Have you heard the buzz about the new small business growth book by Donald Miller, best-selling author of:
The new book, as of April 2023, is called How to Grow Your Small Business.
The book is based on a cool revelation Donald had one day when looking at a model airplane in his office.
Here's what dawned on Don.😁He realized "the way an airplane is engineered is similar to the way a business should be engineered."
Six parts of an airplane are absolutely crucial if it's going to do its job and take people and cargo to a destination safely.
Six parts of a small business are absolutely crucial if it's going to grow. And you know, not crash.
The Small Business Flight Plan is a 6-step plan to help your business take off.
Take off. 🛫Get it? I'll tell you in a minute which part of an airplane = which part of your business. But first, I get the feeling most of you reading this article would prefer to get the answers to your nitty-gritty questions.
So be it.
🤔Business Made Simple, Flight Plan, Flight School?
Quick non-airplane metaphor, as explained by Don, because metaphors are life. 💪
Business Made Simple is your gym
Flight Plan is your exercise and nutrition program
Flight School is your personal trainer
Makes better sense now, right? Let's keep moving.
Definitions and Cost
1. Business Made Simple (AKA Business Made Simple University, AKA your gym)
What is it? Business Made Simple is an online learning platform. It's a pleasure to navigate, plus it's gorgeous. When you subscribe, you'll get access to 6 main courses. Each course will help you create one of the six parts of your small business flight plan. The flight plan is a six-step plan to optimize your business for revenue and profit.
You get access to:
all the on-demand courses, including the six main courses plus all the deep-dive courses
member-exclusive webinars
plus a community of small business owners and coaches (free advice, input, and new connections!)
How much is it? Joining Business Made Simple is only $275 for a full year of access. They also offer a money-back guarantee. Why wouldn't you give it a shot? It's a Get-it-while-the-gettin's-good deal and you can get it here.
Want Business Made Simple access for your entire team? You got it. (2 seats: $550/year. 3 seats: $850/year, and so on.)
(FYI: Since I'm a StoryBrand Certified Guide, most links in this article are, or will be affiliate links. This is also a marketing lesson in action. Want to be a successful company? Be generous and help other people succeed.)
2. Small Business Flight Plan (AKA your exercise and nutrition program)
What is it? Small Business Flight Plan is the operating system to keep your small business operating in tip-top shape. If you run a small business, you want to run Flight Plan. There are six steps to optimize your small business for revenue and profit, and Flight Plan contains one playbook for each of the six steps.
The logical exercises make it easy to wrap your head around the plan, plus you have complete freedom to start working on whatever part of your business needs the most attention first. I love this because every small business is unique. 😍We're all at different stages of growth and we experience struggles in different areas at different times.
The airplane metaphor is pretty fun, too, if you imagine the effect on an airplane if the fuel tanks are almost always close to empty, or if the wings aren't able to support the oversized, overgrown body.
How are the parts of an airplane like the parts of your small business?
Just like each part of an airplane, each part of your business is crucial. When one part isn't right, the entire operation isn't going to fly.
What are the six parts of the Business Made Simple airplane metaphor?
cockpit = leadership
right engine = marketing
left engine = sales
wings = products
body = overhead and operations
fuel tanks = cash flow
How much does it cost? Ready? Your Small Business Flight Plan is 1,000,000,000% FREEEEE! Yep. You can find your flight plan at the end of the How To Grow Your Small Business book or download your Flight Plan for free here.
3. Small Business Flight School (AKA your personal trainer)
What is it? Small Business Flight School is a product that allows you to take your free Flight Plan and get that thing ALL DONE in only six months.
They've taken the 21 most critical steps you need to take in order to overhaul your entire business and set it all up for you so all you have to do is step in and go! No more guessing, no more throwing spaghetti at the wall, no more diving for dollars.
You'll have lessons, exercises, and a Flight School Checklist to keep everything organized. You'll set big goals before you get started. If you've checked every box on the checklist and completed your exercises, Business Made Simple believes Flight School will keep you on track to reach your revenue goals, whether it's a 20% increase, a 30% increase, or even doubling your revenue!
How much does it cost? Small Business Flight School helps you optimize all 6 parts of your business. It offers organization, accountability, and the speed you need to get results, and it costs $2495. Flight School was released in May of 2023.
If you don't have a plan, your revenue will stall or take a dive, you'll be chasing ideas that don't get you anywhere, and you'll keep guessing instead of following a clear, step-by-step process designed for business owners just like you.
Well, then, let's get a plan, shall we?
How?
You can read the book.
Get access to the courses and resources in Business Made Simple.
Get your free flight plan.
In the meantime, do you have more questions or want to get a fresh perspective on your small business goals? Let's do it.
Schedule a Zoom chat with me right here, and I look forward to meeting you!