Simply Junior » Small Business

Website for Small Business in 2011 Marketing Plan

admin — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 11:39:32 +0000

Many researches reveled that more than 50% small business owners do not have their own website and not thinking about having website. Some small business owners like to have a website for their business but they point out many difficulties implementing this strategy to their next year marketing plan. Other side of story, small business owners who have website for their business are enjoying the good online presence for their offline local business. Still there are another set of small business owners just have the website, but do not use its potential to improve their business next level. They will not bother to measure the effectiveness of website performance and no strategies to gain the benefits through online presence.

If you delay implementing corporate website for your small business, you will lose your customers. The era of using yellow pages or phone books or news paper advertisements to find a solution for our daily need has gone now. Many people go to Google and search what they need, than searching many old news papers. If your website is not listing for customer query, you will lose a customer and the business as well. Your web presence or online presence is must in another few years time, but to list your web site on Google for first page results, just having web site not be a solution. You should monitor your website, optimize it for your customer queries.

Your corporate website, I guess, I have right to say it is as a corporate web site, even though it is a small business, it should be unique website to differentiate from your competitors. Further It should align with your corporate Identity to get online customers attention and recognition.

Online presence will help you to spread your business ideas, offers, promotions, announcements. Social media is the latest and smartest tool to spread your business among online customers. Sometimes, you have to need only the kick off to it, others will spread the news, if it is smart enough to catch the audience attention. This will be a good cost effective method of sharing your small business stories and information. If you use TV or Press for this, you should have to spend thousands of dollars to implement this. However one staff member can implement your digital PR campaigns with very low budget.

Showing your business on search engine local results will be key success in online presence for small business owners. Search Engines did not forget small fish in the ocean. They gave big hands to come up and being on search engines when their customers search about their products and service online. If anything search with city name such as web designers in Melbourne, all local web design companies are listing in first results.

Not only that, Small business owners can build small community for their business, you can get feedback for your products and services, ideas to improve your products and services, engage with customers to build long term relationship. You can save lots of money on customer support handing, If you have offline customer support, for same question, your staff member may answer thousands time to different customers or may be same customer. But in web site, you can display frequently ask questions for anyone to view. Imagine how your staff member release from it and how much you can save on telephone bills. How many times you have print your product brochures for promotions, how much cost involve for it? But through your website, you can keep it to view anytime and if needed download it. But at very low cost, only designing part involve the cost, but no cost for usage.

In 2011,it is better to add your website for corporate marketing plan, otherwise you will far behind from your competitors and another few years time, you will regret lo about your decision, not to have a website for your small business. This should be implement is very strategic way. Identify the objectives and goals of your website, get you domain correctly, hosting should be in correct place and select the best company to design and develop your website.

Marketing it: Like the design stage above, you may want to outsource your marketing efforts to professionals who can help you create a social media plan or a marketing road map. However, if you’re willing to get your hands dirty, you may not have to. There are plenty of easy ways to build buzz for your small business site without hiring a full-fledged Internet marketing company. Matt McGee offered some great tips on what he’d do if he was just starting out again. You may not even need people like us.

While the number of SMB owners creating Web sites is up 36 percent over the past two years, that number really needs to grow in the next year. The search engines’ obsession with local has made your Web site an even bigger part of your business and marketing plan. Make sure you’re treating as such.

7 Tips to Boost Your Business Revenue in 2011

admin — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 02:16:59 +0000

If you’re ready to have your best year ever no matter what (as my coach Lisa Nichols say), then your first step is to plan to do something different. Here are 7 things to consider doing differently in 2011 that will help take you to the next level:

