Milestones and Metrics

A plan is only a document on paper without an implementation plan, complete with a schedule, defined roles, and key responsibilities.

How to Write a Business Plan: Milestones While the Milestones and Metrics chapter of your business plan may not be long, it’s critical that you take the time to look forward and schedule the next critical steps for your business. Investors will want to see that you understand what needs to happen to make your plans a reality and that you are working on a realistic schedule. Start with a quick review of your milestones. Milestones are planned major goals.

For example, if you are producing a medical device, you will have milestones associated with clinical testing and government approval processes. If you are producing a consumer product, you may have milestones associated with prototypes, finding manufacturers, and first order receipt. While milestones look forward, you will also want to take a look back at major accomplishments that you have already had. Investors like to call this “traction.” What this means is that your company has shown some evidence of early success. Traction could be some initial sales, a successful pilot program, or a significant partnership. Sharing this proof that your company is more than just an idea-that it has actual evidence that it is going to be a success-can be critically important to landing the money you need to grow your business. In addition to milestones and traction, your business plan should detail the key metrics that you will be watching as your business gets off the ground. Metrics are the numbers that you watch on a regular basis to judge the health of your business. They are the drivers of growth for your business model and your financial plan.

For example, a restaurant may pay special attention to the number of table turns they have on an average night and the ratio of drink sales to food sales. An online software company might look at churn rates (the percentage of customers that cancel) and new signups. Every business will have key metrics that it watches to monitor growth and spot trouble early, and your business plan should detail the key metrics that you will be tracking in your business. Knowing what your assumptions are as you start a business can make the difference between business success and business failure.

Finally, your business plan should detail the key assumptions you have made that are important for your businesses success. Another way to think about key assumptions is to think about risk. What risks are you taking with your business? For example, if you don’t have a proven demand for a new product, you are making an assumption that people will want what you are building. If you are relying on online advertising as a major promotional channel, you are making assumptions about the costs of that advertising and the percentage of ad viewers that will actually make a purchase. Knowing what your assumptions are as you start a business can make the difference between business success and business failure. When you recognize your assumptions, you can set out to prove that your assumptions are correct. The more that you can minimize your assumptions, the more likely it is that your business will succeed.