Costing Out Your Business Plans: Understanding Financial and Productivity Costs for Effective Execution

After getting your ideas out of your head and planning them out, it's time to understand the costs associated with executing those plans. In the third part of our "From Heatwave to Headway" series, we’ll dive into the crucial step of costing out your business plans.

STEP 3: cost IT OUT!

Costing out your plans involves more than just calculating the financial expenses. It's essential to consider the productivity costs as well. The Bible even mentions the importance of knowing how much something will cost before engaging in it. When you have a clear understanding of the costs, you can make informed decisions and prioritize your plans effectively.

Here are some factors to consider when costing out your plans:

1. Team Costs: What will it cost your team to get it done? Consider the time and resources required for your team to execute the plans.

2. Vendor Costs: If you're outsourcing tasks, what will it cost an outside vendor to accomplish them for you?

3. Savings Opportunities: Are there ways to save money by snowballing similar priorities? Can you build off one priority to accomplish another more efficiently?

4. Affordability: What can you actually afford to do? Ensure that your plans align with your budget and financial capabilities.

5. Productivity and Prioritization: Avoid overwhelming your team with multiple priorities. Focus on singular priorities to ensure efficient execution.

6. Tools and Resources: Are there new tools needed for your team to accomplish their tasks? Can new tools help your team work more efficiently?

7. Understanding Your Numbers: Own all of your numbers, not just revenue. Consider the impact of economic times on your budget and make adjustments as needed.

In conclusion, costing out your plans is a crucial step in successful business planning. By understanding the financial and productivity costs, you can prioritize your plans effectively and set your business on a path to sustainable growth.

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Podcast Transcript:

Kiva Slade 0:01

Welcome to Collab with Kiva, where we let our inner nerd geek out on all the non sexy parts of your business. I'm talking data and operations. Neither as flashy or glamorous, but both are foundational to your business growth. I'm your host, Kiva, Slade, your strategy and analytics guide here to break down what feels complicated. So it is understandable and executional. Let's dive in. Hello, hello, hello, and welcome back to another episode of Collab with Kiva. We are on part three of our from heatwave to headway series. And I can tell you this temperatures continue to be hot. It's just I don't know what we're in. But I was recently in New Orleans. Well, really, in the state of Louisiana. There were days when it was like, Yeah, today, it's gonna feel like 114. It's like, it's amazing to me how relative things become because I think one day or at one point were like, it's like, oh, look, it's only filling like 103 now, and there's a slight breeze and you actually get excited, like, oh, yeah, we can go ahead and take that walk, let's go onto the rooftop jet. It's still over 100 degrees. But anyway, from heat wave to headway, we have talked about the episode one or the Part one was about planning it out. Part, I'm sorry, Part one was actually about getting it out of your head. Part two is about planning it out.

Kiva Slade 1:42

So today is part three, which is cost it out. Okay, so we have get it out, plan it out, cost it out? What are we talking about, they're not just the cost associated with what your offer is going to be or what it's going to take for you to accomplish the things that you have already gotten out of your head and planned out. But also, I want you to think about it in terms of productivity. You know, when we're, the Bible even mentions the importance of knowing how much something's going to cost before we go ahead and engage in it. So when we're looking at things, from our getting out of it session, and now in our planning it out session that we've had, you know, Rome wasn't built in a day. So I don't want you to take that plan that you have, and think you have to tackle everything all at the same time. It's not feasible unless you have, as my mother used to say, and many trade in the back yard, or you have some, you know, windfall of money that comes your way that allows you to tackle multiple things. So it's really important to cost them out. Think about what the productivity of that looks like, what's it going to cost your team to get it done? What's it going to cost an outdoor outside vendor to accomplish it for you? Is there any way that you can have some savings? You know, again, we were talking about kind of snowballing some of those things. If there are some priorities that are very similar, can we build off of one and capitalize on it to accomplish another?

Kiva Slade 3:13

You know, what can you actually afford to do? Because it's great to have plans, plans upon plans upon plans? The reality is that at some point, those plans have to meet reality, and that's normally in the area of costs. What's it going to cost to accomplish these things? What's it going to cost in order to achieve the necessary goals that you have set? Again, you might come to a point where you have to break these things down, piece them out and figure out which path can I take which path is sustainable for me and my team in order to accomplish the things that I'm looking for. And so often, I think when I'm working with clients, it's this urgency to want to tackle all the things and it's like, that's just not economically feasible. In many cases, it's also not productivity feasible, your team will be feeling like they are on one of those whiplash rides, because it's like, we're working on this priority. And this priority and this priority of this priority. And there's an old quote that talks about, like, if we go back to the origin of the word priority, it was singular, like there was one, we now have multiples, so therefore, nothing really becomes a priority. When we start to get into everything is a priority. So really thinking about productivity wise, is it feasible to have your team working on five different priorities that none of them have been figured out in terms of are they even feasible for the team to accomplish in the timeframe? The money involved that's going to cost for the team to get those things done? Are there new tools that are needed? hit for the team to accomplish these things or maybe new tools that are needed to help them do it quicker.

Kiva Slade 5:06

So really wanting you to cost it out, get really uncomfortable with your numbers, and oh, all of your numbers, not just how much revenue is coming in, but also looking at how much is going out. We are still in a sketchy economic times. And for some, that means that it's time to tighten the budget, it's time to tighten the financial belt and decrease costs. And so that also impacts what it is that you're planning to do. So whatever it is, I want you to truly take time to cost it out. Again, not just in terms of revenue coming in, but what's going to flow out in order to accomplish this. And is it worth it? That's another key point to add. So is it worth it? And also thinking through what is it going to do to you to your team, outside vendors that you might work with to really make this happen. So again, this is part three, we're costing it out, because that's super important before we move on to part four and five. So thanks for tuning in, and I'll see you next time. Thanks for tuning in to another episode of Collab with Kiva. I'm wildly cheering you on as you go forth and execute data and operational efficiencies in your business. If you need additional support, connect with me via my website, the 516collaborative.com your reviews on Apple are appreciated. See you next week.

Meet Kiva Slade - the Founder and CEO of The 516 Collaborative. With a unique background in high-power politics on Capitol Hill and sixteen years as a homeschooling mama, Kiva found her calling in the online business world as a trusted guide for entrepreneurs looking to build the business of their dreams.

Kiva's work began behind the scenes, orchestrating the back end of businesses and managing teams. But her inner data diva couldn't help but notice that small businesses needed help harnessing the power of data for growth. So she and her team set out to uncover and tidy up the data required to enable clients to grow their businesses confidently and easily.