Planning is an important part of business. It’s almost always better to have a plan you can improve as circumstances change than to have nothing planned at all. Even so, there are times when people fail to take action because they spend too much time planning. To be a success in business, you must become a doer and take chances. You will never have all the pieces to the puzzle figured out. Trying to plan your way to that point is why some people never get their business off the ground.

Getting Started

The real starting point of a business is when it makes its first sale. Until this point, it is still just an idea. Even with brick-and-mortar buildings nicely painted and fitted out, money needs to change hands for commerce to take place. Planning a good strategy to prepare for that sale is key. There is no doubt in that, but sometimes the best thing you can do is take the chance and get out there.

Note that this does not mean, you should just execute a half-baked plan to the public, but being flexible is key. Never give your lenders, business partners, employees or customers any reason to believe you haven’t thought your business operations through. Putting in real effort helps to ensure this is not the case. You can do this in the following ways:

•      Start collecting customer feedback from the very start of the business.

•      Implement changes that you can so customers see you value their input.

•      Pay attention to your competitors so you can use their successes and failures for your own lessons.

•      Adjust your target demographic based on the people actually drawn to your business as natural attraction is always easier and less expensive to maintain.

Preparing for Trouble

There are some people who see risk and dangers around every corner. There is nothing inherently wrong with this. If the risks are real and you can think quickly and take immediate steps to mitigate those, then you’re 10 steps ahead of most of your competitors. The problem arises when it paralyzes you and makes you reluctant to take risks.

As virtually every business student learns during their bachelor’s degree, the bigger the risk in business, the bigger the payoffs. Yes, it does mean when a failure occurs, you might take a big hit. The key is reading the market well enough to avoid this. You can’t do that from behind a computer screen. Reading the market takes hands-on experience with all the unique aspects of your business.

Thus, the biggest part of preparing for potential failure is preparing your mind to accept all of this. Are you still sweating the risk factors? There are additional things you can do for your peace of mind:

•      Get business insurance, especially if you have direct contact with your customers or offer a product that might cause injury.

•      Choose a business type that separates your business from your personal property and maintain that separation.

•      Cash will be hard to come by in the beginning, but over time, aim to keep cash on hand to cover at least a month’s worth of business expenses.

•      As the business’s needs and external factors change, adjust your business plan to reflect this, so you can chart your way forward, but keep it brief and simple.

•      Create a succession plan for what should happen to your business and who should operate it if you are unable to do so.

•      If your goal is to create a legacy, do some estate planning to ensure your business passes into the right hands.

Own Your Failures

Failure is an inevitable risk of doing business. Sometimes the whole business fails. Other times, it is just one strategy, product or upgrade that doesn’t make the cut. Believe it or not, owning up to those failures can cost you a lot less trouble and embarrassment than attempting to bury them. This is especially the case when customers are affected and there are legal repercussions, such as after a security breach.

The key is ensuring that failure is not a result of ineptitude or irresponsibility. Following the tips above should account for that. What also surprises some business owners is learning that people often find failure to be endearing. Consumers connect with a business on a much more personal level than they used to before. Because of this, they often see their own struggles in the obstacles a business must face and overcome.

Finally, owning up to your failures provides the golden opportunity for you to showcase your honesty and integrity. As millennials and Gen Z take over the market, this is even more important. These two generations demand transparency from businesses. When given, they reward those businesses with loyalty and trust.

The Bottom Line

Don’t fall victim to over-planning. Combine your planning strategy with taking action and then fail forward. In the words of Walt Disney, “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”