Writing an Action Plan

I often tell clients that writing an action plan for their home-based business is like dental flossing – everybody knows you should do it, but nobody wants to do it. But the good news is that writing an action plan doesn’t have to be difficult, confusing or time-consuming.
What is an Action Plan?
An action plan (also referred to as an “operational plan”) is a written summary of what you are going to accomplish in your business for a specified period of time, usually six months to a year. To take the mystery out of it, let’s consider other plans you may have made over the years:
1) holiday plan (where you will go, how much you will spend, where you will get the money, what you want to do there)
2) educational plan (where you’ll enroll, what courses to take, how much studying you’ll need to do, when you’ll find the time, how much it will cost, what the benefits will be)
3) new baby plan (why you want a baby, timing of the pregnancy, who’ll stay home with the new baby, how you’ll do it financially, implications for relationship, when the caregiving parent will return to work)
You get the idea. We’ve all made plans involving:
1) what your goal is
2) why you want to do it
3) how you’ll achieve it
4) when tasks will be completed
Making an action plan is not much different than making any other kind of plan. I think one of the reasons people get intimidated by the idea of writing an action plan is because of the jargon associated with business planning: vision, mission, objectives, strategies, plans. Quite frankly, you don’t have to understand or differentiate among those terms to be able to write a simple and effective action plan. All you need to do is address the four points of what, why, how and when.
So let’s get started. Start jotting down your ideas. You can follow the sample below:

Sample Action Plan – New Coaching Company
WHAT This is your goal. Some people would call this your vision or mission, but don’t get hung up on the jargon.
e.g. By the end of 2006 I will have transitioned from free to fee clients and be earning $____ a month.
WHY
I want to offer a professional service, and I feel that charging for my time is part of being a professional.
HOW This is where you list 3 – 5 strategies or approaches you will take to achieve the “WHAT” (your goal). Keep this part fairly general, you’ll get into the nitty-gritty in the “WHEN tasks will be done” part below.
To use the example from above, this is what the “HOW” part might look:
1. Get mentor coaching on how to do this.
2. Build client list.
3. Increase confidence.
4. Create different packages so that more clients can afford my coaching.
5. Leverage goodwill from existing free clients.
WHEN This is your work plan. Take each of your “HOWS” and list the tasks involved in each one. Be very specific and include due dates.

1. Get mentor coaching on how to do this.
• Ask coaching colleagues who they’d recommend (date)
• Make list of questions to ask prospective mentor coaches (date)
• Interview three mentor coaches (date)
• Look at budget and set aside funds needed (date)
2. Build client list.
• Signup with Ezezine.com (date)
• Get web person to put newsletter signup box on my website (date)
• Write a special report on _______ to give away to people (date)
• Write six articles to have on hand for newsletter (date)
• Book two talks a month for the rest of 2006 (date)
• Attend a local Business Networks International (BNI) meeting as a guest to determine if I want to join (date)
• Write my 30 second intro and practice saying it until it feels natural (date)
• Ask ___ people a week for referrals
• Write a personal handwritten note to former clients and include a gift certificate with expiry date (date)
3. Increase confidence.
• Join Toastmasters to increase public speaking confidence and skills (date)
• Ask past and current clients for testimonials (date)
• Volunteer to coach in a coaching practicum (date)
4. Create different packages so that more clients can afford my coaching.
• Establish a written fee schedule (date)
• Offer group coaching as well as individual coaching (date)
• Offer a special deal to existing free clients (date)
• Decide whether I will still have some free slots, and if so, under what circumstances (date)
• Figure out what combination of services will meet my revenue goal (date)
5. Leverage goodwill from existing free clients.
• Give plenty of notice to existing clients about changes coming (date)
• Ask existing clients for testimonials (date)
• Ask existing clients for referrals (date)
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to the free HomeBusinessWiz newsletter to get a brief email notice when new “how-to” articles are posted.

Related posts:

1. One Page Business Plan® – Part 3
2. One Page Business Plan – Part 1
3. One Page Business Plan® – Part 2
4. Five Questions To Get You Going
5. Worksheet for Defining Business Niche