Like many buzz terms, the “5 Year Plan” is something that many of us are familiar with, both in our personal and business lives. But how important is having a 5 Year Plan in your business? In this blog, Helen explains why a rigid 5 year plan may not be the best thing for your business…
What is a 5 Year Plan?
Well, it’s pretty self explanatory! A 5 year plan is a personal or professional (or both!) list of goals that you want to achieve in the next 5 years. This can sometimes include smaller goals that will eventually lead to the bigger picture that you have in mind.
For example, if a long-term goal is to buy your first home, then a smaller goal might include setting aside a certain amount of money in a savings pot or investing money to put towards a deposit for a mortgage.
If your long term goal is to become qualified in a new field or to gain more qualifications, the first step would be applying for courses in that field.
What Are The Benefits of a 5 Year Plan?
One of the best things about a 5 year plan is that it can significantly motivate you to create the life you want to live. It shouldn’t be about hitting a particular goal in and of itself, but more so how you will feel once you achieve the life you want to create. This will help you to stay focussed on hitting those targets that will build to the bigger picture.
Whatever the specific goals you have in mind — gaining qualifications, growing your business or even growing a family, a 5 year plan can help you move from dreaming into doing in a positive and proactive way.
Here are some other benefits of creating a 5 year plan:
- It creates a starting point for a career, start-up idea, or personal goal. A goal without a plan is just a wish after all!
- It helps you stay focused and aligned with your ambitions.
- It’s a consistent reminder of what you’re aiming toward, why you want it, and what you need to do to get there.
What Should My 5 Year Plan Include?
Grab a pen and a piece of paper. Imagine where you want your life to be in 5 year’s time, write down everything you see without judging yourself or allowing negative thoughts to stop your flow. It’s absolutely normal that negative thoughts or doubts may appear but write your vision down anyway! The key is to then find solutions to any challenges that you may perceive.
Helen’s 5 Year Plan
5 years ago, on the 1st April 2017, I handed in my notice whilst on maternity leave. I wasn’t sure if I was being an April Fool but I knew in my heart that it was the right thing to do and that I simply didn’t want to continue working in a corporate environment after my maternity leave.
I knew the life I wanted to lead, with another child perhaps and a flexibility in my work to be a present mum and kick ass accountant.
I gave myself 6 months to make Insight Finance Solutions (before the LTD came along!) work and set about making that happen. Of course I had doubts, and worries about money and whether I was doing the right thing but I also knew that this was completely natural. I broke down my vision of a flexibile, successful and thriving business and personal life and well… I think it’s safe to say that by hitting those smaller targets consistently over the past 5 years, I’ve achieved the 5 year plan visual that I had! The key is to understand that we often over estimate what we can achieve in a week or a month, but under estimate what we can achieve in a year or 5!
We’ve just hired our 4th team member and between us busy working mums we have built a business which holds true to the values that I created for us on that April Fool’s day – not so foolish at all!
Your 5 Year Plan & How We Can Help
We love helping our clients to visualise their business (and personal, they’re often intertwined!) goals and breaking the bigger picture down into monthly, more manageable goals. The way we run our accounts management with regular updates, strategy meetings and check-ins means that we are in the best position to help you to be flexible with your plans, pivoting where you need to but always pointing towards the main goal.
Need some help creating your 5 year plan? Book a chat with us in confidence and we’ll be happy to help!