Your Strategic Blueprint: Three Strategic Business Questions You Must Answer

Have you created your strategic business blueprint?

Now, before your overwhelm monitor goes to full tilt, you need to know, it does not have to be a difficult, arduous project.

Simply put, strategic blueprinting is the streamlined planning process of developing an architectural plan for your future business.  It is setting direction.  And, it is common for consultants and coaches to tell you that this will be a lot of work and will take an inordinate amount of time.  But I disagree.

You can do a basic plan on a dinner napkin if you want.  Of course, I am a big fan of napkin plans – I did my first will on a napkin over lunch.  But let’s move on.

So, where do you start?  Basically, there are three strategic questions you must answer with laser focus and precision when planning the future of your business.

1. What business are you really in? What is your business going to do and sell?  Sound too simple?   Well, this is where many small business owners go wrong.  They assume that they know what business they are in but after delving into the topic, they find that they are not clear on this point. Without clarity, business success can be challenging.
2. Who are your going to sell to? Who is your ideal consumer in your market niche.  Be clear, concise and specific. This is the opportunity to profile your perfect prospect.
3. How do you beat, avoid or crush the competition? Here’s where the action is.

These questions may seem so simple, you want to brush over them.  But your first answers will rarely be the right answers.

On the other hand, if you answer these questions precisely, you will have the basic building blocks for your business blueprint.  Just give it some time – this may take you hours, days, even weeks to get to the right answers.  And, as your business grows, you need to ask these questions again and again just to stay on course.  I recommend revisiting this process annually.  This plan provides the basic building blocks for your entire venture. 

Strategy Talks Tip: Do not do this alone.  Engage a team or group of buddies to brainstorm with you.  Offer to buy pizza and beer – that should get the ideas flowing.  When you are ready, you can hire a coach or consultant to guide you through the process.  They should offer an objective perspective that can literally make or break your business.

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Amelia Brazell, Strategy Source, Inc.