How to Plan Your Business: this 4 Proven Tools will help you!

Internal Factors (Controllable by the Company)

Strengths

Internal advantages of your business:

• Unique competencies and team expertise
• Strong brand and market reputation
• Financial stability and profitability
• Skilled staff with low turnover
• Efficient business processes and operational model
• Innovative products or technologies
• Loyal customer base with high LTV

Weaknesses

Internal shortcomings that need addressing:

• Limited resources (finances, people, time)
• Outdated equipment or technical debt
• Weak presence in certain market segments
• Lack of qualified personnel in key roles
• Inefficient processes and bureaucracy
• High operating costs

External Factors (Uncontrollable)

Opportunities

Favorable external factors:

• Growing market or new niches
• Legislative changes in your favor
• New technologies for automation
• Weakening of major competitors
• Shifts in consumer preferences in your favor
• Opportunities for strategic partnerships

Threats

Potential business risks:

• Increased competition and new entrants
• Economic downturn or crisis
• Changes in industry regulations
• Shifts in consumer demand
• Technological disruptions

SWOT Strategy Matrix

• SO Strategies: Leverage strengths to capitalize on opportunities
• WO Strategies: Overcome weaknesses by exploiting opportunities
• ST Strategies: Use strengths to mitigate threats
• WT Strategies: Minimize weaknesses and avoid threats

Key Elements of a Gantt Chart:

• Tasks: Listed vertically on the left
• Timeline: Days, weeks, or months across the top
• Bars: Strips showing task duration
• Dependencies: Arrows between tasks
• Milestones: Key project checkpoints
• Resources: Assigned executors
• Progress: Completion percentage

Step 1: Project Breakdown

Decompose the project into specific tasks (WBS - Work Breakdown Structure). Each task must be measurable and clear.

Step 2: Sequence Establishment

Define dependencies between tasks (FS, SS, FF). This helps identify the critical path.

Step 3: Duration Estimation

Use the PERT method: (optimistic + 4×realistic + pessimistic) ÷ 6

Step 4: Resource Assignment

Specify who is responsible for each task. Avoid overloading employees.

Step 5: Tool Selection

Microsoft Project, Asana, Monday.com, or free alternatives

Step 6: Monitoring & Updates

Update status every 2-3 days. Use colors for status: green - on time, yellow - at risk, red - delayed

	URGENT	NOT URGENT
IMPORTANT	Quadrant I DO NOW Crises, deadlines	Quadrant II SCHEDULE Strategy, development
NOT IMPORTANT	Quadrant III DELEGATE Meetings, emails	Quadrant IV ELIMINATE Social media, idle talk

Quadrant I: Urgent and Important (DO)

Characteristics: Critical tasks requiring immediate attention

Examples: burning deadlines, crises, VIP client complaints, urgent medical issues

Strategy: Execute immediately, but work to prevent them through planning

Quadrant II: Not Urgent but Important (SCHEDULE)

Characteristics: Strategically vital tasks that drive goals

Examples: strategy planning, skill development, prevention, networking, health

Strategy: Invest 70% of your time here. This is the zone of growth and success.

Quadrant III: Urgent but Not Important (DELEGATE)

Characteristics: Distracting tasks that don't advance goals

Examples: routine meetings, calls, some emails, others' urgent issues

Strategy: Delegate, automate, or handle in gaps between important tasks

Quadrant IV: Not Urgent and Not Important (ELIMINATE)

Characteristics: Time-wasters with no value

Examples: mindless scrolling, TV, empty chatter, procrastination

Strategy: Minimize or eliminate entirely. Use for breaks (15-20 min/day)

1. Evening Planning (15 min): List all tasks for tomorrow
2. Morning Sorting (5 min): Assign to quadrants
3. Time Blocking: Allocate 2-3 hours for Quadrant II
4. Daily Audit (5 min): Where did I spend time? How to improve tomorrow?

S — Specific

The goal must answer: What? Who? Where? Why?

• ❌ Bad: "Increase sales"
• ✅ Good: "Increase sales of product X in region Y via digital advertising"

M — Measurable

Must have a numeric metric to track progress

• ❌ Bad: "Improve service"
• ✅ Good: "Raise NPS from 30 to 50 points"

A — Achievable

Realistic given resources and constraints

• ❌ Bad: "Increase profit 10x in a month" (for a typical business)
• ✅ Good: "Increase profit by 20% in a quarter"

R — Relevant

The goal aligns with overall strategy and company mission

• ❌ Bad: "Open 5 offices" (when current ones need stabilization)
• ✅ Good: "Optimize processes to boost efficiency by 15%"

T — Time-bound

A specific deadline creates urgency

• ❌ Bad: "Launch new product soon"
• ✅ Good: "Launch MVP by March 31, 2025"

Example 1: Personal Health

❌ Incorrect:

"I want to lose weight"

✅ SMART Goal:

"Reduce weight from 85 to 78 kg in 3 months (by June 1, 2025) through 4 workouts per week and a 500 kcal daily deficit"

Example 2: Marketing Goal

❌ Incorrect:

"Improve marketing"

✅ SMART Goal:

"Increase qualified leads from 100 to 200 per month by end of Q2 2025 via content marketing (2 articles/week) and Facebook Ads with $2000/month budget"

Example 3: Tech Upgrade

❌ Incorrect:

"Update the website"

✅ SMART Goal:

"Redesign homepage to reduce load time from 4 to 1.5 seconds and boost conversion from 2% to 3.5% — complete by January 15, 2025, budget $1000"

• Too many goals: Focus on 3-5 key goals per quarter
• Unrealistic deadlines: Use backward planning
• No action plan: Break the goal into weekly tasks
• No assignee: Clearly designate who is responsible