Move from reactive to proactive. Work on fine-tuning your marketing plan so that your results improve at each step of the way: Getting people in the door or in your funnel, qualifying leads, the selling process, improving the number of people who buy from you, and customer retention. If you don’t have a plan, then the first place to start is to get one, even if it’s not perfect or not complete. You can always improve, and my coach Ali Brown says when you take the first step, even if it’s a baby one, you’ve made a tremendous amount of progress toward your goal rather than if you just stood still in inertia.
Look at one part of your marketing and make a small improvement. Readers tell me they like my newsletter, and I plan to make some improvements to the format over the next few weeks. That’s one example of a really small change that I can make in my marketing that will improve it for my readers.
Systematize something that’s worked in the past and repeat it. No need to reinvent the wheel if you’ve found the magic formula. Do the magic formula over and over again, perhaps more often, and you’ll increase your results. For example, if you’re good at convincing people to buy from you once you have them on the phone, find out how to get more qualified prospects on the phone with you.
Listen to your clients and roll out a new service offering that they are asking for. A huge part of the battle for getting new clients is getting people to trust you. Why not leverage the people who already trust you – your current clients – and serve them in a new way. Increasing your revenue per client is a great way to help your clients even more and to boost you bottom line at the same time.
Hone your skill. We spend a lot of time working on our core competency – the service we deliver to clients – and getting better at it. Why not get better at a marketing skill? This could include working on your public speaking skills, writing skills, selling skills, negotiation skills, and a host of other skills that will help you become more effective at representing yourself to potential prospects. Sometimes we forget marketing is a skill we can learn just like math – especially those of us who are reluctant marketers.
Measure. How do you know something is working unless you measure it? Add procedures to measure your marketing effectiveness at each step in the process; then you can begin to see where you need improvements. These include numbers such as conversion ratios, sales per client, and return on marketing campaign. When you do this you’ll naturally be able to improve your return on investment for your marketing dollars.
Celebrate. Stop for a second when you reach a goal and celebrate all the hard work you did that paid off and got you there. Give yourself a reward, practice gratitude for what you received, and then set your next goal.

Which one of these tips speaks to you the most? Mark your calendar right now to take one step toward working this tip into your business so you can envision a brighter 2011.

Business Expansion Plan For Small Entrepreneurs

admin — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 11:07:04 +0000

Every small business will eventually feel the heat and find the need for expansion. The time will come when the small plans that worked when first starting the business may no longer be sufficient.

Understanding What to Expand

The buzzword ‘business expansion’ may be catchy to outsiders but as a business owner you need to understand precisely what to expand in order that the scarce resources that you do have are optimized.

1. You feel increasing personnel helps increase production to meet growing demand.

2. Maximized labor can’t cope with the market demand and you have identified that automating business operations would both reduce costs and increase efficiency.

3. International demand cannot be met as the business is operating now. Diverse markets need localized service points.

4. You need to keep more inventory on hand because price fluctuations don’t allow just-in-time procurement. You are contemplating using a warehouse facility for storage.

5. Your supply chain is hard pressed; it is difficult to manage with the existing logistics operation.

The need for expansion can be a combination of above and you know well that you can hardly push it any further without expanding.

Planning Your Business Expansion

Having identified the exact nature of the expansion needed, the next step is careful planning. Let’s examine each of the above cases.

1. Increasing personnel doesn’t require increased funds. Payroll can be taken care of from the increased revenue from the business.

2. Automated machinery calls for extra skills for operating it. Ideally, you would train a few of your best people to operate the machines or hire extra personnel. Normally, the company that was used to procure the machinery will also provide training as needed. Y

3. Opening localized service points need not be by buying or renting real estate unless you have explored the possibility of outsourcing. This is where having a website comes in handy. The Internet is by far the best way to reach overseas clients. Also, using this method, your business will be open 24/7.

4. Constructing or leasing a new warehouse will increase your asset base but not without a huge investment. You should critically analyze if you can get by with the existing space, maximized by using retractable storage racks, thereby creating more space within your existing warehouse.

5. There is no substitute for augmenting logistics. Your options are either contracting out the supply chain or managing logistics yourself.

Knowing when and how to expand your business is essential for continued success. If you find that you are struggling to keep up with demand, and certain operations are continually pressed for time, then expansion is an option that you will want to carefully consider.

Small Business Marketing Plan Revisited

admin — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 21:48:31 +0000

Creating a small business marketing plan as a subcategory of your overall business plan is vital for evoking and accelerating business growth. When you have a plan, you are able to focus on the right things at the right time and measure your progress toward a goal.

Many business owners are resisting planning. When you’re running a business, you can easily be consumed by your day to day responsibilities. But failing to plan can be a great mistake.

