Why all businesses need a business plan
Having a business plan in place sets a clear path for your business. You are much more likely to create a successful, profitable and sustainable business if you have a well thought out plan in place and have identified the steps needed to get to where you want to go.
After all, “a goal without a plan is only a dream” – Brian Tracy.
What can you expect to get from a good business plan?
1. Clarity of Direction
A good business plan will force you to think of your long term personal and business goals. What is it you are trying to achieve? What will your life look like in 10 years’ time? First you need to dream it, and then we can work out how to make it happen.
2. Actionable points
A good business plan will provide you, the business owner(s), with clear and identifiable steps of what you need to do to get to where you want to be. First, we will help you assess where your business is currently, taking a holistic approach, and then we will work with you to identify key steps needed, to make your business journey successful.
3. The whole team on board
If you are aware of where you want your business headed, you will have greater capability to share this with your team and ensure that everyone is working together to achieve common goals. Does everyone on your team know what you expect from them? Are there targets that could be put in place to help drive the business success?
4. Prioritises initiatives
Having a business plan, and an overall focus on strategy, helps you and your team to prioritise certain business initiatives over others. What is the overall business strategy? What areas of the business need the most development to allow the business to achieve its goals?
5. A financial plan
One of the most key aspects of a business plan is to ensure it will be financially successful. Creating a budget and cashflow forecast will allow you to turn your vision into numbers and will give you something to track your goals against. A good budget and cashflow forecast goes beyond just working out what profit you can expect to return, but how this will then link to money in the bank and what you can expect to end up with in your pocket. A good budget and cashflow forecast will also allow you to see what months cashflow will be tight and allow you to make a plan ahead of time to ensure this doesn’t push your business over the edge.