How to Survive the Crisis by Making a Personal Business Plan
2020 has been a more complicated year than usual due to the COVID-19 pandemic . However, it was not the first crisis we have faced in the last 20 years.
12 years ago, Sofía Macías faced a difficult economic moment when her ideal job in a newspaper became so complicated that she had to resign and rethink her entire life plan.
"Crises are usually the moments in which we make changes that we have postponed for convenience," said Sofía during her participation in the Money Fest , the interactive festival of personal finance in Mexico by the Interactive Museum of Economy ( MIDE ).
Thanks to this crisis, Sofía took part-time jobs, got as many scholarships as she could, and began to study to prepare herself to be the best economic specialist and thus help with financial education in Latin America.
While studying for the master's degree, a professor asked Sofia to make a Personal Business Plan , that is, a roadmap on how she imagined herself in five to 10 years. In other words, a map for your life, but with the vision that you would put into a business.
That academic exercise became her life map and today Sofía Macías is the author of one of the best-known personal finance books in Latin America: Little Capitalist Pig .
“Crises come to show the state of your finances and what you have postponed. But it is the best time to carry out your personal Business Plan ”, said the author.
Image: Money Fest 2020
How to make your own Personal Business Plan to survive the crisis
"Has it ever happened to you that in the face of an economic crisis the most primitive side has come out?" “This happens more commonly than we think. For example, when we attack the supermarket shelves because we believe that there will be a shortage of toilet paper or not open our statement for fear of seeing what we already owe ”.
How can we control that instinct to flee to take concrete actions to face a crisis and start building our Personal Business Plan? Macías gave us a five-step mini guide to get started.
1. Take perspective
Crises are usually the moments in which we make changes that we have postponed for convenience, says Macias. So this opportunity that the pandemic offers us is important to dare to set new goals.
It is at this point where you should start to set your goals and start setting realistic deadlines.
"Timeless goals are nothing more than good intentions," Macías warns.
2. Executive summary
Try to put on paper where you are currently "standing" and what it is that you would really like to do.
“Your life is the most important company you are going to build. If you do it for other businesses, why not for your life? ”, Says the expert.
Describe your career goals, the future you want for your career, and what you would really love to be.
3. Mission and Vision
"Where is your value to society? Do you do what you love? Why or why not? ”, Says the Little Capitalist Pig blog. It is doing an analysis of where you are and what you really want.
It is identifying the legacy you would leave the world if you could and how you must act to achieve it.
How to do it? Sit in front of a notebook and write two business plans.
One where you write how and where you would like to be in 5 to 10 years.
Another where you write how and where you would like to be in 5 to 10 years in your best version, that is, if you had all the resources you need.
4. Identify your SWOT
A SWOT or SWOT analysis is a test to know the strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats.
Think about how you are as a "product", who you are, what are your characteristics, what needs improvement and what to prepare for.
5. Identify key resources
What is the team you have to achieve your goal? They can be friends, family, contacts, mentors, in short, anyone who helps you grow.
What do you need to start working towards your goal? That is, identify the most important expenses you must make to achieve your goal and which assets you have to start moving forward during the next 90 days.
Finally, Sofia has a message for those who are anxious about the pandemic: “There is good news and bad news. A good one is that no matter how long this crisis is, it will end. The bad news is that another will come. You can only prepare if you know how to take perspective ”.
