My Five year Plan- What is Yours
In 1979 I began my first physical business with my husband. We trotted down to the bank to ask whether or not we could have a business loan because I planned on continuing to work at my own business for six months before joining Leo. The bank manager asked me for a business plan, a five year business plan.
I remember saying to him something like, "don't be ridiculous, we can't know what's gonna happen next week never mind in five years!" I compounded the error by concluding that it was a nonsense. Needless to say of course we had to go to a second bank.
When asked for the business plan I made about eight of them and trudged down to the bank. The bank manager asked me what I was doing with all those plans and I replied
"well in this one, the roof falls in because it's an old roof!"
"In this one, the roof doesn't fall in the temporary repairs are successful"
"in this one we make a profit in the first month"
"in this one, we make a profit in the first four months"
So I carried on blissfully unaware digging a hole so big it would bury me completely. He listens to each and every one of them or at least the summary as above and then he says
"which one is correct?"
Well you can imagine what I said it was something along the lines like "how the hell would I know".
So off we go to bank manager number three. The saga continues. We go to every bank in the town and I still refused to play the game, even though my husband implored me to just do what was needed. I am so was something along the lines as I'm not an idiot and I don't expect you to be one either!
So I was left in the position that I had to raise money to renovate a derelict business. I just did what I'd always done I created another business, a market stall and went out every weekend and sold jewellery. It was costume jewellery and it was very cheap and it was very useful because it's very light and I could put it in a suitcase. I was too young to drive in those days!
It taught me that a business plan is an absolute nonsense. I'm not saying that having business goals is not a good idea. I had a goal to make a new business profitable within four months. It actually happened in three months, however it didn't happen in the way that anybody could have foreseen in any business plan in the world.
Very quickly we realised that the profit we were going to make from this business would be when we sold it which wouldn't be for three years. In the meantime we had to make it at least pay the bills. So I gave up my day business and came into the shop. My husband created a wholesale business.
There were two reasons for this any stock we hadn't sold we took round to other businesses and offered it to them as the sale or return item. They gave us the stop they couldn't shift and we took it around to other businesses. Within a week he had convinced 12 businesses to join the scheme. That meant we all had access to new lines of stock and it looked as though a business was more profitable than it was
As a secondary measure he also started a wholesale business selling jokes and tricks. This was handy because he actually brought money home. Whilst the first idea was extremely useful, very practical and very helpful. It was extremely difficult to determine whether or not it was profitable. When he came home I would say have you made a profit and he would say I swapped 15 kg of wool, six alabaster popes, to firedamaged pans for three life style teddies. Okay if we sell the teddies it was easy to work out the profitability but on balance and on paper it wasn't so easy! It was a lot of fun but that's another story
In the meantime I read this John Green quote and it made perfect sense to me and I gave up the idea above lifetime business plans.
“Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia. You spend your whole life stuck in the labyrinth, thinking about how you’ll escape it one day, and how awesome it will be, and imagining that future keeps you going, but you never do it. You just use the future to escape the present.” –– John Green
Now I think with a lot of years behind me that if you know where your life is going to lead then the chances are you are following somebody else's idea of a life. Having had a lifetime of living life on my own terms I realise it's impossible to project anything. Because I am open to all possibilities anything at all could happen. Being in control is an illusion in my experience.
I have learnt that the only thing that can make me happy is being happy within myself. I'm not made happy by external circumstances. Let me know below what you think about this
I think the view to be successful here wealthy affiliate and build your own blog and during business you are going to have to be authentic. You are going to have to learn to live with uncertainty because you're going to have to try things and see for yourself whether their work.
“If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties.” — Francis Bacon
I do have goals in my life but they are flexible as is everything else.
Recent Comments
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I'm in the same school you are, Catherine! I don't know if I'll wake up in the morning, let alone in five years! Fortunately, I've never had to borrow money from the bank, usually financing any new enterprise with whatever I earned from selling and trading vintage odds and ends! I started my locksmith business that way--it became lucrative, but in the last few years it has started slumping as I slow down.
Thank goodness I love writing and that I've accumulated enough stuff over the years to sell and plug any financial gaps!
Great post, my friend, and may you have a very good week!
Jeff👍😊
LOL I am with you there, - a wing and a prayer I will wake up in the morning. Financial security is a wonderful thing
Very good attitude and I see things very much the same. Flexibility is very important.
I greatly enjoyed the story of the business plans. ha ha I get it completely. Often I have the plan. Then backup plan. Then plan C. D. E. The first plan is the ideal. The final plan is always along the lines of "ah the heck with it! Just do it period get it done with and sort things out later"
exactly you get what I am trying to say exactly I have one plan it will work out and along the way, I have only to make sure that it does work and plan A has always worked for me. Thank you so much for taking the tie=me to comment
Beautiful. I totally agree with every word!
I do have ideas of some financial goals. I wrote those down under my WA bio. But those goals are not the goals of my highest life priorities.
My highest priorities are to Love every moment that God has given, the "good" and the "bad"
To forgive others including to forgive myself.
To be grateful for every thing and every experience that I am experiencing.
To treat others with sensitivity and to allow them to be as they are.
To live life from the paradigm of love, beauty, caring, understanding, appreciation, forgiveness, gratitude.
Then from this understanding to live life and sow in whatever direction that life unfolds moment to moment.
Most of my plans that I worked on in my life didn't work, and some did. I used to get very upset when things didn't go the way that I planned. I don't get upset about plans working or not working anymore.
When one door closes another door opens. So we can be upset for years over a closed door. We can be angry at people involved that may have done us wrong. Or you can just learn that doors close and doors open and from the position of gratitude, loving and caring enjoy experience.
Have a great day!!
Ken
the hair on the back of my neck stood on end when I read your reply, Ken! I agree with every word and it is been something I have been working on for a long time. Every day I write down three things I'm totally grateful for in a gratitude journal. I have spent a lot of time and energy on myself to get rid of my ego. (It's still a work in progress, however, when it flares up now I recognize it and look very closely to see what lesson I have to learn from that)
The more I try to live life the principles you have written above these in my life is and the more it flows. As you say I don't spend time worrying about things and I trust in my instincts so much more.
Thank you very much for your beautiful reply it is very much appreciated by me
It's interesting to me how affinity of fundamental truths resonates when two or more people agree.
With each word of your reply that I read, I literally had goose bumps waving from head to toe.
Have a blessed day!!
Ken
Interesting post, Catherine. I can't have long term plans, never know what happens and my opinion of things might change. I have my vision but it's my today's vision, what if I have a bit different one in a year or two?
I'm glad I don't need bankers to decide about my fate.
Thanks for sharing your story!
Lenka
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Wow Catherine! What a life you’ve led so far! Thank you for sharing your story - I hope I have half your drive and ambition to make up for not having a quarter of your talent👩🏾🎓I’m learning so much from you and I appreciate your wisdom.
Caroline😁
Caroline - never under estimate yourself, you will find your feet here.i have been blessed with a wonderful rich and varied life
Thank you, I’ll try not to put myself down. I’ve learned so much already and there’s all the help I could want here😁