The days of the 5 and 10 year
business plans are long over.
In
today’s business climate everything is changing at such a fast pace. Business owners need to review their plan to
determine what has already changed and forecast what could change –
competition, technology, demand for the product or service of the business,
etc.
The
typical business plan will include many of the following categories:
¨
Vision
and Mission Statements
¨
Market
Analysis
¨
Marketing/Sales
Strategy
¨
Competitor
Analysis
¨
Financial
Plan
¨
Budget
¨
Timelines
¨
Business
Model
¨
Industry
Analysis
¨
Trends
Analysis
¨
Action
Plan
¨
Executive
Summary
¨
Milestones
However,
before you begin, I would suggest you challenge yourself to address the
following questions and you will find the rest of your plan will become crystal
clear by its conclusion:
1. What burning need does your business
resolve for your customers?
2. What would you have to change to
double your number of customers?
3. What makes your product/service
different compared to your strongest competitors?
4. What are you doing to make your
business less dependent on you personally?
5. What are the market
opportunities/threats for the Business?
6. Who are the key employees in your
business and what are you doing to find more like them?
Plans
must be updated and must be realistic for the foreseeable future. Start today and set a deadline to
complete. Business owners find that investing
in strategic planning not only improves their management practices, it can
improve the desirability and value of their business as well.
Do you have a small business question
you would like answered about this article or others?
Bill Sivell is a salesperson with VR
Windsor Inc. [www.vrwindsor.com]
519-903-7807, which sells businesses to buyers across Canada and around the
world. His 14-year career includes diverse senior management positions in
marketing, advertising, sales management and operations management. His blog
appears every Tuesday.
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