Now, what is the essential function of marketing? To generate qualified sales leads. There are any number of methods that can be used to do that but how do you know which methods to use if you don’t have a plan?

And how do you know what your lucrative marketing activities are? How do you invest in those activities if you don’t know how big your budget is, or know what results you are trying to produce?

A marketing plan doesn’t need to be a huge document. First, start with your business goals for the next six months. You should already have these, for example your target revenue, if nothing else.

Now, what marketing goals align with those business goals? Ok, you want to make 100k. How many leads do you need to generate in order to allow your selling activities to close the deals necessary to reach this revenue target?

Next, what marketing strategies are necessary to meet your business goal? Will you need to get more publicity? Expand into a new market? Reach more people in your current market? Create a direct mail campaign? Create sales partnerships?

You must pick one or two that deliver on what you are aiming for and hit your target revenue. Now, determine what specific activities will achieve your strategies.

At this point it gets a little bit tricky. You must choose from a vast pool of marketing options/activities and you must choose the activities that will work best for the potential customer you want to reach. You might need to participate in trade show events where you get face to face with your market.

You might need to launch a new website, you might need to implement a referral program for current customers. The list goes on and on.

Whatever your activities are, put them together into your plan and create target metrics (e.g. number of leads collected, number of prospects you talked to, etc).

Finally, you end up with your marketing plan.

The next step, your sales plan, tells you how the leads generated by marketing will be converted to customers, and how back end sales will be made to those customers. Sales metrics include conversion rates, overall revenues, or revenue per customer/per square foot/per time spent in the store, etc.

The great thing is that now you have something to measure against and you can review things periodically to see if you are on track or if something needs to be adjusted.

This process or call it small business marketing plan, doesn’t need to take a lot of time but the benefits to your business can be huge. Having a plan will give you a lot more insights into your well oiled business machine or parts of your business that need some tweaking.

Medicare Plans For 2011 – You Only Have Three Choices

admin — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 12:56:29 +0000

When you consider Medicare Plans for 2011 from a top-level view, you really have only three options. Understanding the types of Medicare plans available will enable you to compare 2011 Medicare plans on an individual and side-by-side basis to determine which is the best plan for you in 2011. The first option is the one that you have every year; that is, original Medicare. The other options consist of Medigap, otherwise known as a Medicare supplement and lastly, a Medicare Advantage plan.

The first thing to consider is if you should stay with original Medicare and purchase a Part D plan. There is no rule that says you have to purchase a supplemental policy or enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan. Some people choose to stay with original Medicare. The vast majority of these people do so because they have supplemental insurance from a former employer. If you are offered health insurance from your former employer, that coverage will to one degree or another pay after your original Medicare pays.

If you fall into this group, you should at least look at your other options to ensure that you are receiving the best benefits. In some cases, insurance from your former employer may cost more than a Medicare supplement policy and afford less benefit. If you are paying a premium for your employer group supplemental policy, you should explore the costs of a Medicare supplement.

A small group of people choose original Medicare even though they do not have coverage from a former employer. Many of these people do so because they are not aware of their options. When becoming eligible for Medicare you should evaluate all your options.

Choosing original Medicare by itself or an employer group policy without drug benefits will require that you purchase Part D insurance. You are not actually required to purchase Part D, but the late enrollment penalties give you a good incentive to do so.

If your budget allows, you may consider purchasing a supplemental policy in 2011. Medicare supplement policies are referred to as Medigap because they fill the cost-sharing gaps to one degree or another, depending on the individual policy. You must have original Medicare Parts A and B to purchase a Medicare supplement. Plans are standardized and benefits will not vary from one company to the next. Price will vary from one insurance company to the next, as may your perception of the customer service. Some companies have more rate stability than others and these factors should be considered.

Nationally, Medicare supplement Plan F is the most comprehensive and very popular. Another supplement that was introduced June 2010 is Medicare supplement Plan N, which is proving to be wildly popular due to its lower cost. Medicare supplement plans do not include Part D coverage and it must be purchased separately.

