Welcome to Episode 92 of the Lift As You Climb podcast! In today's episode, our host, Isabel Alexander, dives into the critical topic of why entrepreneurs need a strategic plan for their businesses. Whether you're a seasoned business owner or just starting on your entrepreneurial journey, this episode offers valuable insights into the importance of strategic planning and how it can transform your business's trajectory.

Key Takeaways:

- Understand why having a strategic plan is essential for entrepreneurs.

- Explore the common misconceptions and challenges that entrepreneurs face when it comes to strategic planning.

- Learn how to create a strategic plan that aligns with your business vision, values, and priorities.

- Discover the significance of celebrating milestones and achievements along the way.

- Gain insights into how strategic planning can prepare your business for growth and even eventual sales.

Join Isabel as she shares her own experiences and practical advice on how to approach strategic planning for your business. Don't miss this episode if you're looking to take your entrepreneurial journey to the next level and set a clear path for your business's success.

Thank you for tuning in to Episode 92 of the Lift As You Climb podcast! Be sure to subscribe and leave a review if you enjoyed this episode.

About the Host:

 

Isabel Alexander

Your Next Business Strategist and Transformation Catalyst

 Isabel Alexander's journey from modest beginnings to global recognition epitomizes entrepreneurial resilience and innovation. With over five decades of experience spanning diverse industries, she has become a driving force in shaping economic landscapes worldwide. Noteworthy accomplishments include founding a multimillion-dollar global chemical wholesale business and earning accolades such as Canada's Top 100 Most Powerful Women.

As a mentor and advocate, Isabel empowers women entrepreneurs through initiatives like the Lift As You Climb Movement and podcasts, guiding them from startup to maturity. Serving as Chief Encore Officer of The Encore Catalyst, she dedicates herself to coaching and educating emerging entrepreneurs. Her involvement in organizations like RenegadesReinventing.com and Femme on Fire underscores her commitment to leadership and business development.

Additionally, Isabel's advisory roles with government bodies and trade associations, such as Chair of the Canadian Association of Importers & Exporters, highlight her influence in shaping trade policies and fostering international relations.

Driven by her mantra, "Lift As You Climb," Isabel embodies the ethos of mutual growth and empowerment. With dual citizenship in Canada and the United States, she values her extensive family and embraces global connections through travel and professional engagements. Isabel Alexander's narrative serves as a beacon of inspiration, illustrating how visionary leadership and strategic advising can drive global entrepreneurship and economic independence forward.

Founder:

The Encore Catalyst Facebook page ( https://www.facebook.com/TheEncoreCatalyst )

and

Chief Encore Officer, The Encore Catalyst (www.theencorecatalyst.com) – an accelerator for feminine wisdom, influence, and impact.

also

Author & Speaker ‘Who Am I Now? – Feminine Wisdom Unmasked Uncensored’ https://whoaminowbook.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabelannalexander/

 

Thank You for Listening!

It means so much that you listened to this podcast! If you know of anyone else who might find this show valuable or entertaining, please share it on your favorite social media platform.

If you have questions about this episode, please send me an email at Hello@TheEncoreCatalyst.com

 

Subscribe to the Podcast

Receive automatic notifications when new podcast episodes are made available.

Subscribe on your favorite podcast app to keep up with the latest episodes. Links on the sidebar make it easy. Please share if you value the content.

 

Leave a Review

Every bit of feedback offered helps to make this a value-packed part of your week and suggestions are welcome.  

Ratings and reviews from listeners are used to improve the podcast. They also help others find this series in their podcast platform, so reviews are very much appreciated!

To register for a coaching with Isabel

Speaker: 00:00:07

Welcome to the Lift As You Climb podcast, where it's all about the

Speaker: 00:00:11

journey and the joy of discovering who you are now, deciding who you want

Speaker: 00:00:16

to become, and embracing your genuine identity, influence, and impact.

Speaker: 00:00:22

In each episode, we'll explore how life's experiences have prepared us for what

Speaker: 00:00:28

we choose to do next and how to create our Encore, write our own script, and

Speaker: 00:00:33

star in the next stage of our lives.

Speaker: 00:00:36

I'm your host, your Encore strategist, and transformation catalyst, Isabel Alexander.

Isabel: 00:00:57

Hi, Isabel Alexander here.

Isabel: 00:01:00

I'm on my way shortly to visit a customer's site and spend the

Isabel: 00:01:06

day with them working on their strategic plan for the new year.

Isabel: 00:01:12

Most of the time I'm working with clients over Zoom or some other virtual platform.

Isabel: 00:01:18

But this case, I have the opportunity to be in person and I'm really glad

Isabel: 00:01:23

because this is a deep dive day.

