navigating common potholes + stumps with a (visible) business plan
- Britton Avery
- Sep 19, 2024
- 8 min read
Over the last few months, I’ve had some great conversations with entrepreneurs—over A.M. beverages, P.M. beverages, brunches, lunches, dinners, just swinging by their shops—you name it. What’s surprised me most is how many people either starting a business or who’ve been in the game for a few years are still flying without a concrete (tangible) business plan.
I can't say I have it all figured out (nor will I ever), but I can share that I have a flexible plan written out for every facet of Bloom and Boost that outlines where I'd like to have my numbers and systems in the next 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, all the way out to 5 years (yes, I have small and large milestones for 2029).
Each of those outlines have action items that allow me to progress toward the milestones throughout the next several months and years, including a plan for:
client acquisition and retention (right on target)
revenue targets (283% above target)
team growth (200% above target)
operational systems (58% above target)
marketing and outreach (15% below target)
service development and diversification (right on target)
Writing down your vision can feel like an A.B.C. in an A.B.C. (Another Bothersome Chore in an Already Busy Calendar). But here’s the thing: whether you’re aiming to scale into a massive business or just stay sustainable, you need a business plan to make that happen.
"Writing down your vision can feel like an A.B.C. in an A.B.C. (Another Bothersome Chore in an Already Busy Calendar)."
Without a plan, you’re far more likely to hit some stumps + potholes along the way—obstacles that can trip up even the most experienced business owners.
Let’s run over four of the most common stumps + potholes I’ve either seen or have been warned about, and how you might be able to navigate around them to keep your business moving forward.
no clear direction (the 'lost in the woods' stump)
I remember when I first started mapping out the future of Bloom and Boost. Without a clear roadmap, it felt like I was lost in the woods.
But when I finally took the time to map out my 3-month, 6-month, and 1-year goals (not just in business, but also personal and professional goals), everything gradually became more manageable. Setting milestones felt like placing simple yet recognizable trail markers—measurable points of reference—that have continued to help me stay on course throughout the journey.
One of my close friends (also a small business owner) recently shared the video below with me, and it fits so well with the overall meat of this content.
We talked over coffee last week about how important it is to have a vision for your business, and how in order for it to be a vision, you’ve got to be able to see it (literally).
Going with the flow (like my man in the red kayak 🛶) will push you to exhaustion, defeat, and will cause you to turn over and sink, along with your bank accounts.
If you’re feeling lost in your own business journey, here’s how you can start setting your trail markers:
Make it visible (i.e. open up a notebook or a Word/Google doc):
Even if it’s messy at first (call me up, and I'll share my file cabinet of endless spreadsheet drafts), get your ideas on paper. Outline your vision, goals, and the steps you need to take to hit those milestones.
Set your trail markers within a realistic and visible distance:
Break down your short-term and long-term goals into manageable steps with specific timelines. Don't set your milestones too far out, and do NOT keep it all in your head. Your brain may arguably be smarter than a computer, but you (human being) are not a computer. Get 'em on paper, on the computer, or both.
failure to adapt (the 'shifting ground' pothole)
Back when the pandemic hit, so many businesses were knocked off course.
For a college student who didn't need to have a job to survive (shout out to compassionate parents), I had the luxury of analyzing dozens of businesses and organizations scramble to adapt, while others with flexible plans were able to weather the unprecedented storm more easily. Imagine being Zoom, Clorox, Uber Eats, or even just a home-improvement store, a streaming service provider, or a telehealth business. So many of those businesses blew up in 2020 and 2021 because they had a plan and doubled down when it came time to take action and adapt.
The summer of 2020 and the handful of months to follow taught me that a good business plan isn't one that's "adaptable" in theory, but that is adaptable through proactive planning and practice.
There are a handful of my friends, family, and some previous clients (prior to Bloom and Boost) who have gotten stuck in their own ways and missed out on either new opportunities or were not prepared to diversify before one of their options became unavailable or not as profitable as it once was before. This is usually because of a business plan that lacks the ability to adapt along with being too attached to the initial vision.
The reality is that the ground is always shifting beneath us. That is life, business, and politics in a nutshell—nothing new. If you aren't prepared to adapt, you're risking the chance of falling into a pothole that can slow down or halt your momentum entirely.
While no plan can predict every twist and turn, here are some steps that might help your business stay adaptable when things shift unexpectedly:
Continuously review and adjust:
Make time every few months (be that quarterly or bi-annually) to revisit your plan and adjust based on what’s working (or what’s not). Having others around that you trust to keep you accountable and challenge you are so solid when it comes to these planning meetings.
