The Easiest Way to Plan a New Business

^{Read Time: 3 Minutes}

New businesses are a lot of work.

I can't completely remove the work, but here is a tip that makes it way easier.

There are 8 main parts of a business, and hundreds of sections inside them.

Which is a lot.

No successful entrepreneur ever kept it all in their head...

...but you're trying to do it with your startup.

You're losing your ideas and missing others by trying to cram them into your brain.

Now here is where mind mapping comes in, and it's going to be a game-changer. Trust me.

What is Mind Mapping?

Mind mapping, created by Tony Buzan in the 1970s, is like a mental tree.

You start with a sturdy trunk and branch out into smaller thoughts.

This is how your brain processes information by itself. We are using it on paper.

It's like setting your GPS in the car. It gives you a visual of all the turns you'll make along the way.

How to Create a Mind Map

Let’s break it down:

1. Central Idea: Write your main business idea smack in the middle of your page. This is your tree trunk.

2. Branch Out: From your central idea, create branches for each major category you need to cover. These are your main topics. Keep it to 1-2 keywords for these.

3. Subsection Branches: Go levels deeper on your keywords. For example, you might have a branch for marketing, so you might write "paid advertising" as a subsection.

4. Colors and Images: Spice it up with colors and pictures. You remember what you can visualize.

Why Entrepreneurs Love Mind Mapping

When your thoughts get organized and laid out in front of you, everything gets easy.

• Creativity: Seeing how everything pieces together helps you spot new things. Seeing "organic posting" might give you some Facebook content ideas.

• Memory: Colors and images engage your brain, making information stick better.

• Clarity: Break down complex ideas into simple parts. Roadmaps that tell you it's south to Disneyland are no good. You want it to tell you to turn left... and then right at the next intersection.

Practical Applications in Business

Mind maps are good for a bunch of things:

• Brainstorming: Place your central problem on paper and let ideas branch out without a filter. Some might be bad, but you won't miss the genius solution in the back.

• Planning and Strategy: Visualize your projects and strategies, from the main goal to detailed steps.

• Problem-Solving: Break down issues, find what causes it, and layout solutions.

• Decision Making: Create decision trees to compare options and outcomes.

• Meetings and Presentations: Organize content in an engaging, easy-to-follow format. People would rather be shown than told.

• Daily Tasks and Goals: Track progress, manage time, and picture your objectives.

Getting Started with Mind Mapping

New to mind mapping? No problem. Here’s an example:

1. Central Idea: Your business idea or goal. Let's use a smoothie shop example. I would draw a picture of a smoothie cup in the middle with the map topic.

2. Branches: Then you would list some main categories. I would write marketing, setup, menu, and staffing to start.

3. Subsection Branches: You then make smaller branches from those. So I would do advertising and social media, menu items and specialties, etc.

4. Colors and Images: Use different colors for each branch; add images or draw pictures too. Maybe use red for marketing and draw a Facebook logo.

You can see more examples and the smoothie shop map in my twitter thread.

Keep it clear and concise. If it gets crowded, break it into smaller maps. Update it every week around the same time; I chose Sundays.

Explore Further:

• Mind Mapping Mastery- Tony Buzan

• What I Learned after 5000 Hours of Mind Mapping- Justin Sung

• What is a Mind Map?- MindMapping.com

Thanks for reading!

Boom, you now have all the knowledge from "Mind Mapping Mastery" in 3 minutes.

Try mind mapping your business or idea, and watch the plan come to life.

Talk soon,

-Dalton

P.S: Next I'll be going over supplements that turn your brain into a computer. See you there 💡