129: 5 Reasons Successful Interior Designers Use a Strategic Plan
129: 5 Reasons Successful Interior Designers Use a Strategic Plan
with Michele Williams
When I started my first business, I was just doing the work that was in front of me. I had no real plan for where I wanted the business to go and no real plan for the financial success and long-term sustainability of my company. Each year setting goals felt like I was just choosing what felt right or what I was hearing from others at the time without any real basis at all. And you know what, the goals I set did not matter very much as the difficulty of the year progressed. Just like those fitness goals set in January with good intentions, they fell by the wayside. But there is a better way.
Topics Mentioned:
Strategy
Planning
Clarity
Communication
Listen to the Episode
Maybe you are here because the idea of unfounded goals resonated with you from the introduction. It is easy to create goals without basis in our lives and in our business. We sometimes create goals that we are told we should, and there is no extreme connection to them at all. I have done that and can still find myself doing it if I am not careful. Kind of like creating the ongoing task list that never seems to be done, creating busywork upon busy work that leaves me feeling exhausted and frustrated no matter how clean my cabinets or drawers!
I have shared on the podcast before that when my kids complained in high school about a subject they were taking; I would remind them that they were not taking that subject just for what it was teaching, but for what it was moving them towards – college. The same held true in college. While we did allow our sons some exploratory courses, we did not allow them to go to university, choose whatever course felt right at the time, and hope they all fit together in four years for the degree of their choice. Nope, that is not how it is done. We choose a degree; then, we do the coursework required to get us through that program. It is a strategic plan.
But how often in our own company do we just try things all over the place without any type of plan? You may have heard this phrase, "throwing Jello against the wall to see what, if any, would stick." Now, don't hear me incorrectly. I am not saying we should not try new things and have an open mind, but I am saying we cannot run our businesses with long term success and sustainability if we have no idea year to year where we are going and what we are hoping to do or accomplish. This is where a strategic plan comes in.
Now, if you go digging on the internet, you will hear all types of nitpicking about the term strategy and planning and what/how it all works and doesn't work. What I am going to attempt to cover with you in this podcast and the next is a looser idea of a strategic plan. One we actually use instead of one that we create to look all beautiful and is totally worthless. I would much rather you have a less formal plan or strategy that gives you some direction than one that looks beautiful and sounds eloquent, and gets put in a drawer. Ok?
Let’s begin by explaining what a strategic plan is and what it does.
A strategic plan, simply put, is a document that tells where a company or organization is going. Consider it your road map for traveling into the future with your business. Or consider it the degree you are going after if you are in college. It is sharing where your firm wants to be by when and how you are planning to attempt to get there.
Now know this, this is a strategy that will be a living strategy. Just like in college (yep, going to use this analogy all throughout so you can see the relationship), every course you might need for your degree is not offered every semester or even at the time that you can take it based on your course load and schedule availability among other things. And some courses have prerequisites. The same holds true for us as we grow and scale our companies. Please, as you work through this exercise, give yourself grace and flexibility to allow for changes, diversions, and other opportunities as they present themselves. Know that person who changed their degree two years in? Yep, it cost them a little, but the cost may have been minimal compared to the cost of staying on a path that brought no joy to them in the future.
Ok, so let's keep going. In this episode, we are digging into what a strategic plan is and why we need it. Our next episode will cover what is needed in your plan.
Here are the 5 reasons you need a strategic plan:
A strategic plan allows you to choose your direction with intention.
Creating an intentional direction might sound scary to you. I have had moments where if you asked me what I wanted in my business; I might tell you I did not know. In my experience with myself and others, this is normal. Sometimes we have a truly clear idea. The closer I am to the timeline of what I am doing, the clearer my goals.
I also have found as I have aged (um, matured) that I have left behind my ability to dream unless I gave myself time to focus on it. So now, that is what I do. I give myself a chance to dream. Dream about my future, dream about my company, my clients, my offerings, and my team.
When I get stuck not knowing what I want, I move my attention and thoughts to what I don't want. This can be clearer at times than what I am moving towards. I make a note of anything or any feeling I want to avoid.
Once I have intentionally identified what I want and where I want to be, and by when, I can move forward with ease. Just like in college, the courses may be difficult, but at least I know the coursework is aligned with the degree I am getting and the future career I want. So it is with your strategic plan.
Dwight D. Eisenhower said, "In preparing for battle, I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable."
