This is not a matter of Life or Death – it’s much more important than that! A well thought out Strategic Business Plan is often the missing ingredient that a business needs to be successful.
Statistics currently show that 82% of Australian companies go out of business in their first 10 years. In my opinion, a big part of this is not having an adequate plan for their business, or any written idea of where their business is heading.
Now – there are countless reasons why having a Business Vision and Business Plan are necessary for long term business success. It clarifies direction, makes you think critically about your customers and the markets, forces you to develop a cash flow forecast, and so on. Here’s a short list of reasons why your business needs a Strategic business Plan.
Clarifies the Direction of your business
Helps you determine and coordinate all aspects of business operations
Gives you a means to analyze and determine what might be the best change to boost your business out of a stagnant situation
Assists you in determining the risks and benefits associated with any changes
Decreases your chances of making a mistake or not considering important factors in your business
Dramatically increases your chances of success.
To get the best price possible if you’re selling your business
To map the future
To develop and communicate a course of action
To establish business milestones
To better understand your competition
To better understand your customer
To enunciate previously unstated assumptions
Forces you to research and really know your market
To uncover new opportunities
Obtaining finance
An honest assessment of your company’s strengths and weaknesses
A roadmap and timetable for achieving your goals and objectives
An explanation of your marketing strategies
An analysis of your revenues, costs, and projected profits
A description of your business model, or how you plan to make money and stay in business
An action plan that anticipates potential detours or hurdles you may encounter
Firms without a Business Plan with clear objectives and a good SWOT analysis, generally operate tactically, OR week to week. WHICH CAN BE A RECIPY FOR FAILURE. Would any of us go on a car journey with no idea of where we’re heading?
You may have seen some or most of these before. However, one of the little known benefits of taking the time to write a strategic business plan, is that it opens up your subconscious mind to opportunities that you might otherwise miss
It’s a strange but true phenomenom. It’s a bit like when you test drive a car. You take it back to the yard. And for the next couple of days, all you see on the road are those cars. Having a Business Plan that you review every few months, does kind of the same thing.
It opens your subconscious mind up to opportunities you may not otherwise see.
If you keep missing those opportunities, and we all know them, we’ve all missed them over the years, your business is unlikely to grow.
I’ve launched a new program that will allow you to produce the best possible Strategic Business Plan for your company at a fraction the cost of engaging a consulting firm. It’s a 10 week program, involving weekly sessions with a small group of like-minded business owners in a comfortable environment – which is 100% confidential. It’s really the ultimate forum for bouncing ideas off other business owners, and getting new insights, as you produce what will be a roadmap for your business’ success over the next 3-5 years.
Now, traditionally when owners decide to write a business plan, what can happen is that they lock themselves away for a few days, or weeks, write it, show nobody, and really never use it, or review it ever again. In which case, it could be seen as a bit of a waste of time. So if that thought doesn’t thrill you, hit the enquire button below to receive detailed information on the program. Session numbers are capped, and there will be a 25% discount for the first 12 business owners who register.
