Interestingly enough, Nike never wrote out a long-range business plan. They developed their plans as they grew, building the proverbial airplane as it took off. Businesses with extremely long research and development timelines do make spending decisions now based on the hope of results years from now. For example, the pharmaceutical industry and medical device industry have to make these bets all the time. The R&D required to take a concept from idea to proven product with regulatory approval can take years for these industries, so long-range planning in these cases is a must. A handful of other industries also have similar development timelines, but these are the exceptions, not the rule.
Look for patterns within those profiles and take note of where those individuals were in their careers five years ago. The next step is to consider what you actually homepage know and have done. Keep in mind that there is a difference between what you know and have experienced, what you currently do and what you want to do. If this is the case, then what you’re currently doing may be vastly different from what you want to do.
From that list, consider which of those skills is transferrable to the career that you really want to have. You may want to talk to a trusted friend or family member to get additional insight into which skills on your list are transferrable. One way to brainstorm what you want is to write down all of the career-related goals that you think you may want to accomplish within the next five years, regardless of what they are.
Think about what percentage of your sales you’ll spend on each of these broad buckets. A five-year plan expands off of that initial strategy and discusses what your business might do in the years to come. However, as I’ve mentioned before, creating a fully detailed five-year business plan will be a waste of time. In business, it can sometimes seem hard enough to predict what’s going to happen next month, let alone three or even five years from now.
Shortly after the second plan began in 1958, the Great Leap Forward was announced; its goals conflicted with the Five-Year Plan, leading to failure and the withdrawal of Soviet aid in 1960. Your objectives should cover all aspects of a business—and if you’re using a Balanced Scorecard, you will also need to develop measures and initiatives to link to these objectives. If you need some examples, take a look at these 56 strategic objectives to get you started.
As your business grows, you can use your long-term business plan as your north star. Use those goals to steer your business in the right direction, making small course corrections as you need to. Your goals and growth targets are “what” you want to achieve.
Write the marketing section, including your analysis of the industry, your market and your competitors. Report on your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses and describe the products that will compete with yours. Describe your sales strategy, your pricing policy and how you will advertise and promote your product. Give a thorough assessment of the market potential for your product for the next five years. Use a SWOT analysis to pinpoint your business’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as the opportunities and threats facing it from the industry, the economy and the competition. Keeping up to date on your target market/s and economic indicators will help you see troubles brewing so you can adjust your plan.
If appropriate, include information about professional support — attorneys, accountants and consultants. SBA’s Business Plan Tool provides you with a step-by-step guide to help you get started. All of your information entered into this tool can only be viewed by accessing your account using the password you have specified.
