Developing a Business Plan
Majority of Business owners are tied up with the daily operations of their Businesses, so they have no time for planning. Developing a Business Plan is a key component in building the value of your Business. A long-term strategic plan will help you stay focused as you handle your daily responsibilities.
- Get away from your office to reflect on what you have accomplished and what you intend to achieve this year and the next.
- Determine the purpose of the plan. Is this plan to be reviewed by you alone, with you and your management team, or will you also share it with your lenders or investors? You may want to customize it for the reader.
- If you do expect to share your plan with your management team, they may be inspired to help you write it. Begin by breaking down your plan by department. Give the managers of each department the outline for their area of responsibility.
- Establish a timeline to complete the plan. After all department managers have responded with their reports meet with each manager to better understand their ideas.
- Arrange a general meeting with your management team to go over past results and future projections.
- If you plan to share your past financial results with lenders, investors or your management team add a column to your report to show the percentage of all expenses to revenue. Do this for the last three years to spot trends. It will help you determine unusual changes in a particular expense or revenue category. You will then be prepared to address those concerns at the meeting.
Contact us for a one-hour complimentary consultation to learn more about adding value to your Business. Next month, we will continue with information on developing your business plan.