I Rediscovered the Benefits of Business Planning

I love business planning not only because of the result (the plan), but also because of what you learn in the process. Recently, as I began to re-work my own business plan through collaborative planning with my cohorts at the Faith and Philanthropy Institute, I realized that I had abandoned the vision of Business Write Now. Not only do I help organizations find their "voice" and write their roadmap to missional success, but the vision is to go a step further and help mission-driven organizations fill the gap between serving and funding with earned income strategies.   As I have personally discovered, here are six benefits of business planning.

1. Business Planning enables you to re-focus on the big picture. You can identify where you are going and the necessary steps to get you there.
2. Business planning helps you become proactive rather than reactive. You no longer have to be torn between finances and philanthropy.
3. Business planning can help you discover other earned income strategies, hence decreasing your reliance on outside donors.
4. Business planning can identify costs that need to be cut or redirected so you can have greater social impact.
5. Business planning can help you determine if you have the right people in the right positions for optimal execution.
6. Business planning produces the Business Roadmap which is a viable, executable plan to missional and financial success.

It sure is nice to get back on track.