2. A strategic plan allows you to work proactively not reactively.
Part of the beauty of creating a plan is having an idea of where you are going so you can plan in advance. This keeps us working proactively instead of reactively. If our business is a "by the seat of your pants" type of endeavor, we will always feel behind and harried in our approach. Being able to create systems and processes that allow for a repeatable outcome brings stress relief and the ability to manage resources more effectively.
Here are two real-world examples: First, let's stay with our college work. If we know the coursework required for our degree, we can plan out the semesters with our course load and with the professors we may want to learn under. We can also plan for internships and job interviews early instead of being behind the hiring process.
Here is another: Imagine you are planning to travel, but you don't have a strategy for where you want to go. So, you don't make detailed travel arrangements. You pack a bag and show up at the airport and jump on the next plane to somewhere. You land in Alaska. And it is beautiful. The landscapes are gorgeous, and you are excited to explore. However, because you did not advance planning, your suitcase is filled with clothes better suited to Hawaii. It does not mean the destination is terrible, only that you are ill-prepared to move forward with ease.
In our business, we don't have to do it this way. To stay a step ahead, we must keep our eyes focused forward and to plan a few steps out. Again, the closer we are, the more detailed the plan. The farther out our goals, the cloudier the plan. This is normal.
Yogi Berra says, "If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else."
3. A strategic plan allows your entire organization to work together with clear goals.
By now, you understand what a strategic plan is, how it creates a clear, intentional movement forward, and keeps you proactive instead of reactive in your decision making. But it also allows your entire team to be on the same page. Imagine that. Everyone you are working with is helping you move forward towards where you want the company to be.
Imagine if you had employees or vendors who were constantly trying to move you down a different path than the one you wanted to be on. The tension would be terrible, and your joy would be zapped. Every day would feel like entering a battlefield in your work. Communication errors would abound, and clear, concise decision making would be mostly non-existent.
I don't know about you, but this sounds miserable to me. I want those I work with to know what our company goals are. I want everyone to be bought into the position they are responsible for to make this happen. I want everyone to work together and support each other in the ups and downs that come in getting there. And the only way – the only way – to make this happen is to define it and own it.
Benjamin Franklin said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”
4. A strategic plan allows for consistent messaging internally and externally.
Not only do we want our organization to work together with clear goals, but we also want the messaging that we put out to our consumer's externally to be just as internally cohesive. If we show up in the marketplace scattered, then our clients will scatter. Knowing who we are, who we serve, how we serve them, and what makes us amazing is part of the messaging that can make or break a company.
When we are not sure of this, we breed distrust in the marketplace. And we have all heard the saying, "know, like, trust." The faster we get our potential clients to know us and like us and trust us – the faster they will spend money with us. When our messaging is all over the board, we come across as an immature company that is finding itself. Not a company that we are comfortable spending with.
And let's be very honest, we are in a high value, high dollar industry. People are spending big bucks with us. And they need to be able to trust us in all ways. Knowing who we are as a company and where we are headed will allow us to create messaging to put our clients' fears at ease and to be part of our story moving forward.
5. A strategic plan allows for resources to be used wisely and with forethought.
Every company has a limited supply of resources. These resources can be time, money, and people. Knowing how to spend each of these gives us an advantage. When we know that we need a specific skillset in year 3 of our 5-year plan, it allows us to plan our HR strategy to support the company goal. We can either hire for that skillset or train for it. Knowing this informs our job descriptions, our processes to hire, and to provide product and service.
Knowing our longer-term goals informs us of what to do with that extra net profit. Should we bonus it out or save it for capital improvements? How should we best invest those funds?
All decision making is done with forethought to not just getting through the moment or year but making it to a future destination.
Creating a strategic plan is not difficult, but it does take time and attention. On my next podcast this month, we will cover how to easily create this plan. My clients are working to create our 5-year strategies and to manage within them. I would love to assist you in doing the same. I work with and support business owners committed to their company, their employees, and their clients. We focus on strong business principles beginning with solid foundations, focused financials, and scaling with intention. If you are interested in committing to your business success in a dedicated way, sign up for a discovery call with me, and let's talk about it. Creating a strategy for your business and profits needs to be done intentionally. Because neither happens by accident.
Key Thoughts:
A strategic plan, simply put, is a document that tells where a company or organization is going. Consider it your road map for traveling into the future with your business. Michele (4:54)
Part of the beauty of creating a plan is having an idea of where you are going so you can plan in advance. Michele (10:24)
Every company has a limited supply of resources. These resources can be time, money, and people. Knowing how to spend each of these gives us an advantage. Michele (15:40)
Contact Michele:
Facebook: Scarlet Thread Consulting
Instagram: @ScarletThreadATL
References and Resources:
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