214: How to Easily Create a Strategic Plan for Your Design Firm

Systems & Strategies
Written By Michele Williams

214: How to Easily Create a Strategic Plan for Your Design Firm

with Michele Williams

This week we're rerunning episode 131 of the Profit Is A Choice podcast, “How to easily create a strategic plan for your design firm.” This is an awesome topic that we processed through a couple of years ago. And I will say to you, it is still relevant and it's something that we work on and focus on in Scarlet Thread Consulting all the time. I want to encourage you as you wrap up this year, and get ready for next, that you take the time to consider your strategic plan, what it might look like, and how you can improve upon it from moving forward.

Topics Mentioned: 

  • Vision

  • SWOTT

  • Milestones

  • Goals 

Listen to the Episode

Creating a strategic plan does not have to be difficult or overwhelming. If you followed along in my year end planning podcasts, you have a lot of the inputs to this strategy. If not no worries, you can do it now. Let’s build a strategic plan!

In my last podcast, episode 129, earlier this month I shared with you the 5 reasons to have a strategic plan. Here they are as a refresher: Having a strategic plan allows you to choose your direction with intention, work proactively instead of reactively, have the organization work together with clear goals, allow for consistent messaging, and to manage resources effectively. 

Now, don’t we all want that? Yes, you say. Ok – then how do we do this? 

I am going to start by telling you what I love having in mine and then we can go through them one at a time for more detail. Here is what I put in my strategic plan: 

  • My Why and company vision 

  • Mission statement 

  • Core Values 

  • 5 Year Vision 

  • SWOTT Analysis 

  • 3 Year Milestones 

  • Yearly Goals and Objectives 

 

Remember, this is a living document. One we will be using and managing to each quarter and month and year. Also, the timeframe closest to us usually has the clearest goals and action steps. So, I keep that in mind while I am building. Sometimes the difficulty comes in trying to solve problems 5 years out. Spend that energy focusing on the year ahead of you with an eye on the future.  If not, it is like worrying about the job you are going to get when you don’t even have the training or degree yet. One step at a time. 

In Episode 125 I indicated how powerful it is to know the core or WHY of your business. This is one of the first things I put in my strategic plan. You see, at the top of my plan is the description of who the company is. Because, just like in that podcast, the strategy is built upon the identity of the company today and in the future. 

My personal why informs my company why. The deep nugget or belief that drives them both will be the same, but my company why is focused on the company and not me as an individual. This allows others to get behind the company why. This why is also part of the vision of the company. It is the big belief that drives the work of the organization for the outputs generated. The more clearly you can define this, the clearer the path ahead for you and your team. The vision is the combination of what you plan to do and why you plan to do it. 

I am going to read you my company vision from 5 years ago. You will notice that there are areas where it is very clear and other areas where it is a bit more vague. This is because it was written in 2015 looking forward to 2020. The closer I got to 2020 the more SMART my goals became that supported this vision and the clearer the vision became. I can tell you this, I brought this vision into reality and am now creating a new one to build upon this. 

Here it is: 

My 5 Year Vision 

My ideal team is small, mostly women – highly skilled in their positions. The goal is to work with independent contractors – women who own their businesses – not to have a big group of employees. 

The business will allow me to do my best work – whatever it is at that time. It could be teaching, sharing, speaking, coaching, writing – but it will be flexible and not stagnant in any way. 

The business will be highly profitable. Top line and bottom line will always be considered. Out of the profit the business will help support others. This could be in the form of charitable donations or micro loans to women, etc. 

With the flexibility of work product, the business will also be flexible in timing and in location allowing for travel and offsite work. There will always be time to take care of me and my health as well as my family and friends. 

Much attention will be focused on how women see themselves and how they translate their gifts, talents and abilities into the world around them for their own success. 

Prayer and biblical consideration will be a daily part of this business and how it grows and operates at every point. 

That’s it. It gave me a north star in my company to work towards. 

Let’s look now at mission statements. 

The mission statement is the company why and vision in action. Meaning, it is the how you will achieve the vision. It tells more about the steps that you will be taking in business. Your mission can shift as the years go forward, but most often the Why and big company vision will not.  

I always like to write out my core values. These are the guiding values for your business. I have asked you all before to make note of them. Write them down and hang them up where your team can see them. Commit to them. My core values are abundance, integrity, faith, encouragement. In everything I do, I want it to be done in a way that never feels like I am holding back in some way. Those I work with should know we are always working in integrity and in the support and encouragement of those we serve. We work diligently for all processes to flow this way.  

Ok, so everything to this point is telling who the company is and where we want to be in 5 years. We can even drill down a bit and create a vision that tells how much revenue and profit the company will hope to generate. I did that work in my yearly goal setting, but it could be added to the vision. Who the ideal clients are and where and how you will serve them can also be included. Remember, the more you know the more you document. You can always adjust this or tweak it as you go.  

