Here at Mr. Thrive Media you know we love our holidays as topics for blogs, podcasts, and business initiatives. We’ve covered it all, from Presidents’ Day to Pride Month to National Wellness Month. When we learned that December is National Write a Business Plan Month, we had to write about it for our blog!
This time to focus on planning for your business ties nicely into our current Mr. Thrive offer: a FREE digital ecosystem audit from now to the end of January 2024. An audit of your digital space helps you prepare for Q1 and the coming year. Pair the digital ecosystem audit for 2024 with the guidance in this Mr. Thrive blog, to refine your business plan for the new year.
What Is National Write a Business Plan Month?
National Write a Business Plan Month comes around every December. It’s a holiday created for small business owners and people who are curious about starting their own businesses. Writing a business plan can be daunting. This month is a time to start the process, dive into resources, and talk to business owners about their business plan experiences.
If you have a thriving business, with or without a business plan, this is the ideal time to refine your plan and prepare for the upcoming year. It’s the best time to face your S EO practices, decide if a podcast is right for your business, and focus on growth plans in terms of ROI for podcasts. National Write a Business Plan Month gives you time to create and redefine your plan for your business.
Writing a Business Plan
Writing a business plan involves 10 basic steps and sections:
- Executive summary
- Business description
- Market analysis and strategy
- Marketing and sales plan
- Management and organization description
- Products and services description
- Competitive analysis
- Operating plan
- Financial projections and needs
- Exhibits and appendices
Within these sections, you’ll describe your business. You’ll dive into the struggles you’ll face, learn how to overcome them, and define what you need to be successful. Maybe you’re going to use AI in business to manage requirements. Choosing the right hashtags and keywords could come up in marketing plans. Whatever you’ll need to know and reference, include it in your plan!
9 Business Goals for Refining Business Plans
There are many ways you can grow your business through a business plan revamp and a digital ecosystem audit. Whatever your particular pain points are, you can address them. From there, you can find new ways to boost profits and drive your customer experience toward higher success.
Since we’re coming up on a new year, we’ve designed these nine business goals for refining business plans around a long-term, slow-burn plan. If you implement one of these plans every few months of the new year, by next December your business will thrive.
1. Review Analytics and Refine Areas In Need
We’ll start with a simplified next step. Reviewing your analytics and refining anything that needs improvements is the place to start. From Google Analytics to your own private settings, an in-depth review is always a good idea.
2. Set SMART Goals and KPIs
Setting SMART goals and KPIs gives you measurable, actionable steps to take. These will be specific to your industry and business. The general gist is to strive for goals with tangible steps and success markers.
3. Utilize Customer and Client Feedback
From the benefits of podcast reviews to customer and client feedback on your customer service, utilizing feedback is a must. These reviews will show you what customers want more of and how you can cater to their wants and needs.
4. Review Your Digital Marketing Strategy
A digital marketing strategy is a great tool to have. It does, however, become a tired tool if you don’t check in with it regularly. Reviewing your digital marketing strategy to see how well it has been working and what areas need extra attention gives your business a boost.
5. Launch New, Innovative Products or Services
When was the last time you had a new product or service launch? What innovations have been made in your industry since then? Have you had a new idea sitting on the back burner? Dive into these questions to launch a new offering in the new year.
6. Develop Your Content Calendar
A content calendar gives you a forward view of what you’ll be doing on social media for the next three, six, or 12 months. Having that outline in place gives you less to worry about and create on the spot.
7. Invest In Business and Employee Training and Teambuilding
When was the last time you did a team-building activity with your employees and business partners? We know it can be hard to set aside time for these activities, but it is so worth it!
8. Introduce a Customer Loyalty Program
Customer loyalty programs have long been the domain of retail-based businesses. They are, however, an avenue any type of business can walk along. Maybe it’s something along the lines of free marketing analysis with a podcast production subscription.
9. Extend Your Focus to Mobile Optimization
How often, in all your marketing plans and designs, do you focus on your mobile optimization? Mobile designs are something every digital business owner should be aware of. Mobile optimization gives you more space to grow in the digital ecosystem.
Business Plans and Business Audits
Creating or updating your business plan goes hand-in-hand with business audits. There are many ways to do an audit of your business. In this digital age, Mr. Thrive’s digital ecosystem audit is one of the most effective options in the market.
We’ve designed an audit to conduct a SWOT analysis of your business. It has the added benefit of analysis from our perspective of seasoned podcast producers and marketing experts. If your business is partially or fully built into the digital space, our audit will work for you.
Frequently Asked Questions About National Write a Business Plan Month
Our answers to these frequently asked questions will help you prep for Q1 and learn the nuances of business plan creation. Your business plan is unique to you. The structure of writing it, however, is something you can find many resources for and first-hand stories about. These answers will get you started on that learning journey to writing a better business plan.
When Should a Business Plan Be Written?
Ideally, a business plan should be written when you’re starting to conceptualize your business. That said, many business owners and entrepreneurs skip past that first step. A business plan isn’t a requirement to start a business, but it sure does make it easier to manage the moving business parts.
How Do I Write a 12-Month Business Plan?
Writing a 12-month business plan gives you more direction over those next 12 months, with limited pressure about the future beyond. To write a 12-month business plan, focus on:
- What you need to achieve in those 12 months.
- What your long-term business vision is.
- What the small segments of your plan are, so you can take actionable steps.
Beyond these three steps, the classics of writing a business plan, including writing a business plan for a podcast, will fit the bill.
When Should You Not Write a Business Plan?
One of the times when a business plan isn’t as vital is when your business isn’t reliant on anyone else. Business plans have sections to share with financial advisors and investors, as well as with philosophy partners of the business. If you’re working on your own, a less formal plan will fit your purposes.
What are the Four Main Parts of a Business Plan?
The four main parts of a business plan are:
- The executive summary
- The marketing plan
- The key management bios and structure
- The financial plan and projections for the business
These sections showcase what your business is, what you need to make it work, and how it will ideally run smoothly.
How Long Should It Take to Write a Small Business Plan?
Writing a business plan can take anywhere from two days to a couple of months. It all depends on how much you have already prepared for the plan, how many people are involved in the process, and how detailed you’re going to be. If you’re looking for support in creating your business plan, Mr. Thrive’s marketing solutions may be right for you.
The Month of Business Plans: Set Yourself Up for the New Year
Whatever this new year has in store for your business, now’s the time to start preparations. Maybe you’ll take a fresh look at your core team values and reevaluate your team goals. Perhaps it’s time to start using blogs for podcasts as a new marketing tool.
Whatever the case may be, Mr. Thrive Media is here to help! Sign up for our free digital ecosystem audit, available now through January 31, 2024. We’ll review your digital space, see what works, and find your areas of growth in the next 12 months.