You started with a vision.  What are your goals now?

  • Why did you start this business?  Is that still what drives you?
  • If you met your founding self today, what would you warn them about?
  • What does “success” mean to you now vs. when you started?
  • Are you building the business you want, or the business you think / thought you’re supposed to want?

Who are you doing it for?

  • Who was your original target customer?  Is that who’s paying you today? 
  • What problem are you solving today that you didn’t even know existed at launch?  What problem did you plan to solve that no one ended up caring about?
  • Has your market moved faster than your plan has?
  • What feedback have you been ignoring because it doesn’t fit the original vision?

Are you focusing on the original business, or the one you want to build?

  • What’s your best-selling product/service, and was it even in the original plan? 
  • What are you still offering purely out of obligation or habit?
  • If you launched today with everything you now know, what would you build first?

Are you leading toward the company you want?

  • Has your role in the business changed more than the business itself? Has it changed enough?
  • What decision have you been avoiding because it doesn’t conform to your plan? 
  • What would you have to let go of emotionally to update the plan? 
  • Whose voice (mentor, co-founder, past self) that informed your original plan should you stop listening to?  Whose should you add?

Are you planning for the future, or just adjusting to catch up?

  • If you had to defend your business plan to a stranger today, could you?  What would you lead with?  What would you omit?
  • What’s the next big industry or company development you can already see coming?  Does your plan account for it?
  • If you started from scratch – not just updating your original plan – what key elements would you need to include for the plan to actually work?

Want more information on growing your business?

Read the full post on how to make sure your business plan isn’t holding you back

Need the time to plan? Bootcamp #1: Managing Your Time

Want to make sure you’re really growing? Bootcamp #2: Are You Growing or Just Busy?