Always be flexible:
Be willing to shift gears when market conditions change, or your audience decides to not show up and/or completely bails. Your plan should always allow for adjustments without losing sight of your overall goals or compromising the current trajectory of your business vision.
lack of sustainable growth (the 'plateau' pothole)
Before launching Bloom and Boost, one of my clients wanted to stay “small,” and didn’t want to scale much beyond where they were. But they quickly realized that staying small doesn’t mean you don’t have to grow.
Eventually, costs rise, your kids get older (and more expensive), and unless you adjust your pricing or increase your client base, your business stalls and every one of your competitors begin to roll right past you.
I’ve faced this myself—early on, I had to raise my rates to keep up with increasing expenses. It wasn’t easy (nor were the conversations with those clients), but it was necessary to maintain the quality of service I offered.
Too many businesses hit a plateau because they don’t plan for sustainable growth, even if they don’t want to become massive enterprises. If you’re worried about your business hitting a plateau, here are some easy (yet often presumed difficult) ways you can help your business continue to grow at a comfortable and controlled rate:
Be ready to scale:
Think about how you can scale processes—whether that’s hiring a part-time team member or automating tasks. Over the last several months, I've been preparing to hire part-time support for some time down the road in 2025, but didn't think I'd get there till my milestone said I would. Just this week, two hires were made, and likely aiming for a third as I'm making way into the new year—all because of proactive planning, processes that work (and were tested before I started b+b), and because our clients are incredible.
Raise those rates:
Over time, your pricing needs to account for not only the value your business brings to the table and the quality of service offered, but also the rising operational costs and shifts in market demand. If you regularly revisit your pricing strategy with thoughtful consideration for your clients' budgets and expectations (rather than testing how much they’ll tolerate), you’ll continue to keep your rates aligned with both their expectations and the financial health of your business.
the savior complex (the 'i can do it all' stump)
Many founders, especially perfectionists, get tripped up and trapped in the details, thinking no one else can do the job just right. This mindset will almost always stunt growth.
I’ve seen it with other business owners and have experienced it myself. It’s easy to fall into the savior complex, where you're constantly fixing and refining, staying too involved in production and not trusting others to help you carry some of the weight or not wanting to create a burden for them.
Stepping back doesn’t mean losing control—it means trusting others to help carry the load so you can focus on scaling. I’ve learned that letting go of perfectionism and delegating not only freed up my time but allowed Bloom + Boost to grow faster than when I was managing everything myself.
Here’s some advice I’ve received that has helped me overcome this trap (both in my business and in my personal life):
Delegate wisely
Hiring the right people means enhancing, not losing control. I am not great at this, but as the needs of my client base have grown and they've instilled more trust in me, I have to reflect that same level of trust toward those that can help my business to scale. Trusting others to maintain (or grow) the quality of what you currently provide allows you to step back with confidence.
Trust the process
I feel like this is any new head coach's slogan when entering a program that hasn't had a winning season in a while. "Trust the process." It's somewhat cliche, but the meaning behind it is purely authentic, and infers that you're going to need patience—something that all founders know is crucial to have in the early end of the game just as it is for new coaches. Forward progress beats perfection and letting go of the need to perfect every detail will almost always open up room for growth.
Step out gradually
If you don't have the capital (like me) to hire before launching your business (also ~99% of founders), you know that your responsibility in running the business involves every role imaginable. As I've begun exploring part-time support and have created a vision for what it looks like to be partially removed from administrative and production efforts, I've slowly found more focus and clarity into how following my business plan might allow me to gradually scale Bloom and Boost.
Whether you’re just dreaming about starting your business or you’ve been at it for a good while, don’t underestimate the power of a solid, flexible, and scalable business plan. It doesn’t need to be perfect (mine sure as heck isn't), but it does need to exist. And as the world and our personal lives keep changing, make sure you’re adapting your plan so you can keep growing sustainably—without getting overwhelmed.
Super simple recap of the potholes + stumps:
the "lost in the woods" stump: Without clear and visible milestones, it’s easy to lose direction in your business.
the "shifting ground" pothole: Adapting to change is key to staying ahead of the game.
the "plateau" pothole: Growth stalls when you don’t plan for sustainable scaling.
the "i can do it all" stump: Trying to do it all yourself leads to burnout—delegate and elevate to thrive.
Find your direction, stay adaptable, delegate wisely, and watch your business grow into something worth being proud about—all because you followed the plan.
Cheers,
Britt Avery
Founder, Bloom + Boost
(515) 532-7770
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