The Power of the One-Page Strategy

Creating a strategy for your small business can be one of the most important actions you can implement. It’s your road map to success; but often times it’s a step that gets pushed to the side.

I was in a recent conversation with a business owner and I asked her, “what strategy have you been following and what’s your ultimate goal?”  She looked at me as if I had two heads… Not a good sign.

You don’t have to have an exact plan for your business and/or have all the nitty-gritty details for it, but an overall strategy will help steer you in the right direction – especially when you fall off the beaten path (and this WILL happen). It will allow you to put front and center what’s your ultimate goal and what steps you need to take to get there; that is, what’s the fastest path to reaching that goal.

Your strategy contains your building blocks; it will be the foundational steps to achieving your ultimate goal. In essence it’s the architecture that you build upon.

Your strategy is your map to the finish line. As you are working on your business, you may run into “unexpected” detours. Focusing back on your map (strategy) will help you get back on track. If it’s not a direct path to the finish line, you don’t stay on that detour very long… in fact, you’ll want to avoid it!

For example, let’s say your ultimate goal is to earn a net profit of 100K in your business for 2012 by offering your coaching services. However, you currently have three separate programs that you want to offer; thus, you will be running three campaigns for this year.

Each campaign will have a separate strategy within your umbrella strategy. That is, your main strategy is to run the three campaigns successfully that lead you to your ultimate aim – the 100K mark.  So even though each campaign will have its own detailed plan, they all lead you back to your final goal.

Simple enough?

You’re probably thinking sure, I need one, but how do I create a plan going from A to Z, especially when I’m juggling multiple campaigns at once in my business?

Fair enough question, and here’s a super simple solution. Probably so simple that you may even want to discount it… But don’t, because it will be the thing you will focus on constantly to keep you on track with reaching your goal.

It’s what I call The One Page Strategy. The one page strategy is a documented plan you’ve created that you go back to weekly (if not daily) to review to make sure that everything you do and any decision you make is in line with reaching your ultimate goal.

If an opportunity is presented to you that takes you closer to your goal, then you consider incorporating it into your plan; if the opportunity takes you away from your goal OR delays it, you kindly decline. Let this be your gauge on helping you to reach your goals.

The one page strategy is going to allow you to put everything into perspective. When you are not hitting your marks, go back to this and see where you are off track, and put steps in place to get back on.

You know your starting point – and you have your ultimate goal. Now all you have to do is simply fill in all the steps that will lead you to this goal in a direct fashion that is in line with your vision and values. It’s just a matter of building your blocks.

Here’s a brief example of what your One Page Strategy could look like:

Let’s go back to the example of your ultimate goal of making a net profit of 100K in your business as a health coach.  You’ve decided the quickest path is to create a full-service online training program that covers all there is to know about health and wellness.

Ultimate Chief Goal: Earn a net profit of 100K in my business through the sale of my multi-tiered program for the year 2012.

Strategy:

Starting point – Website with a list of 500 email subscribers, case studies of proven results, testimonials of past satisfied clients.

Ending point – Earn a net profit of 100K.

Steps to take -

• Run a list building campaign to build my email list
• Utilize social media to establish connections with potential clients and joint ventures
• Survey my list to see what they find valuable and how they want to be trained
• Create a 3-tiered signature program that caters to the needs of my target market
• Look into outsourcing the tasks at which I do not excel
• Post regularly on my blog with video tips on health and wellness
• Offer strategy sessions to pre-qualified prospects and up-sell to my program
• Look into setting up a membership program
• Upload all pertinent content for the members
• Create a client path that takes my clients from one program to the next
• Start seeding and letting people know this program is coming
• Reach out to my network and look for strategic alliances and JV’s

I hear what you’re saying. But Michele, it’s NOT that simple. We run a multi-million dollar business, and we have to include projections, financials, assign people to these tasks, etc.

Look, I’ve helped run multi-million dollar businesses before, so I understand that at that level there are many more t’s to cross and i’s to dot; and you may want to attach financials and time-sensitive goals within your strategy and all that jazz.

However, your one page strategy is something you can easily review daily that’s going to keep you focused, even in the face of projects, financials and teams! Liken it to your mission statement. Your business is much more than one paragraph; yet this one paragraph encompasses your company’s purpose and primary objectives. Well, your one page strategy encompasses the bigger picture, if you will, all pointing to what Napoleon Hill would call your “definite chief aim.”

I know you think it should be more complicated; especially when there’s a lot more money at stake. But just consider that it’s in seeking the simplicity that we have the most growth. It is in keeping things simple that we have the space to knock down walls, jump over hurdles and surpass all expectations that we could have ever possibly imagined.

Why do you think the late Steve Jobs was able to successfully bring Apple back to new heights with his return in 1997? Looking at it now, he took a very simplistic approach to its resurrection. He took an ailing company, dropped all the unnecessary baggage and decided to focus on a few, yet powerful product lines. He turned his competition with Microsoft into cooperation, and ultimately it ended up being a win-win for all those involved!

What system do you currently use that allows you to focus your efforts in line with your ultimate goal?

Michele Welch is a Personal Coach and Online Business Advisor. She has a blog where she shares tips on how to start your online business and grow it using SEO, Social Media Marketing and various other techniques.  Read more about Michele here.

Michele Welch

Michele Welch is the founder of NewBiz Media, a full service online business solutions company. She is an Online Business Trainer & Social Media Marketer helping small business owners and entrepreneurs create an online business presence… one step at a time. She does this with the help of her blog where she share tips on how to start your online business and grow it using SEO, Social Media Marketing and various other techniques. She is also the founder of the Online Business Head Start Blueprint: The 10 Step System to Boosting Your Online Business Efforts™.