might have overestimated the receptivity to your new product line. Your primary client through no fault of yours decides to cut his order. Your factory burns to the ground by forces outside your control.
  
  Few businesses engage in worst-case scenario thinking and even fewer have a workable plan of action in place should the sky indeed fall. Even titans of industry--General Motors, Morgan Stanley and Countrywide, for example--have demonstrated just how far the mighty could fall. When your business is in the midst of the best of times, do yourself a favor and make a plan to survive the worst of times. You may never need it, but because it was developed an atmosphere of calm deliberation, its neutrality will make it invaluable as a management tool if disaster strikes.