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An action plan integrates all of the strategies you have developed throughout your business plan into a highly organised and prioritised plan of action designed to achieve your stated business mission and goals. 

This is achieved by breaking down the strategies you developed into small, achievable steps and then identifying the actions you need to take for each step. It can be used as a short term (6-12 months) action plan to achieve short term business goals, a medium term action plan (2-3 years) or a long term action plan (3-5 years).

An action plan identifies the business goal (what you would like to achieve) and the strategies that can be implemented to reach that goal. It also explains the specific actions that need to take place in order to achieve the business strategy. This will include the timeframe, roles and responsibilities, performance indicators and alternative methods that can be implemented to reach the business objectives.

Generally, action plans are limited to a small and manageable number of goals. This helps to keep the plan realistic and achievable.

For each action you should identify:

• The timeframe and priorities for each action.
• The people who will be responsible for undertaking each action.
• Specific performance indicators to help you determine in the future whether your business has succeeded in achieving the business goal.

Once you have these details identified, you can progress to formulating a series of strategies to be undertaken to achieve the goals of each action item. It often helps to break the various strategies tasks down into simple and specific steps to keep the plan on track and avoid getting overwhelmed or losing control.

To find out more, take a look at the ‘action plan' chapter in the business planning module.