[Tony Rowley]

Do you do/use them?

Now getting on a bit (at the grand old age of 39) and looking to the future to build a bigger better business that will either see me into retirement or can sell on as a going concern to fund my retirement( also don't want to be actually cleaning carpets myself in say 10 years time).

I was starting on a business plan last night for the next three years, projections etc etc with some software I got from Barclays and just wondered how undepth you would go, do you find business plans a pain or do you think it helps plan for the future and help you set yourself goals?
I know they are to a certain extent a work of fiction as you cannot predict the future but I found it beneficial to look at forecasts and set goals for yourself and your business.

Tony

[Neil Williams]

Do you do/use them?

No
Call me old fashioned but I've got better things to do with my time other than writing down what I've done in the past, what I'm doing now and what I'm going to do in the future.
Lifes too short and this industry changes too quickly to have 5 year plans.

[Tony Rowley]

You know what they say "to fail to plan is to plan to fail" I guess it depends on your long term goals, if your happy making a wage then maybe a busubess plan would be a waste of a couple of hours of your time but if you want or think you can do more it would be a couple of hours well spent.

Tony

[Paul Moss]

Burke 

[Tony Rowley]

Burke 

Yes you are, probably you should have a royal seal.

Clearly constructive posting does not apply to you.

So Intelegent yet so.......... Can't really find the words Paul.

[elliott cleaning]

Burke 

.......So Intelegent yet so..........

What does that mean??? Never come across that word before

[wynne jones]

There have been lots of studies that prove setting goals is a no brainer, they make a big difference to performance even if done poorly.

Done well a business plan can keep you focused, motivated and on track.

Problem is, there are people who get on with it and get stuff done, even though they could have done it better with a plan and there are people who procrastinate and a business plan is yet another delay tactic as is too much research, flitting from one thing to another etc etc.

So Tony, depending on which type of person you are there's my answer.   

[Tony Rowley]

Good post wynne, I started the thread because I thought it might be constructive but so far it looks like it won't be. Genuinely wanted to know others points of view. It is good to have a plan/ goal except for Paul moss who thinks that if you have a plan you are a Burke (top businessman he is)

I know where I want to go as I outlined in my opening post. Try to start useful debate and still get poop down, there is absolutely no pleasing you people.

Tony

[Jim_77]

I have a business plan but it isn't written down.  It's in my head and will always stay there.  I'm good at extended thinking and goal-setting mentally without having to commit it all to paper or whatever... but the down side of that is sometimes I get overload.  Sometimes I'm guilty of procrastinating too, but I'll tell you more about that later

[wynne jones]

I'm the same Jim I start something and t

[Allan Simmons]

There have been lots of studies that prove setting goals is a no brainer, they make a big difference to performance even if done poorly.

Done well a business plan can keep you focused, motivated and on track.

Problem is, there are people who get on with it and get stuff done, even though they could have done it better with a plan and there are people who procrastinate and a business plan is yet another delay tactic as is too much research, flitting from one thing to another etc etc.

So Tony, depending on which type of person you are there's my answer.   

Says it all.

[CATMAN]

I would say this, you must have a plan.

YOU have to plan for

How big you want the business to grow.

What turnover you want to achieve and by when and by how.

Do you want staff.

How do you plan to put "goodwill into the business"

Anyone who says they don't care to plan for the future should stop and think

If you wish to retire at even 65 you could live for another 35 years, what are you going to live on?

Pension, Savings, Wifes Life assurance, state pension (only if you have 30 years of ni).

My advice would first be make sure you use up you tax free allowances and get an ISA every year and one for the wife.

I would then look at buying shares and start building up a good portfolio, over 25 years, you will get a good return. Even today they are saying values will double in 10 years.

One thing i would not do is get someone else to invest your hard earned, from accountants to financial advisors. I have only ever some across people who want a good slice of your money for doing very little.

You could of course just keep plodding on cleaning carpets,

[jasonl]

Very few Carpet cleaners have an exit plan or any plan at all , for me carpet cleaner is just a cash generator to fund far more lucrative property deals , I know half a dozen millionaire carpet cleaners , a couple of them on here.

The vast majority who I have met just struggle on week to week earning a wage , growing older with no real thought for retirement... such a shame.


Anyone has it in them to make themselves famous in their own town or city as the first choice for cleaning, it does not matter if you are a full house for 50 quid merchant , or 3 pounds a ft rug cleaner, whatever market you aim for there is money to be made. 

I always have a written plan for the short medium and long term in my filofax and refer to, and measure it regularly, this was taught to me by the guy who sold his company for 18 million 7 years ago , Chem dry uk .

