Over the past nine years, I’ve had the privilege of working with individual leaders of non-profit and for-profit start up organizations. Interspersed with these opportunities, I’ve also worked with new coaches starting up coaching practices. And I have learned a lot in the process!

I’ve learned much about leaders and calling, about sales strategies and business development, about donors and giving, about volunteers and serving, about boards and accountability, about prayer and protection, and about administration and the value of systems. However, my heart has always gravitated toward walking side-by-side with leaders who take starting a business seriously enough to discipline themselves to write a strategic plan.

As I’ve walked alongside each leader and shared the great challenges of starting a business or ministry, there are a few things that stand out as the irreducible minimum for writing a strategic plan. And I’d like to share with you these fundamental steps in planning your business strategically:

• Develop a compelling purpose statement that communicates your specific calling and clearly defines your target audience. I used to coach around vision and mission statements, but have recently focused on a more concise statement of purpose. Whatever you call it, this statement provides clarity for what you are called to do and provides direction for future efforts and expenditures.

I had a three-sentence purpose statement when I began coaching but have simplified it (over the last nine years!) to read, “Bringing out the best in others.” This reflects my core desire to help others be their very best selves in their day-to-day lives. And by living that out in my own life, I desire for others to be “irresistibly attracted” (one of my favorite coaching principles!) to me as a coach. I feel value and purpose myself when others are encouraged, equipped, and become more intentional in their own lives. So this purpose provides an impetus for me to be aligned with God (who brings out the best in everyone freely and unconditionally if we surrender to Him) and my own values as I proceed in my business everyday.

• Develop a one page Overview (including financial projections) that provides a summary of planned initiatives. Having this as your personal guide is critical to staying on track. This Overview provides clarity about which initiatives require a “no” or a “yes” answer to move forward. This tool is a critical success factor for a leader, and if you are starting a non-profit organization, it is also useful in meetings with donors.

• Next, create your Strategic Plan. Taking the time to think through your day-to-day operations and growth strategy is the most often overlooked segment of the strategic plan for a visionary leader. I’ve seen enthusiastic leaders lose their focus (and donors lose interest) with those who can’t answer the “how” questions. Writing down your approach to operations helps you think through these vital elements and positions you to actually accomplish your purpose…which you’ve just refined in your purpose statement!

• Design a creative organizational identity and communication strategy. There is often a temptation to delay or ignore this step, but it is not wise. Resourcefulness is often needed to fund this process, but it is well worth the effort.

Determining your brand for your business is like deciding how you want to dress. You want it to express who you are and provide interest to those you’re attempting to attract. It’s tempting when you’re a young person or a new business owner to not pay much attention to this, but over time it causes you to lose yourself in the pool of people out there who offer similar services.

There are many, many initiatives that a new leader or coach is called upon to address in the early stages of starting up a business or ministry, and most of them have value. However, your attention to these four essentials will provide a firm foundation from which to make progress in all the other areas. It will also help you develop a timeline to achieve everything required in the most effective way possible. Happy planning…strategically!

Fran LaMattina is President and founder of Strategies for Greatness, a consultative coaching practice that serves leaders of organizations, individuals, and work teams. www.ministryventures.org.

(c)2009 ChristianCoachingMag.com, excerpt from Summer 09 edition