Planning change for success

We are amidst challenging times for business owners, for this reason its important for us to make sure that you are prepared for it. We believe that being prepared is a foundation to success and makes sure that you have plans in place to get you through turbulent times.

We are hoping that you are reading this taking some time out from the summer break, being a role model healthy workaholic.

It’s a shame that so many people think business plans are just for start-ups, they get created then they gather dust in a folder. Never to see the light of day again! The truth is that business planning offers serious benefits for everybody in business. For many we believe this will be just the structure you need.

I’d just like to point out that none of these benefits require a big formal business plan document. A lean business plan is usually enough. It takes an hour or two to do the first plan, then just an hour or so to review and revise monthly.

If you have the right mindset and already have one, pull it out and review it alongside our recommendations listed below:

1. See the whole business. Business planning done right connects the dots in your business so you get a better picture of the whole. Strategy is supposed to relate to tactics with strategic alignment. Does that show up in your plan? Do your sales connect to your sales and marketing expenses? Are your services right for your target market? Are you covering costs including long-term fixed costs and product/service development as well? Take a step back and look at the larger picture.
2. Strategic focus. Start-ups and small business need to focus on their special identities, their target markets, and their products or services tailored to match.
3. Set priorities. You can’t do everything. Business planning helps you keep track of the right things, and the most important things. Allocate your time, effort, and resources strategically.
4. Manage change. With good planning process you regularly review assumptions, track progress, and catch new developments so you can adjust.
5. Develop accountability. A good planning process sets expectations and tracks results. It’s a tool for regular review of what’s expected and what happened. Good work shows up. Disappointments show up too. A well-run monthly plan review with plan vs. actual included becomes an impromptu review of tasks and achievements.
6. Manage cash. Good business planning connects the dots in cash flow. Sometimes just watching profits is enough. But when sales on account, purchasing assets, or repaying debts are involved, cash flow takes planning and management. Profitable businesses suffer when slow-paying clients or too much inventory constipate cash flow. A plan helps you see the problem and adjust to it.
7. Strategic alignment. Does your day-to-day work fit with your main business tactics? Do those tactics match your strategy? If so, you have strategic alignment. If not, the business planning will bring up the hidden mismatches. For example, if you run a gourmet restaurant that has a drive-through window, you’re out of alignment.
8. Milestones. Good business planning sets milestones you can work towards. These are key goals you want to achieve, like reaching a defined income level or hiring that first employee. We’re human. We work better when we have visible goals we can work towards.
9. Metrics. Put your performance indicators and numbers to track into a business plan where you can see them monthly in the plan review meeting. Figure out the numbers that matter. Sales and expenses usually do, but there are also calls, trips, web traffic, conversion rates, returns, and so forth. Use your business planning to define and track the key metrics.
10. Realistic regular reminders to keep on track. We all want to do everything for our customers, but sometimes we need to push back to maintain quality and strategic focus. It’s hard, during the heat of the everyday routine, to remember the priorities and focus. The business planning process becomes a regular reminder.

We mention managing change as one of our tips, as experts we know this is difficult, though the reality is we are in challenging times, and this is going to test us.

Why start planning change now?

You may be thinking why do I need to consider this now? I have plenty of time to be able to do this.

Well, the simple term is business continuity, this requires you to keep your business up and running during challenging times. You have worked hard to build your business and your clients are important, what would happen if you did not have team members to look after them? Yes, that is right they wouldn’t be clients for much longer and if this happened, your sales would take a dip too.

Your mission is to protect your business and keep growing for this reason, loosing clients is not an option, you must sustain current performance.

We recommend you start to think about this now, start planning change, don’t leave it to the last minute, you just cant afford to. It’s a no brainer right?

Next time we will share our tips for transitioning during this difficult time to make sure you don’t drop any of the many spinning plates.