Although I have made and lost a lot of cash several times this method works for me and many others.

[Doctor Carpet (Ret'd)]

Tony

Subject to which type of person you are as described by Wynne I think for most people it is a very good idea.

The power of business plans/budgets are many but probably the two most fundamental are that firstly it can flag up major problems early thus allowing you to adapt and secondly, although probably the first reason flows from this, is that the power of a budget is not so much about whether you stick to it but by identifying variances you are forced to analyse what is going on.

So for example if t/o is lower than budgeted for, you can (if you have no plan) delude yourself that all is well, or you can think through why it is so using your budget. Perhaps you've been off ill for a couple of weeks, or perhaps the weather was particularly bad or perhaps you were just unrealistic in your t/o expectations. Whatever, if its set down you will be forced to confront the gap between reality and expectation.

If your plans are very simple or if you have experience of this type of planning then often it can be held in your head. THe fact that you have several years accounts will in most cases be sufficient if you analyse them to work out if you are heading in the right direction or are slowly sinking through a combination of not enough t/o; too high o/heads; or taking too much money out of the business.

However accounts only look backwards whilst a budget looks forward and you can play around to your hearts content say boosting advertising and seeing the knock-on effect on profit if t/o rises in line or indeed if there is no rise in t/o.

I hope this answer is more in line with what you wer eexpecting.

Rog

[Mike Halliday]

I think a part of business planning should be planning for problem, you need to ask your self..... what if

what if i lose my licence
what if i break my leg
what if my van engine blows up
what if my pumps goes
what if I'm sued

if you have an answer for every 'what if' then things should go OK

as  an example I get a new van every 3 yrs so its always under warranty,m this covers all the 'what if' s that come from my van, I have every spare i need from engines to pumps, this covers the 'what if' that arise from machinery breaking down

I think the biggest threat to a business is the unforeseen emergency.

[wynne jones]

Here's a book that may be relevant and if nothing else may make you want to change what's in your business plan.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/ReWork-Change-Way-Work-Forever/dp/0091929784

[Allan Simmons]

Very few Carpet cleaners have an exit plan or any plan at all , for me carpet cleaner is just a cash generator to fund far more lucrative property deals , I know half a dozen millionaire carpet cleaners , a couple of them on here.

The vast majority who I have met just struggle on week to week earning a wage , growing older with no real thought for retirement... such a shame.


Anyone has it in them to make themselves famous in their own town or city as the first choice for cleaning, it does not matter if you are a full house for 50 quid merchant , or 3 pounds a ft rug cleaner, whatever market you aim for there is money to be made.  

I always have a written plan for the short medium and long term in my filofax and refer to, and measure it regularly, this was taught to me by the guy who sold his company for 18 million 7 years ago , Chem dry uk .

Although I have made and lost a lot of cash several times this method works for me and many others.

   Good old Phil. 

[jasonl]

Yeah Big Phil , the first time he came to my house ,he turned up in a beat up rusty Montego estate, told me I would make 50k a year net cleaning carpets.

[Ricky M]

mm.... the old biz plan eh

Got loads of really positive stuff to say on these as my 5 year biz plan/Targets were complete in 2.5 years and my 3 year plan after 8 months and now ive got a 3 year biz plan and two 5 year biz plans on the go, no i dont set them low at all and the other half thinks there set too high but they give you something to work towards MORE of a personal guide line as you sort of deviate along the way the more you learn about each respective field.

but there is no simple ans here cause its down to the ability and craft of the person working on or deploying the plan.

Jas L makes some valid and correct comments as I know for a fact he has Made and spunked some serious ££££££ over the years, and yes carpet cleaning is a finance company for other higher yields if your a business person in the 1st place.

In all honesty Ive been debating long and hard about giving up my off site Cleaning work but it's £xxxx of pre booked worked and a lot of cash to bin that i worked reasonably hard to build up in a short space of time, we have come up with a solution tho.

Yes Im all for biz plans and if you go into biz for yourself and dont even have an idea in your head where you want to be that biz in the near future then your still mentally an employee that wants break free of the system but just not there yet, again all IMO

and that is just small minded  

you small minded folk out there know who you are  


















 ( if you have ask yourself if are, then you are ....Fact : )

R.Montana (TRP.com)

[Simon Gerrard]

You don't need to plan - you need to aspire! I aspired to be exactly where I am today and everything I ever got for my self and my family came through making my aspirations a reality. Business plans and sales forecasts are for bank managers and accountants. What you do need is to know what your break even point is, what your costs are and understand the relationship between cost and profit and then go out the front door and make your dreams come true - simple!

Simon