Financial planning does not have to be difficult, but it does need to be done. Maybe you have a "financial planner" that helps you plan for your retirement. Financial planning is about understanding the immediate steps that are required to get you to where you want to go in the longer term.

For your business, financial planning will let you you key measures to determine if what you are doing is bringing you business success. There are many ways to start, and here we will start with the basics. This process should be done as a planning exercise at the beginning of your business, as well as every year as a way to set measureable goals for your business.

Let's start with Total Revenue.

3 Approaches to Total Revenue:

Also called "Sales" this number is calculated by taking the total number of products that you want to sell, at the price you want to sell for. For example:

$100 x 250 products = $25,000 Total Revenue

Or, take the number of people you want to help and multiply it by what you will charge on average per person to determine how much you will sell in the year.

50 people x $500 = $25,000 Total Revenue

Or, take how much you want to make and divide it by the price per unit to determine how many you have to sell.

$25,000 divided by $100 = 250 customers

What's Your Story? Go By The Numbers

Now you know your story. If you want to make $25,000 in total revenue you have to help 250 customers with your product that is selling for $100. Make sure your product is worth at least $125 to make sure you are providing great value and have very happy customers that want to come back for more. They will tell their friends and help you achieve your goal.

Inside every financial plan is a story about a business and a person. Make sure you have one for yourself and your business.