You wouldn’t set out to drive to Melbourne without a plan of how to get there?
Yet every day thousands of small business owners operate their businesses without any idea of where they are going or how they will get there.
Business Plans
A business plan gives owners direction and saves them from getting lost in the daily 'hustle and bustle' of running their business.A plan enables them to make regular reviews of their business practice, systems and goals, to change course when required and to work towards reaching their 'Vision."
While a business plan can take many forms the most important thing is to write your plan down. Most experts on goal setting believe that having your goals put in writing increase your chances of achieving those goals.
The act of sitting down and writing a Business Plan requires you to think through your Current Business Operations, Proposed Business Operations, and then forces you to commit your decisions to writing.
Where to start
At GTC we approach business planning as a 3 step process.
- The first step is to carry out an analysis of the business’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats (SWOT Analysis). To get the best results we use a formal questionnaire.
- Step 2 is to set a vision for your business or review your current vision.
- The 3rd and final step is to develop strategies with an action plan and time line to achieve those desired results.
A few helpful hints
- Keep the plan short & to the point (a 1 page plan is great).
- Business owners must take ownership in the preparation of their business plan and not simply delegate it to a consultant. The power of the plan is in understanding HOW the business works and its KEY DRIVERS.
- Don't file it in a bottom drawer and forget. Use it as a day-by-day, week-by-week, month-by-month reference point to compare where your business is against where you planned it to be.
- Now is a good time to prepare a financial plan.
- Your Business Plan should be updated and reviewed at least annually.
GTC Financial can assist your business with preparing a business plan, call our office on 07 49725177 to arrange an appointment.