Are you a planner or a doer?

There are benefits and burdens in being at the extremes - are you a planner or a doer? When I need a plan written, I love giving it to an extreme planner - they don't miss anything. I can write plans but they're labour intensive for me. I like to get 'er done.

On the other end of the spectrum, if I need something done, I'll find a doer to pull that off. They may not dot every "I" or cross every "T" but they will get the job done.

When you own your own biz, you're often both people, the planner and the doer.

Being at one or the other extreme can work to your detriment. That's why we have to put systems in place to protect ourselves from our own proclivities.

I'm big on execution "done is better than perfect in my opinion". But...I also see the benefit in reading the instructions, I run my ideas by people. I ask others for advice like what to watch out for. I have learned that this DOER in me can land me in hot water at times.

My entrepreneurial friends who are big on the Planning end of the spectrum report that the plan can bog them down. They can get lost in fine tuning the plan. Sometimes they take longer to achieve something as a result. To overcome this, they will bring in someone to manage projects and to provide the proverbial kick in the behind that is needed to get 'er done.

Are you a planner or a doer and what strategies do you have in place to save you from yourself? Just curious?

3 Benefits of a Marketing Plan

"This little piggy went to market and this little piggy stayed home."

Why do you think that this particular little piggy was the only one that got to go to market? Was he the only one that was ready? Was there an issue with the supply chain? Were the others not quite ready? Or, was it because he was the only vegetarian in the bunch -roast beef? Yuk.

Maybe the farmer had a 'marketing plan'?? It is quite possible especially if he was a successful farmer.

There came a time when I had to admit that I liked a certain amount of control in my life. Change is never like the flicking of a switch - control feels normal to me. There There's not much to life if you're a control freak - it takes the fun out of it I believe. I've worked on that. But I'm not an all or nothing kind of gal.

There is one area where I will maintain control and that is when it comes to my business. I control the numbers - knowing how close I am to my targets at any given time. I also control my marketing. I have a marketing plan and I believe that there is a correlation between your revenues and your plan to get the goods to market. I'm a firm believer that regardless of the size of your business, investt the time (and money if that's not your thing) in a smashing marketing plan - you won't regret it.

There are many benefits in having a marketing plan. Here are my top three.

1. It saves time and time is money.  Time is precious in business especially in the early days when you are wearing so many hats. A marketing plan lets you make a plan and work the plan. Won't it take precious time to make a plan? Well ya, but the time you spend planning will give you time to work on your business later on. Without a plan, we use more valuable time. Time is money.

2. A marketing plan is a good test of how viable your business is. Usually a marketing plan goes hand in hand with your projections. If you plan to make X (revenue) and you need to sell Y (# of units) then you will need to know where you will sell those. A marketing plan maps that out for you and let's you know if you're nuts in your projections.

3. This is my favourite. The universe loves clarity. When you make a plan, you're committed. You're going for the goal. You've not only called it by name. You've made a plan to make it happen. The universe loves that kind of clarity.

And you're waiting for what? Get crackin' -- make the plan and work the plan. BAM!!!