Even if you have typically been enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, you owe it to yourself to consider a Medicare supplement if you are comparing Medicare plans for 2011. Some 2011 Advantage plans have premiums approaching those of Medicare supplement policies, often with less benefits.

When considering Medicare plans for 2011, your bound to be inundated with marketing materials touting the benefits of Advantage plans. As far as Medicare plans for 2011 go, Medicare Advantage plans generate the most questions and often confusion. Medicare Advantage plans are annual plans that can change yearly or even not renew for the following year.

An Advantage plan is not a Medicare supplement. But rather, you receive your Medicare benefits from a private insurance company that is approved and contracted with CMS (Centers For Medicare and Medicaid). The benefits of an Advantage plan include:

Often little or no monthly premium. Fixed cost sharing, including co-pays, coinsurance and deductibles. Part D is often included. Plans have benefits beyond original Medicare, like dental and vision.

The down-side of an Advantage plan is the uncertainty of an annual plan and often the network restrictions that are part of HMO or PPO plans. You are also subject to restrictive enrollment periods. Plans are offered on a County-by-County basis and what may be available in one County may not be in the next. Premiums also vary based the plan and locations offered. If you are comparing Medicare plans for 2011, you should take a look at these plans to determine if they would be a good fit for you.

Once you have looked at your options from a top level view, you can get down to the business of comparing Medicare plans for 2011. Most insurance companies have all relevant information online to save you time and the trouble of meeting with countless agents.

Step by Step Guide to Creating an Effective Small Business Plan

admin — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 17:37:47 +0000

Having a good small business plan will ensure that your journey to success is much smoother. All successful business owners know that having an organized, well thought plan is essential to see the results they expect. Even if the business plan doesn’t give the results that you would have thought in the beginning, you can tweak and change different areas of your process to perfect it.

I thought I would go through a step by step guide to what you need for an effective small business plan. Many people try and start a business without any true expectations for the future other then ‘oh this is going to work’. You have to know exactly what “should” happen so that the surprises are less. In most cases surprises in business aren’t positive.

You must have a plan for many different areas of starting a small business. How are you going to fund the start up fees? How do you expect to sell your product/service? How do you expect to pay your employees? How are you going to promote your company effectively? Most importantly and what most business owners don’t think about is where do you want your business to be in 5…10…20 years?

Creating the right small business plan is all about creating effective systems. A system is something that you can use over and over again in different situations to receive expected results. You at least have some idea of what’s going to happen if you have the right systems in place.

The first step to your business plan is knowing exactly how much money it’s going to take to start your company. None of this has to be a professionally written up small business plan that costs thousands and thousands of dollars hiring an “expert”. Take out a piece of paper and write down your plan. The main thing is that you know exactly how you are going to fulfill your dream of being a successful small business owner.

So what are your opening expenses? Here are some questions you need to answer to find out your estimated dollar amount:

How much money does your product or service cost you? How much money will you charge for your service/product? How much money do you require to live for two years with no profit coming in from your business (safety precaution)? How much will it cost for your employees for 2 years? What are your legal fees? What are your CPA fees? How much will getting a physical location cost you (if needed)?

Every business is going to be different so think about anything that you need to spend money on to get it running. The next step you must consider is how are you going to get this start up money. Are you going to go to a bank for a loan? Are you considering finding a partner that can cover the costs with the agreement you can buy out the company later down the road? Do you want to talk with a wealthy family member about your business? Anyway you choose to get the money doesn’t matter.

Having a thorough small business plan is going to help you get that start up money though. As long as you can show the lenders how you plan on getting a return on their investment, you will be set. It doesn’t matter if you have horrible credit or don’t know anybody that will lend you large amounts of money. You can always find a way. Think outside the box!

Alright the next step should be the simplest for you. You want to write down your complete sales funnel for how you plan to sell your product or service. Go through every step you expect a customer to go through to reach your bank account. What are you selling exactly? How are you packaging the items? Are you providing multiple services and products? What do you expect to be your number one seller? What’s your specialty?

Once you have all these areas done, you have to know how you are going to promote your business and keep the business coming in. This seems to be the biggest problem most business owners have. You know everything there is to know about your products/services, but you know nothing about marketing. That’s expected too. Marketing is an expertise in itself.

