StartupTalky

Tag: Effective Planning

  • 8 Steps of Effective Planning for Every Business

    There are many people who dream of being an entrepreneur and starting their own businesses. With various opportunities coming forward at this age, the number of startups is increasing every day. Whenever you try to start a business, there are several factors that are needed to be done properly, among them is planning. In fact, effective planning can do wonders.,

    Planning is an important activity of every business organisation. It is the foremost task which every business has to do before starting its other initiatives. Every implementation of an idea starts with planning. Therefore, planning has an important role to play in any venture or business.

    If planning is not done properly, the business is bound to fail at any given point. Many brainstorming ideas die before execution because of improper planning. Effective planning is what makes the lifeline of every business. In this article, we will talk about the 8 steps that you need to follow for effective planning of your business. These steps are just paving the road to success, so let’s take a look at them.

    Recognise the Opportunities
    Create Objectives
    Planning Premises
    Finding Alternatives
    Evaluating Alternatives
    Choosing Alternatives
    Making Supporting Plans
    Implementation of Plans

    Recognise the Opportunities

    Before creating a plan, there is the foremost need to recognize the opportunities that exist in the external environment. There are 8 stages of planning, to make an effective plan, in which Recognising the opportunities comes first. The managers of the organisation must do a clear analysis of all the aspects of the opportunity on the basis of the future as well as the present. The management should also do an analysis of the present position of the company so that the strength and weaknesses can be taken out which will lay the foundation for setting up the objectives of the organisation.

    Importance of Planning in Business
    Importance of Planning in Business

    Create Objectives

    Your objectives define your business, if there are no objectives then the growth of the business is not possible. The objectives of an organisation must be very clear and well defined. A proper objective of an organisation provides a proper direction to the organisation and its different departments. The objective of the organisation decides the future of the organisation, therefore the management must create a clear set of objectives that the organisation needs to achieve.

    Planning Premises

    As we already know that the process of planning premises is done on the basis of the future. However, as the future is uncertain, so we must create some forecasts on the basis of assumptions. These forecasts are known as the planning premises. The assumptions may not be true, but considering and forecasting them will make the organisation ready to deal with them. Therefore, the management must develop the planning premises so that the organisation can survive in case of any unwanted occurrence.

    Finding Alternatives

    There are multiple ways to do a single thing. Similarly, there are multiple ways in which the objectives of an organisation can be achieved. The management must develop and identify all the multiple and unique ways of doing things that can help them in achieving the objective of the organisation because if by any chance one way is failed to achieve the objective, another is ready to take its place so that the objectives can be achieved without any delay or blockage. Apart from that amongst these alternatives, the best possible case must be chosen.

    Evaluating Alternatives

    After identifying all the ways for achieving the objective, each of the alternatives must be properly evaluated. The process of evaluation of the alternatives must be made on various factors like investment requirement, risk, uses of resources, profit, and others. The management should properly analyse the pros and cons of each and every alternative and where those alternatives can take them. So, that the best one of them can be taken out and can be applied to their business to achieve the objectives.

    Choosing Alternatives

    Once after the evaluation process, the managers will have the proper awareness of the pros and cons of each alternative. Out of all those alternatives, the managers have to make decisions and choose a plan which is more profitable and where less risk is involved. The alternative that will be chosen should fit perfectly to achieve the goals, while choosing the alternative, three tools are must that is, experience, experimentation and research.

    Making Supporting Plans

    Each main plan requires various work to be done. In order to execute the main plans, there is the requirement of supporting plans for various works like hiring manpower, buying required materials, purchasing raw materials and others. The supporting plans are not different plans but they are parts of the main plan which help in managing the different activities and things. The main plans couldn’t take place without the supporting plans and therefore, the managers should create supporting plans to carry forward the work.

    Implementation of Plans

    After the creation of the main plan and the supporting plan, there is a need to bring them into action. The plans should be implemented in such a way that they can help in achieving the objectives. The process of implementing the plans includes the formation of policies, procedures, the budgets, and a sequence of activities to be performed in order to achieve all the goals. Once the implementation is done, now you have to wait and see if you are able to achieve the objectives of your business.

    Conclusion

    A proper business plan helps you in your strategies to make your business successful. When you start your journey of entrepreneurship, the growth of your business keeps you going and it can only happen through proper planning. While planning you need to follow all the steps required, then only you can achieve your end goal.

    FAQs

    What are the effective planning steps of a business?

    Some steps to make planning effective:

    • Recognise the opportunities.
    • Create Objectives.
    • Planning Premises.
    • Finding Alternatives.
    • Evaluating Alternatives.
    • Choosing Alternatives.
    • Making Supporting Plans.

    What is planning in management?

    Planning defines the correct actions to achieve organisational goals. It helps in the efficient utilization of available resources. Realistic planning helps in achieving organisational goals in the most competitive way. Hence go on and plan to achieve the goals you have set.

    What is planning premises?

    The forecast or the assumptions about the future which provide a base for planning in the present are known as planning premises. They are the anticipated environment in which plans are expected to operate.

    What is a good business plan?

    A company often needs a business plan before it can borrow money from a bank. Good plans are usually highly detailed and include information on all aspects of the business, including the industry, marketing, finance, personnel, and various operating procedures.

  • How to Overcome 8 Most Common Challenges as a Freelancer

    When talking of the freelancing scenario in the country, it is widely estimated that by the year 2025, the ‘freelancers’ market of India will grow to a whopping $20-30 billion. Nearly 23% of these Indian freelancers have annual earnings of ₹60 lakh and lie under the age of 40.

