You'd be surprised by how many businesses never have a formal plan or goal to guide their growth. They just "kinda" know what they want to do, and "kinda" do it - or not.

In other words, they fly by the seat of their pants.

Developing a plan is different for everyone, but here are some general guidelines:


Set a growth target
OK, you sure would like your business to double, or triple over the next 12 months, and if that's what you really want, go for it! But to be realistic, setting a growth target of 15 percent to 20 percent is aggressive enough for most of us. Setting a target gives you something to measure your performance against, and if you reach it or get close, you will have had a very good year.

Set a marketing budget
This seems tough for a lot of people. Here's the answer: for the average business, budgeting 10% of gross sales is a good number. And just in case you didn't know, many advertising costs are tax-deductible.

Set a marketing strategy
Now that you have an idea how much to grow your business and how much money you want to spend, you need a strategy. The first thing to do is define your core business and core customers. Then figure out the most efficient means of getting in front of them. Your marketing strategy can be any combination of advertising, direct mail, online advertising, trade show attendance, public relations, and so forth. It also may entail hiring more sales people, or support people. Many businesses have too few people trying to do too much, and investing in the human resources can be the key to growing your business.

Review your results
At the end of the 12 month period, measure your results and assess "what worked - what could be improved." This way you will be able to plan for 2008 with more efficiency.

Happy Growing!