Your heart has been stirred to start your first venture, or to give your plan another try. The excitement builds up and you are ready to take off. Up and away! However, before you do; take a minute to count the cost. Plan for your success!
Did you know many plans fail for lack of planning? Yes! Success does not take place miraculously, nor is it an overnight feat. To be successful, you must take a series of deliberate small steps. You have to put careful thought to your desired destination and plan for your success.
Premium custom made motor vehicles, such as a Rolls Royce or a Bentley, take months to be built. Because, much effort is put in every detail of those vehicles before they are released. Consider your plan a premium idea that needs quality preparation for extraordinary results. Therefore, your plan is your own personal custom built Rolls Royce.
“Lack of planning is the cause of many failure.” Brian Tracey
As a result, before you do anything, here are a few points to consider and implement:
1. Write Out Your Vision
Place all your ideas, dreams and goals on paper. Don’t concern yourself with how unattainable your vision appears or with the magnitude of the vision. Because, when you write out your vision, it puts clarity to where you want to go. If you can see it, you can believe it and eventually, run with it!
2. Prepare a Business Plan
A business plan gives direction to where you are heading. It takes into account your future goals and the strategies to achieving your goals. If you are a first timer, I would encourage you to enlist help in having a business plan prepared. As business planning is a necessary step to take in the sequence of your direction. Simply put, a great business plan will give objectivity to your ideas and help you balance how realistic the goals are.
3. Seek Advice and Counsel
Get good advice. Find persons who are already achieving a measure of success in the desired field. Do due diligence to identify the best advisers. As, not all advisers have the capabilities to get you to your desired destination. Also, ensure you get from your advisers the relevant guidance needed to execute and implement your venture. Great advisers are usually have busy schedules. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare a relevant list of questions in advance to ask your advisers. Your plans will succeed with the right group of advisers.
Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.
Proverbs 15:22
4. Partner with Others
No man is an island and synergy comes in numbers. It is important to identify and partner with other persons. Look for persons who possess strengths and skill sets in areas that you are lacking. There are many components to your idea. As is with assembling a custom built vehicle, different skills are taken into consideration for the desired end result. The same applies to you plan. To fulfill you need resources to complete.
5. Make Sacrifices
Be prepared to give up some pleasures to achieve your plan. In economics the concept of ‘Opportunity Cost’ is about choice. You can lose your desired benefit to achieving your goals, if you choose not to give up to get. Opportunity Cost according to Investopedia “is a missed benefit when an investor, individual or business chooses one alternative over another.” Therefore, we need to make sacrifices in order to be successful. For example, you may need to cut back on your spending habits, or give up television watching and do needed back end work to achieve your goals. The objective is to sacrifice your short term pleasure for long-term fulfillment.
6. Pray for Guidance
Important to note, God cares about every detail of your life. Commit your plans to Him. If you ask, He gives wisdom, revelation, guidance and will send you the resources required to succeed. He can orchestrate divine connections for you. Trust Him.
We wish you every success in establishing your idea. Success is within your reach. You are one step closer to achieving your dream.
Happy Planning!
