How a Virtual Assistant Can Help Create Your Business Plan for the New Year

When did you last take a look at your business plan?

One of the smartest things that a small business owner can do is create your yearly business plan. It’s an invaluable resource that helps them lay out their goals, challenges, and growth for the upcoming year. Whenever you feel like you are going off-course, you can always refer to the “north star” of your business plan!

The only problem with creating a business plan is that it takes time. And around the holidays, time is the last thing you have (unless you have a virtual assistant)! You’re running around buying presents, taking your kids to school recitals, cooking food, and dealing with the stress that comes with any loving family. The idea of taking a few days to come up with a business plan sounds completely bonkers. 

And it isn’t any better in the new year either! At that point, you’re trying to catch up on the work that got put on the backburner over the holiday break. So understandably, creating a business plan for the new year is usually forgotten.

That’s why having a virtual assistant help you create your yearly business plan can be the secret weapon you need. With my coaching and consulting, we can write a document that will lay out all of your priorities for the next stage of your company!

[TWEET “Do you want to get 2020 started off right? Then it’s time to take a look at your business plan and give it a big update for the upcoming year!”]

What’s Your Business About?

For many small business owners, answering this question can be incredibly challenging. They instinctively know the answer, but they have trouble expressing it on paper. 

Personally, I break mine down into two parts. First, I ask myself what the ideal version of my business would be. It’s a dream statement, something to shoot for in a perfect world. Here, you should be as ambitious as you want. No judgment!

Then, I take a look at my mission statement. If you’ve created a business plan in the past, you might already have one of these. If not, it’s the perfect time to create one. A mission statement is where you break down what you set out to accomplish with your business. It can be as short as a sentence, or could be a full page! It’s up to you.

If you have some trouble putting your thoughts about your business into words, maybe I can help. I’ve helped countless small business owners create mission statements that will give them something to focus on in terms of growth. 

Time for Branding

Branding is the most important part of creating a small business that many small business owners forget. Your brand isn’t just a well-designed logo (although that is certainly part of it). It’s everything that your customers think about your business. It encompasses all of your assets, physical or otherwise. Your values, your unique voice, these all play a significant role in how people perceive your brand.

That’s why the new year can be the perfect time to revamp your brand goals. Everyone thinks of the beginning of the year as a fresh start. So, why not do the same with your brand?

The first step is to write down everything that you can think about your brand. It’s colors, logo, spirit, and vibe. It doesn’t need to be in the form of a sentence or paragraph (I can help you do that later). Think of it more like a word cloud, putting down everything you can think about your brand on paper for you to see it in black and white. Is there anything there that you don’t like? Anything you want to change? 

Maybe your content strategy isn’t backing your branding up the way it should. Perhaps your social media isn’t reflecting your brand’s personality. Or it could be that your website is due for a bit update. These are things that you can address in your yearly business plan!

[TWEET “Every small business owner should have a business plan in their back pocket, and the new year is the perfect time to give it an update!”]

Services and Products

Taking a close look at your products and services is a vital part of creating a revamped business plan.

When was the last time you added something new to your lineup? It might be time to create something that will drum up excitement for your business! One fantastic “product” that many of my clients create is a webinar.

This is essentially a seminar in digital form. It’s an excellent way to show that you’re an expert in your field. And on top of that, if you record it, you will have a brand-new piece of content that you can either sell or use as a free opt-in for your website. 

If this sounds great, but you have no idea where to start creating a webinar, you can either drop me a line, check out my free Ultimate Step-by-Step Website Audit Workbook, or both!

There is, of course, lots more that can go into a business plan. One resource that many of my clients find invaluable is my free Write Your Own Business Plan Workbook. Inside, you’ll find a business plan framework with questions that will help you answer the big questions about your plans in the new year. 

And if you want some help figuring out those answers, that’s why I’m here. If you’d like my help as a virtual assistant to create a business plan for the upcoming year, please contact me today. Together, we can sharpen your mission statement, build a digital marketing strategy, figure out content creation, and get your small business off on the right foot for the next 12 months!