If you’ve read much of my blog, you know how I preach about smart marketing. Smart marketing is all about spending your hard earned dollar and getting more then you spent in return. In other words, big return on investment (ROI). Every market will be different and different marketing tactics will work in each of them. You have a huge list of options too.

Newspapers, Yellow Pages, Radio, Television Ads Fliers, postcards, promotion coupons Referral programs Internet marketing Email marketing Holding seminars and special events Business to business referral programs

These are just to name a few of the options you have. You can never go wrong working with other local businesses. It’s beneficial for both businesses and can be something that explodes your business quickly. It should definitely be part of every small business plan.

No matter which direction you take your marketing in, remember to always be able to track your marketing method. You always want to know how effective each method is for your business. Don’t spray and pray! In other words, don’t just buy what that marketing salesman is selling you if they can’t show you how many customers you are getting in return.

Creating your small business plan with all of these areas covered is a great start to having a successful business. You can go in deeper and deeper to have an even more effective plan and you should, but this is a great start for anyone. Once you have the plan, you just have to follow it step by step. It makes your job so much easier. You have too much to worry about already. There is no reason to have to constantly be wondering…’what am I going to do now?’ You need to know what you’re doing beforehand.

Business Plan Resources – The Role Vision Plays in Small Business

admin — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 02:20:58 +0000

Vision informs the future state of the successful business. The reason that most small businesses fail is because there is no clear line of sight between the goals and objectives of the business and its envisioned future.

Without Vision, the business never gets the right things done and, in fact, often gets the wrong things done, or gets nothing done at all. Such a business is destined to wander aimlessly and lose its direction entirely.

Everyone may look busy in such a business, but this should not be mistaken for productivity or achieving results. A business without a Vision has no clarity, no coherence and no future. Such a business is operating on borrowed time and fruitless energy and invariably ends up in a place that it does not want to be.

Setting the Vision for the small business is an imperative and is critical for its success. It ensures that all the streams of organizational activity are aligned and in keeping with the notion of doing one thing well and in pursuit of excellence.

A Vision Statement is not just a pithy saying that sits below an inspirational picture that hangs on the wall. For it to achieve its full effect, the Vision of the business has to be a lived reality by all of the people in the business. It is the future that is created for the business, and it forms an integral part of the business performance management process.

Fulfilling the Vision is the key benchmark against which business development and risk management are measured. Effective and successful business owners are always asking the question, “How does this activity further our Vision?”

There are four key perspectives required in developing clarity around Vision in small business.

Action

A sense of Vision in the business has to be aligned and integrated with the Mission and Values of the business. Vision is the living out of the Mission and behaving in the right way. Vision is something you do. Vision is venturing out into a future that is unknown, and it is refined and understood more clearly only as it is enacted.

Remember, there are no futures in that sense, apart from the ones that we create for ourselves. We set out toward this envisioned future and act as if it were a reality, and in so doing, the Vision becomes clearer as we go and more likely to become so.

Listen and Observe

Creating Vision in the value-based business then is a process of discovery through action. The successful business owner and effective manager is always listening to and observing what is going on in their business in relation to the external world.

The Vision for the business, imparted with, through and for others, is the result of this ongoing process and a growing understanding of what the Vision means. All business activities being undertaken are sifted through the lens of Vision.

One of the highly valued qualities of good leadership is this ability to listen to all the voices, including customers and employees, and once having listened to them, determine the course of action that must be taken in a decisive way.

Hone and Evaluate

As the Vision is enacted and used as a filter for discernment and determining new courses of action, the Vision itself becomes clearer, more vivid and indeed more apparent.

The Vision for a business then is a dynamic reality that requires continual refinement, in light of initiatives that are executed in the business.

The sense of Vision in the successful, value-based business then informs all business policy development. The Vision in turn is informed by the unfolding nature of the business as it grows and develops.

It is critically important to review the words that encapsulate the Vision on a regular cycle to ensure that the words used reflect the true nature of the Vision of the business.

