Take a good look at your favorite store on the corner. There is a 10 percent to 12 percent chance it will not be there next year, according to the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy. “A lot of businesspeople start out with good intentions,” says Desiree Young, a business strategist and marketing coach who specializes in helping entrepreneurs and small business owners build thriving businesses. “They may have an idea of the goals they want to accomplish and may even write them down, but then they stick them in a drawer while they deal with the daily issues that consume their time. That’s where the problem lies.”

The key to achieving business longevity, Young maintains, is to create a strategic business development plan — and stick to it. She offers these four tips for putting a plan in action:

1. Keep the audience in mind. Throughout the writing of a business plan, remember the intended audience and the reasons the plan is being written. “Your plan will need to be tailored for each [audience],” Young says.
2. Change with the times. “Even if your business is thriving, you want to ask yourself what changes need to take place to take it to the next level,” Young says. “If it requires going after a different market, developing a new product or service, or rebranding what you do presently, a new business plan should be developed.”
3. Focus on strategy. Look at the market, the industry, your customers, and competitors. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each competitor and weigh your opportunities in the marketplace. Then detail how you will execute your selected business strategy. Your products and services, marketing, and operations should all closely align with your strategy.
4. Don’t overreach. A lot of business development plans sound good on paper but don’t work in the marketplace. “It’s difficult to attract people to a new product or service,” Young says. Moreover, many start-up businesses overestimate sales projections and underestimate costs. Forecast conservatively and try to build an adequate cash reserve.

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