The One Page Marketing Plan That Will Grow Your Business
Use This Simple Strategy to Save Time & Eliminate Marketing Overwhelm
By JAIME ELLITHORPE
Do you feel like you’re working all the time? Do you have a to-do list so long it would take several lifetimes to actually get it all done?
What if I told you there was a way to put everything you need to do to grow your business on one piece of paper (and actually start seeing results)?
I know it sounds (almost) too good to be true, but you really only need to focus on a few things to start getting traction in your business.
I had to learn this the hard way, so I’m going to share with you the strategy of creating a one-page marketing/business growth plan.
Now before you groan, I’m not talking about creating the “charts and pie graphs” type of plan you might create to get a small business loan. I’m talking about a plan to give you clarity and insight to run a straight path toward your business growth goals.
This New Type of Plan Can Change Your Business
With this plan I’ve been able to cut the time I used to spend in my business in half AND use the time I do spend focusing on the things that actually help me grow my business. The concept is simple, but I’ve found most entrepreneurs don’t take the time to do this.
In fact, not having a plan is one of the “5 Fatal Mistakes” that can shut a business down all together. Before you read on, I’m including a link to a free assessment to help you quickly uncover whether any of these mistakes are secretly sabotaging your business. You can get a free copy of the assessment HERE:
Having a written marketing plan (no matter how simple) saves you time, gets you more clients, and provides financial stability.
The plan doesn’t even need to be perfect. It just needs to be written down. Don’t fool yourself into thinking you can have it “in your head.” I’ve worked with clients who were using this approach, and it was amazing how quickly they started seeing better results when we worked together to create a plan on paper.
“You don’t need to have a perfect marketing or business growth plan to see results in your business. The key is to have a plan written down, so you stay focused and on track with your goals.”
Why is it so important to write a plan down? Let’s start by talking about this energetically. There is a certain “magic” that occurs when you take a thought and put it on paper.
Essentially, you’re starting the process of taking the intangible and making it tangible.
Once this process is started, the momentum is naturally set to unfold, bringing the other ideas, people, and resources to you to make it all happen.
Just having a business plan in your head is like standing on a pocket of gold without a way to extract it out of the ground. The money’s there, but you can’t see it or have access to it!
When you write your marketing plan down, you’re also setting an intention. And intention is everything. Intention is the mindset piece of success. You’re essentially telling your brain what to focus on.
I could write a whole other article about this process, but our brains are built to “look for” what we tell it to find.
When you give your brain an intention, it goes to work night and day on your behalf, bringing you the resources you need to get what you want.
How cool is that when you think about it? Just by writing down what you want in your business, you can hire your brain to be your CEO, and you can harness all the energy in the universe to do the work for you! Can you now see why it’s worth taking some time to create a written plan?!?
The second part of a successful business plan is strategy or the “doing.”
This is the action piece, and believe it or not, the piece that stops most people from growing their business.
And it’s not because most of us aren’t doing enough. It’s not a “doing” problem as much as it is a “balance” problem. If you’ve been working night and day, let me take some pressure off you…
It's About Balance, Not Doing More
Unlike most business coaches who will tell you what to do and to do more, I’m a believer that you must have a healthy balance of both the “energy” or manifesting piece as well as solid strategy to grow a healthy, stable business.
My advice is to make sure you stay equally focused on your intentions and your goals. I’ve found personally as well as with my clients that results stagnate if this delicate balance gets off kilter.
Also, if you’re stagnating right now, it could be because you’re also missing a few key elements to grow your business. You can quickly assess what could be going on HERE:
The Ultimate Business Assessment Will Quickly Uncover What's Secretly Sabotaging the Growth of Your Business
Are You Ready For Some Doing?
Let’s move on to the strategic piece of your business growth plan. It starts with creating a vision for your business and setting a 12-month goal. I always like to have clients start with their vision because it helps them deeply connect with their business.
Most heart-centered entrepreneurs have part of their life purpose tied to the work they’re meant to do, so their business isn’t just about making money.
Plus, when you can connect your work with your purpose, it’s easier to keep going, even when times get tough.
Take some time to get clear on your vision. Dig deep and find out why you started this business to begin with. Your “why” will get you out of bed every day and keep you inspired.
Most people try to stay motivated, but motivation still requires effort. Inspiration is uplifting and will easily carry you across the finish line to more clients and the work-life balance you need to be happy.
Your Final Ingredient to Success
The second and final strategic piece to your business growth plan is goal setting. Think of these as the parameters of what you’d like your business to do. Notice I said parameters.
Many people get so caught up in attainting the goal, they put up resistance and sabotage their success.
Goals are the targets you’d like to aim for. They give your brain (remember your little CEO?) guidelines for what to find. Goals also give you the framework to align your projects and tasks, so you know you’re moving in the right direction.
The first target to set is your annual or 12-month goal. The reason I suggest 12 months is because it’s far enough out for your brain to see a clear runway to get momentum, yet short enough that it feels realistic.
You can set a monetary goal, a client goal, or even a size goal for your business. Create what feels good to you and set a number that feels exciting but doable.
If the goal’s not challenging enough, you won’t get out of your comfort zone to make it happen. If it seems unrealistic, you’ll self-sabotage.
After you set the annual goal, start to break the goal down into small pieces. You can also set a 6-month goal if that feels right to you, and I highly recommend you set quarterly, monthly, and weekly goals.
That way you know what to do each day to move your business forward.
Next decide what tasks and projects need to be completed and when, making sure everything lines up to your annual, quarterly, monthly and weekly goals. Anything else can be dropped from your to-do list or hired out for others to do. Are you starting to see the magic in this??
Putting It All Together
Finally, put everything on one page. Don’t look left or right and just keep checking things off the plan. When a new opportunity comes your way, size it up against your plan. If it aligns, great, re-adjust and make some room. If it doesn’t, put it on hold, assign it out, or don’t do it.
As heart-centered entrepreneurs we can let our big hearts get in the way, and it’s easy to stray from a marketing or business growth plan.
Remember–you’re going to serve more people and make a bigger impact when you have a strong, healthy business to support yourself and your clients!
I hope this helps, and let me know what you think in the comments below.
P.S. If you’re sensing that a plan isn’t the only thing stopping you from growing your heart-centered business, but you can’t quite put a finger on what that one “thing” is, check out this free guide to uncover what that could be HERE:
