Why You Should Have Firm Business Beliefs that drive Flexible Business Plans – Not the Other Way Around

Every great business starts with a great idea, and every great idea has to have a well-developed business plan. Sounds legit. Only, that’s not always the case.

It’s fairly well known in entrepreneur communities that some successful individuals have been able to build six, seven, or even eight-figure businesses with only basic business plans or even pretty shaky outlines. Also, there are business owners that have been spending years and countless resources on development and planning, yet never managed to bring their idea to life. Sooner than realizing what went wrong and how to change it, they would give up.

Why is that so, you may wonder? Because how we do something is more important than what we actually do. And by “how” we don’t mean just operational processes. It’s the “bigger picture” that counts the most. In other words – what you believe in business and how you act as an entrepreneur.

“Entrepreneurs have to always be thinking ahead of the curve. If you have success, you can’t get comfortable with it. You have to think what you can do better now or what’s going to take you to the next level, or else that success will quickly fade.” – Pedro Langa, KIANGULIO

This quote perfectly encapsulates the idea that it is your principles of success and wealth and the ability to think ahead that are more important than your current business plans and delivery systems. That, of course, doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have any plans outlined, but the main thing to understand is that you shouldn’t invest too much time on planning because that might be counterproductive and undermine your business efforts.

Here are three good reasons why:

3 Threads to a Fixed Business Plan

Reality-Check

In a nutshell – what you put on paper will never match the reality. As soon as you start to develop something and include other people, things start to change. Chaotic episodes strike. You face the unrealistic parts of your initial idea. The list goes on. Business plans are just never aligned with what eventually happens, so by having a strict plan you could ruin your chances at the start.

Innovations

Technology and other innovations are growing and exchanging each year. That changes the business landscape and customer needs too quickly for an old-fashioned, steady business plan development. Take artificial intelligence for example. Predictions are it is going to replace most of today’s jobs over the course of the next 5-10 years. What is VR or AR (link to the internal page) technology changing across industries and verticals? How will all that affect your business? Will you still have all the roles and tasks that you have now? Of course not. Daily operations will entirely transform and there will be a number of new challenges to deal with. Realize that you cannot get stuck with the way you are currently running your business and that you will have to adapt – probably sooner than you think.

Quick Hacks

Exactly because what works today might not work in a year or two, those catchy business “hacks” or that latest “quick fix” will probably be gone in no time, becoming useless and outdated. Be careful with novelty adoption and try to control “shiny object” syndrome.

Successful Entrepreneurs Have Principles

Most successful entrepreneurs in the world are guided not by strict plans but by their firmly embedded beliefs and principles, which help them succeed even in times of massive uncertainty. They always find a way to re-create their business and offer new solutions when the old system starts to fail.

Ray Dalio is one good example and an inspiring entrepreneur with a core belief that he could design an investment portfolio that would remain safe and keep growing in any economic season. Pretty bold statement, however, this investor and founder of Bridgewater Associates has lost money only three times in the last 20 years! His accomplishments and the “building-an-empire” strategy afforded him that type of stability, as opposed to the “get-rich-quick” tactics adopted by many.

“Whatever success I’ve had in life hasn’t been because of anything unique about me—it’s because of principles that I believe anyone can adopt,” Says Ray Dalio on his website hosting video series and in his book named “Principles”.

But let’s get back to your beliefs in business. If you believe that you have the creativity, focus, and discipline to solve any challenge coming your way, then you are probably half way there. Ultimately, that will become your reality. If, on the other hand, you lack confidence in your leadership capabilities or you don’t think there is room left for your ideas, you probably won’t even start to develop a new business.

3 Business Beliefs that Work with Any Business Plan

  • Money likes decision-makers and action-takers
  • Always be ready to learn new skills fast
  • Earn trust with a responsible and collaborative approach

Psychology claims that our thoughts create our realities. And this is not about “law of attraction”; thoughts do become realities and there are thousands of living examples from the business world to prove that.

The trick is – beliefs and ideas don’t work unless you are ready to take action.

And not only when everything runs smoothly – you have to have the courage to take action even when it’s uncomfortable because you know that you will be rewarded in the end.

It is beliefs that push us forward when the roads are difficult and full of obstacles, but our actions – outlined in flexible plans – can take us towards the goal.