    With the rise of the entrepreneurship culture in India, freelancing is more popular than ever. The best paying freelancing jobs in India are Web Development, Graphic Designing, Social Media Specialist, Accountant, Digital Marketing, and Content Writing. Contrary to the common beliefs, the freelancing business is not all about perks, the challenges form an ample share of this work culture.

    Most Common Challenges Faced By a Freelancer and How to Overcome Them

    ways to overcome challenges faced by freelancer
    Ways to overcome challenges faced by the freelancer

    Managing Time
    plan
    Finding work
    Not Getting Paid for Work
    Working alone
    Creative Block
    Completing Works Before Deadlines
    Procrastination or De-motivation
    No Consistent Work

    Managing Time

    One of the major challenges one faces as a freelancer is time management. As the line between private time and working hours gets blurred, the subject becomes quite a complicated issue. Flexible working hours were one of the major reasons that made you consider freelancing. But once your work starts getting affected by  ‘flexibility’, it is not a perk anymore.

    How to manage your time effectively?

    Time can be effectively managed by having a proper plan of the day to day activities. Effective planning is considered the most important aspect of time management.

    plan

    How to plan your tasks for efficiency?

    Constantly updating your calendar with your work assignments, keeping track of how much time you spent on every task, setting per day goals, and working with time reports will help you stay ahead in the game. The best part? You don’t even have to do all of that manually. Freelancing tools like Freedom, Tomato Timer, RescueTime, and Freework enable you to do just that with a click of a button.

    Finding Work

    If you have already had your first brush with freelancing, you know what a major challenge can this be. As more and more freelancers join the workforce, the competition gets only tougher each day. Nobody wants to end up with months of unemployment and rejection.

    How to find more work projects as a freelancer?

    There are a large number of online platforms out there that enable service providers and recruiters to come together and benefit from each other. Content mart, Truelancer, Freelancer, Upwork, and Fiverr are some of such popular services, catering to this purpose. Building your brand, keeping an attractive portfolio, Connecting with more people and Active networking helps you increase your probability of finding work.

    Not Getting Paid for Work

    Being a freelancer also means not getting paid sometimes. As you gain experience you eventually learn to protect yourself from non-paying clients. But in the interim, you might even find yourself running after your client to pay you for what you deserve.

    How to overcome Notorious Clients?

    Insist your employer on making a contract before you offer your confirmation and start working on the project. Or better yet, make the process easier for your client and make one yourself, and get your client’s approval. There are several tools like Bonsai, Termsfeed, and Freelancy that help you with the legal issues and generate a contract on your own. In the absence of any job securities, contracts protect your interests as a freelancer

    working alone

    working alone
    Working alone

    Surprised!? It might have been one of the major reasons why you had quit your job. Turns out it doesn’t hurt to have a team, behind your back, who support you when an assignment is becoming too hard and keep updating you with their feedback as you progress. Unless your profits are great, you can’t even hire an assistant and once you accept an assignment, there is no backing out. You are all alone in this.

    How not be lonely as a freelancer?

    Find a freelancer community where you can interact and learn from the experiences of many more of your kind. Platforms like these help you build networks and help you find a support system, wherein you can share your doubts and discuss your problems openly. Taking regular breaks from work and turning to your friends and family for some ‘out’ time helps.

    Creative Block

    One of the major challenges you face as a freelancer is getting stuck in a creative block, this not only hampers your learning but also makes things monotonous.

    How to overcome Creative Block?

    Keep updating your style sense with new trends. Try looking for inspiration in new places and give your old style a break. You can even start with some intense brainstorming sessions instead of directly coming to work. The bottom line is, don’t hesitate to explore new genres and styles, even if they lie out of your comfort zone.

    Completing Works Before Deadlines

    This is also a part of time management. Becoming a freelancer might be easy, getting work also might be easy. But you have to learn to set deadlines. Often, the client will ask to complete a task immediately or give you work to complete within a short period. This is a common challenge that many freelancers face.

    How to complete projects on time?

    Do not hurry while planning the task. Making decisions based on assumptions should be avoided. Taking time to plan the work deadline is a good idea. If any client wants service in urgency then try communicating with them. Tell them why you need that specific time to complete and that the quality of work will suffer if you do it in urgency.

    Procrastination or De-motivation

    You can’t be self-motivated every time and this is a common problem in every profession whether you are doing a job or working as a freelancer. Even sometimes you may feel unwell and postpone your work. Taking a break is not a problem but if you want to become a successful freelancer then you have to work hard without any break.

    How to overcome De-motivation?

    Plan every day and Setting long-term goals can be difficult to accomplish results in de-motivation, so divide your goals and set targets daily. If you feel demotivated anytime, check the good feedbacks which you have received from your clients and also don’t forget to reward yourself for every goal you achieve.

    No Consistent Work

    Freelancers face this problem so often. Sometimes they get a load of work but the next month there is little work or even no job. In India, the competition among freelancers is very high, but to survive this race you have to find a way.

    How to overcome the Inconsistency?

    Don’t depend on the clients you are working for. Research other online platforms searching for work. Getting work constantly is very difficult, so creating your profile on websites like Fiverr, People Per Hour, etc, and doing something different with your gig which makes you stand out might help you to make money consistently.

    Conclusion

    Challenges are everywhere no matter what career field you choose but this is the right time when you should start freelancing and build your own business. We are living in a digital era where we have all the resources and opportunities we need to grow and bring the best out of ourselves. There are also many freelancing communities out there from where you can get the support you need to grow your freelancing business. As when you work with a team you can overcome challenges easily and can bring your freelancing career to another level.