Isabel: 00:01:25

We're going to do a lot of work talking about where they've

Isabel: 00:01:30

been and where they want to go.

Isabel: 00:01:32

And although this company's been in business almost 10 years, this will

Isabel: 00:01:36

be their first official strategic plan and I'm delighted that they

Isabel: 00:01:42

made the commitment to work on that with me, because as the old

Isabel: 00:01:47

adage says, if you don't know where you're going, you won't get there.

Isabel: 00:01:54

Now, opinions vary widely about the revenue size of a

Isabel: 00:01:59

small to medium sized business.

Isabel: 00:02:02

And I mean widely if you look on the internet!

Isabel: 00:02:06

But I'm talking myself about the clients that I'm working with that are

Isabel: 00:02:10

somewhere over five million and somewhere under a hundred million typically.

Isabel: 00:02:15

I'm also thrilled to be working with a lot of clients that are cusping

Isabel: 00:02:20

at the million or just under and I can help get them over quickly.

Isabel: 00:02:25

Having a strategic plan is an extremely important part of that process.

Isabel: 00:02:32

And why don't most small businesses have a strategic plan?

Isabel: 00:02:38

Having been in those shoes myself a long time ago when I started my company, I

Isabel: 00:02:45

didn't even know what it was at the time.

Isabel: 00:02:48

I didn't know what I didn't know until I got some executive coaching and

Isabel: 00:02:53

learned about the purpose and the value and the it was important for me to

Isabel: 00:02:58

have a strategic plan for my company.

Isabel: 00:03:01

I also think I was intimidated when I did find out about it, when I heard

Isabel: 00:03:06

other companies talking about their strategic plan, companies that were

Isabel: 00:03:10

a little bigger than me, a little farther up the success ladder.

Isabel: 00:03:14

I thought, Oh My God, I don't know enough about that.

Isabel: 00:03:17

I don't know how to create that.

Isabel: 00:03:19

I'm intimidated, period.

Isabel: 00:03:22

But also I have so much on my plate.

Isabel: 00:03:26

How can I possibly make time for something like that?

Isabel: 00:03:32

That seems like an extra big stretch for me.

Isabel: 00:03:36

And I certainly don't have enough resources in the company to delegate it.

Isabel: 00:03:42

In fact, it's probably not something I can delegate because I'm the owner of

Isabel: 00:03:47

the company, I'm the chief visionary, the chief executive of the organization, so

Isabel: 00:03:54

I've got to be hands on, shirt sleeves rolled up deep in the planning process.

Isabel: 00:04:02

I think I also sort repelled by the thought of creating a plan because I

Isabel: 00:04:07

thought, Oh my God, it's going to be like creating an annual budget and,

Isabel: 00:04:10

Oh man, what a shit show that was something I certainly did not enjoy.

Isabel: 00:04:17

But then I came to understand and I came to value having a budget and having

Isabel: 00:04:23

a strategic plan because I definitely knew where I wanted to go and I could

Isabel: 00:04:32

measure my progress along the way.

Isabel: 00:04:35

If you've heard the term KPIs, Key Performance Indicators, I mean

Isabel: 00:04:41

that's just one of the steps within a strategic plan and it doesn't have to

Isabel: 00:04:46

be a complex, um, document, it doesn't need you to require a team of lawyers

Isabel: 00:04:52

and accountants and consultants.

Isabel: 00:04:55

It can be a very simple one page summary of your ideals, where you

Isabel: 00:05:02

want to go, incorporating at least the process that I use that has worked so

Isabel: 00:05:07

well for me for 30 years, incorporates my vision, my dream, my values, my

Isabel: 00:05:16

priorities, my investments along the way.

Isabel: 00:05:21

And, it plans for a lot of celebration, because as an entrepreneur, it's all

Isabel: 00:05:29

grit and grind most of the time, but if we don't plan to look at how far we

Isabel: 00:05:37

have gone, how much progress that we have made, and celebrate With ourselves,

Isabel: 00:05:44

with our team, with our suppliers, whoever the other stakeholders are, then,

Isabel: 00:05:52

really, how do you keep going when it's challenging, when times are difficult?

Isabel: 00:05:57

You must celebrate the achievements, the milestones, the accomplishments along the

Isabel: 00:06:03

way and you can decide what those are, and make them absolutely specific to your

Isabel: 00:06:11

business and your personality and the priorities within your lifestyle plan.

Isabel: 00:06:21

Because let's remember, we are the lifeblood.

Isabel: 00:06:26

We're generally the Chief Executive Officer.