When you have put all that down on paper, it is time to move a bit more granular to determine how are we going to get there. If you feel the HOW overtaking the WHAT and WHY.  Stop. Take a breath. We have to commit to the grand business vision before we ever focus on all the goals. Just like we need to choose a college pathway and major for graduation before we take a bunch of random classes.  

This vision that you and your team have created. Are you dedicated not only to the vision to but to the pursuit of it? Because as we know, this is not a straight path. This is winding and weaving and up and down, so we must be dialed in and committed to where we are going if we want to get there. 

Later we will build in some metrics to determine if we have arrived. But for now, dream it, in as much detail as you can. 

Now add in your SWOTT analysis. SWOTT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and trends. My clients do multiples of these a year when working with my team. In the strategic plan, however, we are only going to include the ones that matter the most. Usually, the overall company SWOTT which should be a compilation of the smaller SWOTT analysis from individual departments in the company. I like to have the SWOTT from year to year in the 5-year plan so we can see at a glance how things are changing and evolving. 

With regard to goals, I prefer to look at a strategic plan with a combination of goals and milestones. For me, milestones are sometimes easier to identify because once I go into goals it can get a bit hairy.  

For instance, if I have a 5-year vision for my company, I then like to have milestones for year 3 that will let me know if I am on track for year 5 success. A goal, if it were SMART, would be more detailed than I might know at the time of creation. I can go back and make the milestones into goals and make them SMART. This is a layering approach – a living document. 

Then, for year one I like to create clear, SMART, goals. Where do I need to be at the end of year 1 to be successful in this 5-year plan? Where do I need to be at the end of year 2? For each area that I am planning, I may only plan out in minute detail 1-2 quarters at a time but in some detail 4-5 quarters at a time. 

IF I were to do this now, which I am, it might look something like this: 

Year 5 vision. This vision would be for the year 2025. I would tell where I wanted to be by the end of that year or whatever timeframe you attach to it. Then I would create milestones for where I need to be by the end of 2023. Often what I see is designers casting a vision but trying to do too much at one time in one year to succeed without creating overwhelm. We have lives outside of business and need to work on the balance in growing our firms and the life we have with family and friends. Then, if I know, I will indicate the milestones for 2022 and certainly for 2021. Then I will write detailed goals for 2021 that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timebound. I love planning using the Traction method or 12 Week Year Method. Only one big goal a quarter with smaller goals sprinkled in.  

While creating this can seem overwhelming, it brings me a lot of relief. I know that I have a plan and I can rest in the fact that it does not all have to be done at once. I love to plan for rolling quarters. I might plan out Q1-4 for 2021 and maybe Q1 of 2022. When I complete Q2 of this year, I plan out Q2 of next year. This way I always have 4-5 quarters planned. As you can see the closer you get to a timeframe the clearer the vision you have. Use that to your advantage.  

Once you have this strategic plan you need to manage and monitor to it. Every year it needs to be reviewed. The goals should be managed per quarter for the year you are in. If you are in a big growth time, it might be best to manage every six months. If a plan is done correctly you won’t be changing it all the time.  

Here are some quotes to encourage you as you tackle creating a strategy for your company. 

“Our goals can only be reached through the vehicle of a plan. There is no other route to success.” ~Pablo Picasso 

“Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now.” ~Alan Lakein 

“The real path to greatness, it turns out, requires simplicity and diligence. It requires clarity, not instant illumination. It demands each of us to focus on what is vital and to eliminate all of the extraneous distractions.” ~Jim Collins 

“It’s not the plan that is important, it’s the planning.” ~Graeme Edwards 

 

I hope you have found this helpful. Remember it is not that we get it all right or correct. It is that we are taking the time to dig in and see and measure and consider. Like Graeme Edwards and Dwight D. Eisenhower both indicated, it is not the plan that counts it is the planning. 

 

My clients are planning and strategizing. They want to have full ownership of their business. Their desire is to be in front of what is coming, not behind. They want to do this with as much ease and repeatability and profitability as is possible. They know that this does not happen by accident and it does not happen without intentionally looking at it. You know that too. You are listening right now and you either are a planner who has done this and seen the power in it or you are struggling with no clear direction. I have been on both sides. And I much prefer the side of organization, planning, and intentionality in my work. If you are a business owner who desires the same and wants a trusted advisor and coach to guide you in this, reach out. You can find out more by visiting my website at www.scarletthreadconsulting.com. Plan to be profitable and sustainable – because it doesn’t happen by accident. 

Key Thoughts:

  • A strategic plan, simply put, is a document that tells where a company or organization is going. Consider it your road map for traveling into the future with your business. Michele (4:54)  

  • Part of the beauty of creating a plan is having an idea of where you are going so you can plan in advance. Michele (10:24)   

  • Every company has a limited supply of resources. These resources can be time, money, and people. Knowing how to spend each of these gives us an advantage. Michele (15:40) 

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References and Resources:

Michele Williams
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