Reaffirm

The cycle of visioning in business never ceases. The envisioned future must be reinvigorated and reaffirmed, in light of actions taken, ongoing listening and observation and evaluation. In the value-based business, the Vision must be reaffirmed at least on an annual basis for it to maintain its freshness and relevance.

If this is not done, it will revert to just being another catchy marketing slogan, with no substance, that soon becomes obsolete and irrelevant.

The successful business owner is always focused on the Vision of the business and continually reaffirming commitment to it at every opportunity.

Small Business Plan – Key Factors

admin — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 04:26:48 +0000

A business plan is the backbone of every business, whether it is a small family run business or a big corporate house. Proper planning is very much essential to ensure survival and growth of any business.

So, if you are going to setup your own small business, your first step is to make a business plan. If you plan well ahead ,chance of success will be more. A business plan includes various dimensions. I’ll list each of them. So, let us start. My assumption is that you are the owner of your business and your business is a one-man show or atmost supported by your family members.

Business Objective:Write down a small single sentence stating clearly your business objective, it is the very starting point of all the business plans. I can give you one good example of this one. A renowned brand before opening their new retail stores all over India stated their objective is to provide fresh vegetables to the end users and make them happy. This is their basic plan. Very simple indeed but it transpires the basic business objective. Similarly, you have to write your business objective, it must be simple, unambiguous and realistic.

Describe your product or services:This is the second major step for development of a business plan. You must write in full details what are the products or services that you are going to offer. Write down the salient feature of each product, including pricing, taxes, shipping and delivery charges and time involved.

Set up your financial goal:First of all a word of caution. Never setup any unrealistic goal, otherwise, you may be frustrated quite soon. Setup your goals that you think is achievable. If you have just started your business and really do not have much idea about how much it can yield, then atleast try to run your business at break-even point within three to six months of starting. Most of the small business venture experiences a premature death because they aim at too high in a very short span of time.

List all available resources:Resources include manpower, machinery, raw material or finished product , your knowledge or expertise in a domain. Whatever you have or you know, and if that is somehow related to your present business, include them under the head available resources. Try to use each of the available resources in the most effective way. This will reduce your business overheads. For example if you already have some free space, you can use it for office purpose instead of hiring a new office premises in the very beginning.

Identify the marketThis is one major part of your business plan. You must know where the market is, how much big is the market. After all it is where you are going to get revenues from. The better knowledge you have about the market, the better will your products/services sell. Stay-at-home Moms are usually successful in cosmetic/jewelry business for their access to the end users. I have seen a lot of them selling garments, bed-sheets and bed-covers and earning a lot. The key ingredient for their success is that they know the market. May be, they have access to a very small section of that market, but, still that is enough for them to run their business in profit.

Marketing planOnce you have identified the market, you need to setup a marketing plan. You can promote your products and services in varieties of ways. Most of them involve certain cost. So, if you want to make a cost-effective campaign, use leaflets, posters and banners; publish classified advertisements in newspapers also word of mouth is the free but the most effective mode of campaign. So, try to tell about your products and services to as many person as you can each day. I have seen a renowned holiday resort company started its marketing campaign based on word of mouth alone. And it worked.

Financial plan
This is the most important part of every business plan. Every business needs certain amount of investment in the form of fixed and running capital. So, after completing all other plans, calculate how much capital you require to start your business and how much capital you need to run your business on a monthly basis. In any case , you must keep in reserve atleast six months running capital before starting any business. And now estimate the revenues that you may generate. If you have no previous data, take the break-even point as your staring sales target. Your financial plan should reflect achieving break-even point within three to six months and generating profits thereafter. It should take into account all sorts of expenses and probable income from your business.

Strategic planning and implementation
Be very specific to prepare a strategic plan of how to run your business. It involves management responsibilities, daily work schedule, marketing and promotional schedule, progress monitoring and reviewing schedule.

A final summary
After covering all the aspects, start a survey campaign. Discuss about your new business and its various dimensions with your friends and family members. Take their feedback. Modify your plan, if required. But stick to the plan once you have finalised it, atleast, for a period of two years.

