One Thing at a Time: The Key to Effective Business Planning

As part of my boat-driving education, I've decided to level up and pursue a Coxswain Grade 3 license, allowing me to operate a vessel commercially. (Yes, I may be slowly turning into a boat nerd!)

One of the prerequisites for the Coxswain course is to complete a First Aid certificate, which I signed up for a while back. The process required me to complete some online quizzes, and while I had good intentions, life got in the way. As the practical component of the course approached, I received an email reminding me to complete the online component—and I realised I was a long way behind.

So, I decided to tackle it. Given that I've had First Aid training before, I had an advantage, but I still needed to focus and take action. I broke it down and concentrated on completing?one thing at a time instead of feeling overwhelmed by everything that still needed doing.

And you know what? I finished.

This experience got me thinking about business planning. Just like I had to focus on completing one step in my course, simplifying your business plan by focusing on one thing at a time is the key to effective execution. When you break things down into manageable chunks, you avoid feeling overwhelmed and make steady progress.

It is easy to get caught up in many tasks and decisions when planning a business. However, the most successful entrepreneurs take a step-by-step approach. Start by defining your offer. Focus on understanding your customer. Then, move on to refining your marketing strategy.

Don’t try to do everything everywhere all at once.

You'll see better results by breaking your business planning process into smaller, more manageable actions like I did with my First Aid course—one thing at a time.

If you feel overwhelmed by your business plan or are unsure where to start, I'm here to help. We can break your plan into clear, actionable steps that align with your goals—one step at a time.

Best, Clive