Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.

– Alexander Graham Bell

I’ve recently seen some rather poor planning, and I want to take a moment to emphasize the value of preparation.

The initial preparation-based document of most businesses is the Business Plan. You know, that document that your angel investor, banker, spouse, partner, etc. wanted to see to make sure that you weren’t totally out of your mind when you told them you were going to start a business that did this, that and the other?

The point of that document was, in part, to prepare you for many of the issues that arise over the course of doing business. Do you need special permits or authorization? How much will your operating expenses be the first five years? When do you initially expect to turn a profit? What are your competitors’ barriers to entry or can anyone steal your idea?

See? These are questions of preparation. Despite Mr. Bell’s assertion, answering these questions does not guarantee your success, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction.

Have you found that your business is flagging recently, that there’s a certain stagnation or that things aren’t headed in the direction you’d hoped? Perhaps things are going well, but you’re about to embark on a huge project.

Don’t just flail around grasping at straws and hoping for the best outcome. Do some preparation before you have a crisis and things move too fast for you to adequately prepare. I’ll invoke one of my 10 Ways not to Hire a Guy Like Me: leverage your business plan! That document is probably buried away in saved files – or maybe you put it together before the ubiquity of computers and it’s in your file cabinet, weathered and dusty.

Either way, pull it out!

Now make an effort to leverage it. What did you say you would do if things turned south? What were your contingency plans? Even if you’re not in this state, updating your business plan for posterity and ensuring that there is a plan in place should something happen to you and your ability to move the business forward is important.

Not sure where the business plan is, you don’t have one or it’s not proving helpful? It’s time to rethink your business plan, and use that as a means of preparing yourself to solve your problems before you have a crisis on your hands.

Remember the company that thought it was going to move from Minnesota to Orlando over the weekend? That was not preparation. We went in and got them adequately prepared for their move – and it was successful. In order to be successful yourself, I encourage you to spend more time preparing – before anything else.

Are you ready?