Isabel: 00:06:30

We are usually the chief cook and bottle washer as well.

Isabel: 00:06:34

If you're thinking about your business and, what you wish it could be, or

Isabel: 00:06:39

you hoped it had become, or you're at that stage, as many that I talk

Isabel: 00:06:45

to now, who've got 5, 10, 20 years under your belt, and you're not

Isabel: 00:06:51

quite sure what to do with it now.

Isabel: 00:06:54

It's not thrilling you the way you'd hoped it would be at this time.

Isabel: 00:06:59

Maybe you're still reeling and recovering from the impact of pandemics and economic

Isabel: 00:07:06

upheavals and the great exodus of staff who have decided they don't want to

Isabel: 00:07:12

work this much anymore or they want to do something different, find their

Isabel: 00:07:17

own purpose and passion in their life.

Isabel: 00:07:19

Don't be the duck paddling your feet frantically under the water.

Isabel: 00:07:22

Let's have you be like the swan for a while and float smoothly because you have

Isabel: 00:07:27

a plan and you have some goals to get to.

Isabel: 00:07:30

You can see the shore over there and you can see the shore behind you.

Isabel: 00:07:35

Reflecting in my thoughts right now at this moment, Dan Sullivan and Dr.

Isabel: 00:07:39

Benjamin Hardy's absolutely fabulous book, "The Gap and the Gain", a

Isabel: 00:07:45

must read for all entrepreneurs.

Isabel: 00:07:49

Having a strategic plan also is a very vital tool for deciding

Isabel: 00:07:58

how you want to grow, if you want to, how you're going to scale.

Isabel: 00:08:02

It's an essential tool if you want to get your business ready for sale, because

Isabel: 00:08:09

perspective buyers, potential buyers will want to see that you've got the

Isabel: 00:08:15

processes in place of a real business.

Isabel: 00:08:20

I really do hate those air quotes, but just to say, "It's not a hobby.

Isabel: 00:08:26

It is a business.

Isabel: 00:08:27

It's got a plan."

Isabel: 00:08:28

and you know where you want to go.

Isabel: 00:08:32

A very long time ago, when I was an ingenue entrepreneur, I read a quote.

Isabel: 00:08:40

that sums up what I'm talking about right now.

Isabel: 00:08:44

He said, and I'm paraphrasing, "that if you can vision the

Isabel: 00:08:50

kind of company you want to be.

Isabel: 00:08:55

and then you can insert in there the kind of person you want to become,

Isabel: 00:09:00

then start acting like that right now."

Isabel: 00:09:06

That really did make me sit up and pay attention to the fact that, yeah, I'm

Isabel: 00:09:12

not just scrambling to make a living or to provide an income for other people.

Isabel: 00:09:21

I'm building my own empire.

Isabel: 00:09:25

And as head of that empire, there are some things that I should be doing so that I am

Isabel: 00:09:32

successful and really enjoy that the most.

Isabel: 00:09:36

So.

Isabel: 00:09:36

If strategic planning is something that you're intimidated by, or you're just

Isabel: 00:09:44

like, "Yuck, tried that, did not like it!"

Isabel: 00:09:48

Reach out, because I can share with you some really good processes that

Isabel: 00:09:55

are proven to work and are absolutely in line with the size of your business

Isabel: 00:10:02

and the vision that you have for future you and future your enterprise.

Isabel: 00:10:12

Thank you for spending this time with me and I hope that it was valuable for you

Isabel: 00:10:20

Thank you for spending this time with me.

Isabel: 00:10:22

I hope our conversation added value to your day and expanded your

Isabel: 00:10:27

vision for your legacy and impact.

Isabel: 00:10:30

Please join me in increasing my impact and expanding my reach to even more

Isabel: 00:10:35

people by sharing this episode on social media, with friends, and leaving

Isabel: 00:10:40

a review on Apple iTunes, Spotify.

Isabel: 00:10:44

Or channel of choice to catch all the latest from me.

Isabel: 00:10:48

Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform.

Isabel: 00:10:51

Connect with me and others in our community Facebook group, the Lift

Isabel: 00:10:56

As You Climb Movement, where you can engage, be inspired by and grow

Isabel: 00:11:01

with a tribe of like-minded people.

Isabel: 00:11:04

As I evolve as a podcaster and spokeswoman for collaboration and

Isabel: 00:11:09

economic empowerment, your input and feedback are especially important.

Isabel: 00:11:14

To me, I welcome your suggestions and questions to hello@theencorecatalyst.com.

Isabel: 00:11:23

Until we meet again, please remember your success may be the foundation

Isabel: 00:11:29

for someone else's to together we can raise success ladders around the world.