Okay so, one of the biggest topics in the realm of business is strategic business planning. Still, it’s often hard to define, as there is so much information out there on the topic. Do you doubt that last statement? Well, you shouldn’t, in fact just search the topic on Yahoo and see for yourself – endless advice, information, books, articles, and expert consultants ready to serve you with your; strategic planning efforts. Let’s talk.
You see, if you run a small business you do need to be constantly revising your business plans, and you need to make it an on-going planning process. Some free-wheeling entrepreneurs actually run their businesses without much planning, it’s all in their heads, but as the business gets bigger, with more variables, and an abundance of litigation risk, and over regulation – it quickly becomes difficult to plan properly if you try to do it all in your head. Further, I would suggest that you prepare at minimum the following;
Exit Plan
Growth Plan
Business Plan
Marketing Strategy
5-Year Organizational Plan
An exit strategy could be as simple as a few pages, and a little advice from a financial planner, accountant, and lawyer. Your growth plans generally are in your head already so, why not get them onto paper for better keeping? Growing a business organically means you need profits, so where are those profits coming from? If you are going to grow through acquisition or opening new store units you’ll need cash flow and financing to make that happen.
You’ll also need more customers and you need a solid strategy for that too. You need a marketing plan, advertising budget, customer loyalty strategy, and a way to ensure great customer service leading to massive referrals. All of this should coincide with your growth strategy and overall business plans. Speaking of overall plans, do you have a 5-year plan, a 10-year plan, and so on? Maybe you need that too, at least I believe it is always wise to have such.
Remember that quote; “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail,” well, I wouldn’t necessarily go that far, as I know a good many entrepreneurs who’ve done well with little or no real planning, but somehow I wonder what they could have done if they had planned, where would they be today, how far could they have gone. We will never know I guess, but for you, I hope you will plan, as I want you to do your best. Please consider all this and think on it.
