MINNEAPOLIS, April 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — The problem today is that an estimated 84% of business owners do not have a financial plan and are winging it when it comes to knowing their numbers. Entrepreneurs must have a DAMN Plan — and be willing to work that DAMN Plan — in order to take advantage of the opportunities ahead in this new economy.
Serial entrepreneur, business coach and keynote speaker Kim Nagle highlights the best DAMN Plan for business success in her book, The DAMN Plan: How to Find Freedom, Love, and Money in Your Business (2021, Indie Books International).
As the DAMN acronym title suggests, this is not your typical business book. Its equal parts practical business and life workbook. It is written with a healthy dose of humor, tears, joy, and reality because as Nagle says, “Business is personal.” She knows this for a fact, having owned six of her own businesses and coached thousands resulting in hundreds of clients launching and growing successful businesses.
According to Nagle, there are four critical steps to creating your own DAMN Plan.
Step One: Be confident in your decisions. The D is for determined decisions. In the DAMN Plan, Nagle calls on business owners to make determined-decisions based on facts and backed them up with the owner’s resolve and willingness to act. Using equations and providing a template for any small business to use, Nagle teaches a practical, foundational formula for starting a small business and developing growth strategies.
Step Two: Take action. Nagle says, “not all actions are created equal.” Acting consistently in alignment with your Determined-Decisions instead of chasing shiny objects and quick-fix solutions is The DAMN Plan way.
Step Three: Work ON your business, not just IN it. “Minding Your Business” is the term Nagle uses for keeping tabs on a small business’ financial performance in real-time. She says knowing your numbers every day not just at tax time is the sweet spot where the trifecta of freedom, love and money will be found. Whether it is in tough economic times or when life seems easier, Nagle says, “You gain confidence and resolve by tracking, analyzing and understanding the impact of your decisions and your actions taken or not taken. When you are fully aware of your financial standing, you are able to make determined-decisions and thrive.”
Step Four: Quit making excuses! The N in the DAMN Plan is perhaps the most important component. It’s “No Excuses,” but more than that, it’s an attitude. Its an attitude that every entrepreneur needs to have, as Nagle says, “to do business in the midst of our very real lives.”
Nagle adds, “When you quit making excuses and abdicating your authority to something or someone else, you will break free and grow. When you forgive yourself and stop ruminating over your woulda-shoulda-couldas, you will find the freedom, love, and money you seek.”