We are onto the final week of our 3-week series, A New Year! A New Plan!  We’ve discussed the past, the present… and now this week… onto making plans for the future.  Yesterday, we created a marketing plan for 2012.  Today, let’s plan out your operational structure for 2012.  How will your business run next year?  You’ll want to revisit your operational review that we did for your business in 2011.  It will help to re-examine the areas you wanted to improve upon.

Image: Creative Commons

Your operational plan should be a roadmap for the who, where, and how of your business.  There is less number-crunching involved than with the marketing and financial plans.  You’ll want to think about how your business is going to function.  Your plan should answer the following questions:

  • Who are the key players in your business?  If you haven’t done so, create an organizational chart to plan out the future of your business.
  • Do you have contractors, interns, and/or employees?  Will they continue on for 2012?
  • Will you hire additional people in 2012?  How will you find them and train them?
  • Will your team have enough work to keep them busy?  Will you need to hire additional people to keep up with the demands of your clients?
  • Will you outsource any tasks and responsibilities in your business?
  • Who are your suppliers/vendors?  If you don’t have suppliers, who are the wedding professionals that you partner with most often?
  • Will you work with new suppliers?  Other wedding professionals?
  • Where will you meet with clients in 2012?  If you don’t have an office space, where is a good match for your company’s brand?
  • Which processes will you create systems for?  How can you service your customers better?  How can you improve your processes?

Goal-setting for Operations

If your plan is looking like a list of 100 to-dos, let’s narrow it down to the most manageable tasks.  Select 3 operational goals that you’d like to accomplish in 2012.  Pick the ones that are your favorites and ‘top of mind’.  It’s easier to stay inspired about your goals if you are passionate about them. Use our SMART goal-setting sheet to help.

Join us tomorrow to craft your financial plan for 2012!

A holiday deal for you…

Throughout these 3 weeks, we’ll be offering $100 off The Simple Plan Exclusive which is our one-to-one partnership with small business owners to help build a business plan.  Simply visit The Simple Plan website to learn more about The Exclusive and enter the discount code “2012” when you enroll.  This offer is only good through December 30th and space is limited to first-come-first-served.