Too Busy for Your Business or Marketing Plan?

We are all busy, some more than others because they are not as organized or their priorities are skewed. Many years ago, in a series of articles I wrote on communication, I wrote something called Busy, focusing on how being busy is a crutch or excuse more often than not. The reality is we are never too busy for things that are truly important to us, so ask yourself what is important. Is growing your business important to you and your family? Is raising capital to expand or launch your business important? If the answer is yes, then why can't you manage your schedule to prioritize a marketing or business plan?

Hopefully, we assess and reassess our priorities on a regular basis. When doing so, it is important to understand how organized and effective communication allows us to accomplish more, an area I have consulted or coached business owners from tech executives to an owner of holistic health centers. Almost all of us are busy, but are we organized so that we manage our time effectively to accomplish much more within a busy schedule...and therefore have move free time for family and loved ones? In my April 11th blog, Top Ten Time Management Principles in Business, I discuss how I manage my time. Part of that is that the overwhelming majority of my calls are scheduled calls that fit within the schedule of staff, partners, investors, clients and prospective clients. Another part of that is managing my schedule and tasks in my email inbox for 17 years now.

We offer very high quality, transparent business plans completed from the perspective of an investor, and we do so with at least three team members working on each plan based on their specific experience. We have a process, a series of scheduled calls to discuss and gather needed raw information from the client to reviewing drafts of plans and forecasts separately until they are final. We know clients are busy running businesses or in other ventures, so we try to minimize their time, usually 4-6 hours over 20-30 days to complete a business plan as we take the ultimate lead.

Again, ask yourself those questions about what is important to you, and if your business growth or launch is important and therefore you need a business plan, then why can't you find an hour or two per week over a period of several weeks to make the happen? If you can't find that time, then maybe you are fooling yourself on how important your business is, or just maybe, busy has become a crutch in business and otherwise.