Planning for Growth
To direct your business towards growth, you need to have the appropriate plans in place. These will take account of where your business is now, and look at where it’s going and how it’s going to get there. A business plan will also ensure that you meet certain key targets and manage business priorities.
You can maximise your chances of success by continuously reviewing and monitoring your plan and keeping it up to date.
Plans that you will need to have in place are:
Your Strategy
Your strategy in an assessment of your business which becomes a straightforward statement of what you are going to do. To prepare your strategy you need to complete a SWOT analysis which will give you a better develop an understanding of, your competitors, your customers, your suppliers and your sector.
Your Marketing Plan
In your marketing plan you’ll work out how you’re going to deliver your strategy. You will do this by developing a strong understanding of who your customers are, what they want, and how you are going to provide it. This will allow you to estimate amount customers will buy, when and at what price. Your marketing plan will give you the quantities of goods and services you need to produce in order to achieve your goal.
Your Operational Plan
The operational plan is the resources you’re going to need to deliver your strategy and marketing plan. Your operational plan will tell you how these goods and services are going to be delivered, and how the required growth is going to be achieved.
While the overall plan may set strategic goals, these are unlikely to be achieved unless you use SMART objectives or targets, i.e. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely.
Targets help everyone within a business understand what they need to achieve and when they need to achieve it. It is important that plan is documented and communicated to all business areas; so that each employee knows the part they have to play and work towards these goals.
Your Financial Forecasts
Your accountant can help you work on your financial forecasts and business model and will tell you what will happen if you carry out the actions outlined in your strategy, marketing plan and operational plan. Your business model is likely to go through several different versions as you make changes to your plans, but ultimately it will settle down into your defined plan for the period ahead.
Dawn McLaughlin & Co Chartered Accountants provides a wide range of professional support services for business and community organisations. No matter which sector you are in or size of your business, we have cost-effective solutions that can be tailored to suit your needs.
Understanding what you need to empower you to grow your business is vital for profitability and success. To discuss your business development needs contact Dawn on 02871 370886 or via email [email protected]
