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I’m asked frequently about whether a solo consultant should have a business plan and/or a marketing plan.

My advice is: No.

There are consultants with complex business plans worthy of IBM or Mercedes. The do nothing but consume time. And marketing plans usually are focused on tasks (contact six people, write two articles) rather than results. Put tasks in your daily calendar, but stop calling them a “marketing plan.”

The problems with a number, such as $500,000 in revenue, is that if you generate a total of $440,000—a good year, perhaps—you feel unsuccessful in missing your goal. If you do hit your goal, you probably could have done even better, but you were focused on that number. And if you easily exceed the goal then, obviously, it was too modest.

Have a goal of maximizing income to support the lifestyle you desire. That would include lowering labor intensity and increasing discretionary time. Identify your ideal buyer, establish how to find that buyer and, more importantly, lure that person to you (market gravity). Then perfect your ability to create a trusting relationships and convert it into business.

If you must have a plan of some kind, there it is.

© Alan Weiss 2016

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Alan Weiss is a consultant, speaker, and author of over 60 books. His consulting firm, Summit Consulting Group, Inc., has attracted clients from over 500 leading organizations around the world.

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