Want to grow your business 30% faster?

When we’ve had our businesses for a while we often think we know exactly what we need to do and there’s no real reason to create a plan. That’s only for new businesses, right?

Although intuitively it may make sense, it couldn’t be further from the truth.

Going through the planning process and creating a plan that can be tracked and monitored is a practice that will help your business succeed in more ways than one.

COMPANIES THAT PLAN GROW 30% FASTER

That’s a stat that should get you in front of a whiteboard pronto!

Andrew Burke and his colleagues from the University of Warwick found in their 2010 study that companies that plan, grow 30% faster than those that don’t. They also found that businesses can find success without planning, but those that plan grew faster and were more successful.

Business planning is not an activity that only happens when you’re getting your business up and running. It’s something that every business should do and track their progress throughout the year.

Plans can take many shapes, a strategic plan, a growth plan, a promotional plan, etc.

The bottom line is the need to think through goals and how to achieve those goals and monitor how you’re doing throughout the life of the plan.

The big to do here is to set time aside to set goals and build a plan for your business. Then make sure you’re visiting your plan, tracking progress and revising it as you learn what works, what doesn’t and what your customers want from you.

Not only will having a plan enable your business to grow more quickly, but it will also help prevent your business from failing. A 2004 paper by Scott Shane at the Weatherland School of Management found that having a plan reduced the likelihood that a business would fail.

ACCOUNTABILITY IS KEY

A plan is not a guarantee of success but it certainly increases your odds.

Want to boost those odds even further? Write down those goals, get your plan on paper.

According to a recent Inc. article by Peter Economy, writing down your goals increases your chances of success by 42%.

Still not convinced that you need to make some time to plan in your business?

According to the American Society of Training and Development, you can increase your chances of achieving your goals by 95% if you share your goals with another person and commit to checking in with them on your progress.

Those are some pretty impressive statistics that ought to have you making goals and shouting them from the rooftops.

So start putting pen to paper, create your plan, and post it where you and your colleagues can see it every day.

Schedule some time with your team or a business mentor and monitor your progress. Now that you know the statistics behind planning, you can't afford not to.