Developing a Viable Small Business Plan

admin — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 10:44:15 +0000

When starting a small business venture, it pays off to be objective. You will need to capture your projections in a written format. These objectives are best captured in what is known as a business plan. This functions as your road map and furthermore, it helps you gauge, in the course of the venture, if you are still in the right track.

Making a business plan may be simple or difficult, depending on the nature and scope of operation of the enterprise. As you write it down, you get to capture your short term, medium term and long term goals. These goals are what help you determine whether the enterprise is realizing its dreams or not as it progresses. You also get to gauge the risks at hand and determine how to deal with them effectively.

On a larger scale, the plan helps you do a SWOT analysis. SWOT is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This means that you can be able to identify where the venture is doing well, where it is failing or facing challenges, whether it has room for growth and improvement as well as whether it is likely to be at risk by operating in a given way. By so doing you will be able to determine the best course of action.

Writing a plan for your venture should be guided by a number of principles. The first one is that, it must adhere to a given outline, bearing in mind that there are many other enterprises out there coming up with such plans as well. You must also have the audience in mind. Is the plan for funding purposes or for partnership? The depth will be determined by the audience.

Strategic Plans Drive Small Business Success

admin — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 10:20:06 +0000

Over 85% of small businesses do not have a strategic business plan (strategic plan). By operating without a strategic/business plan, many small businesses are missing out on a powerful tool to help them define and reach their goals. Many small business owners believe that only large companies need such plans, but the reality is that small businesses can reap tremendous rewards by creating a strategic plan.

A strategic plan is like a roadmap for your company. It needs to identify where you are and what you stand for, where you are going, how to measure progress and estimate when you will arrive, and what resources are available for the journey. The plan helps the company maintain focus, recognize progress and take corrective action when needed.

While each company will have a unique document, the elements of the plan are remarkably similar across the board. Common elements and their purpose are listed below:

Vision, Mission, and Commitments: what do you stand for, what are your high level goals, and to what are you committed? Executive Summary: a quick synopsis of the document Company Background, Products, and Services: what does the company do to produce value for its clients? Marketing Plan: how will the company attract new clients, keep current clients, how much is budgeted for marketing, and how is success measured? Operational Plan: how will the company execute operations? Organizational Structure: how is the company structured and what are the roles and responsibilities to identify accountability? Financial Report: what is the long-term financial projection? Strategies: what is the company going to do to accomplish its goals? Challenges and Solutions: what obstacles are anticipated and what solutions are identified in advance? Budgets: how much will be allocated to each functional area?

Taking the time to put a guiding document together requires thinking through what the business objectives are, how they will be reached, the role individuals will play, etc. It is also a “living” document. It is of minimal value if it is put on a shelf and only referenced quarterly. It becomes a part of the operation of the business and is updated and referenced frequently. It can and should be used at meetings to measure progress and to help the company’s employees stay focused on the strategic goals and progress towards those goals.

What are some of the benefits of having a strategic plan? The effort required to create the plan necessitates contemplation of long-term goals and a manner to achieve those goals. The strategic plan helps orient the organization towards a common target and is a useful tool to create an environment of accountability. By constantly measuring progress against the identified goals, the workforce maintains focus and understand where their efforts fit into the grand scheme. A well thought out plan helps accurate budgeting and enables quick adjustments to be made if needed.

Elements can also be a useful tool to engage employees, focus productivity, and reduce turnover. We live in a different economic and workplace environment compared to a few decades ago. Gone are the job-for-life and benefits into retirement contracts that used to be common. Because of the turbulence now inherent in our business economy, people feel totally free to change jobs frequently and without concern for loss of accrued benefits. A strategic plan enables workers to see the long-term plan for the small business and helps create buy-in into the future they helped define. Reduced turnover and employee buy-in are valuable to any small business.

In summary, while the perception may be that strategic plans are not needed for small businesses, the reality is that a small business with a strategic plan is more aligned, has better employee engagement, and can quickly and accurately measure its progress towards well-defined goals.

Contact Michael now to find out more about how a strategic plan can help your business and to learn why a strategic plan is one of the first outcomes of my coaching process.

Michael Nelson
Phone: 877-242-4812
michael@thecogentcoach.com
www.thecogentcoach.com
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