Some businesses spread themselves too thin by trying to go in every direction at once, hoping that one of these will work and make them revenue. But this is doomed from the start because they cannot give their full attention or time to any one of these things and usually end up failing at all of them.
Some companies go the wrong way in the other direction as well and end up too rigidly stuck to one idea and never grow to accommodate the changing market. These companies will grow strong for awhile but in time when things change, as they inevitably do, they fail because can't keep up with what people are buying now or buying differently. Think companies like AOL. Once the dominant online force, AOL is now a shell of its former self. They didn't accommodate the growing and changing market.
So then what do we mean when we say a solid plan? We mean a step by step plan of what to do and how to do things every day. From what you do as soon as you get there every day to the minute you walk out the door at night. Who to call, a time for meetings, what to update on the businesses social media pages (and you should have them if you're a legitimate business!) and so on. This may seem a little ridiculous to you but consider this: Mcdonald's, the worlds most successful food restaurant, is run mostly by teenagers. How is that even possible when most of these kids can't even remember to bring the right books to class with them on a daily basis? (no offense kids) How is it possible that these kids run a multi-billion dollar industry, most of them without even realizing that's what they're doing?
Because Mcdonald's doesn't let them fail. They tell them in the employee handbook all the details of running the restaurant. Things so "small" as to turn the lights on, where to turn the lights on, how to dress, and how to greet people, how often to clean things and how to clean it specifically.
In fact lots of famous and successful people got their start at Mcdonald's, and many have said it taught them how to be successful once they got in the mindset of doing things in that order, i.e. having a good plan. People such as: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, actress and model Sharon Stone, Tonight show host and comedian Jay Leno, actor James Franco, talk show host and lawyer Star Jones, and nine time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis who said Mcdonald's taught him speed, just to name a few.
Want even more proof that having a simple step by step plan will make you successful? Remember our old friend Mcdonald's? Below is a map showing the locations and distance between Mcdonald's restaurants in the US:
They literally shape our country! The map is not outlined in any way, that's ONLY Mcdonald's locations. That's amazing.
So remember, have a solid, detailed, step by step plan, stick to it, and your business will start to grow and become more successful!
