Eight Steps To The Next Level-… The Business Plan “The Engine Of Small Business Development

Eight Steps To The Next Level-… The Business Plot “The Engine Of Small Business Enhancement

Eight Steps To The Next Level…

The Business Plot

“The Engine of Small Business Enhancement”

This is the second of a series of articles describing how Small Business Owners and Managers can drive their business growth and profitable enhancement through the creation and implementation of a Business Plot.

I spent the past 30 years as a business – to -business Management Consultant in Business and Marketing Plotting and as a “hands-on operating Administrator and senior executive of global Executive Management training organizations.

I know the existing view among many small business people is that “plotting” is for the larger, more substantial business and “they are too busy running their business to have time for plotting”. Indeed, many Small business owners are “too busy” running the business, but they ignore, at their own peril and survival, that “failing to plot is plotting to fail.”

I am convinced that the small business owner will subsidy from engaging in this business plotting administer because of the;

Nature of carefully examining and thinking through the way their business competes and operates; – and how that will align with their determination of”what business they want to be in”…

This business Plotting Administer yields a stronger, more profitable business which provides real value to its customers and the market.

The Business Plotting Administer described in this article is the most logical, pragmatic and practical examination doable of the small business. This administer is far from arcane or mysterious, but really focuses on the reality of the small business environments (the business, the economy, competition, customers’ needs, wants and desires) as well as the determination and allocation of the firm’s resources).

Business Plotting Administer – Eight Major steps

For the past thirty years, I have successfully used the following Business and Strategic Marketing Plotting Administer . The following administer consists of eight major steps which are sequential and continuous. I will describe the nature and function of each of these steps.

This administer applies to all types of organizations; regardless of size, products, services, or industry…. I have even used this administer with a inhabitant religious organization.

1. DEVELOP MISSION AND POSITIONING STATEMENT

2. SITUATION AUDIT

a. Internal

b. External

3. WOTSUP ANALYSIS

4. MAKING ASSUMPTIONS

5. DEVELOPING OBJECTIVES

6. STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT

7. SPECIFY TACTICS AND ACTIONS

8. PREPARE FORECASTS/BUDGETS/FINANCIALS

1. MISSION AND POSITIONING STATEMENT

With respect to the definition of your businesses’ purpose and mission, there is only one focus, one starting point; it is the customer or user of your products/services. The user defines the mission of any function or business. The question “what is our mission or purpose” “what business do we want to be in”? can therefore be answered by only looking at your business from the outside, from the point of view of the customer or potential customer. What the user or customer sees, thinks, or believes at any given time must be usual by your business management as an objective detail to be taken seriously.

By definition, the customer is purchasing the satisfaction of a need or want.

For example, here is a well-known and real example of a business mission which defined the way in which that company conducted its activities.

A Drill Bit manufacturer defined its Mission as determining “what size holes customers need” Their focus was directly on customer needs and not on their product specifications. They were customer-focused and very successful.

Once the Mission Staterment has been completed you develop your Positioning Statement for Competitive Advantage and prepare your USP – Your Unique Selling Proposition. “Why your business is able to provide more effective solutions and greater value than your competitors.”

2. THE SITUATION AUDIT- Internal and External

The Situation Audit is a description and breakdown of past, present and future data (information) which provides the basis for pursuing the Business Plotting Administer. It is an organized meth for:

• collecting pertinent information

• interpreting its effect on the business’s environments (market conditions)

• analyzing significant trends

• projecting all pertinent factors, which could influence company activities.

3. WOTSUP ANALYSIS

The acronym WOTSUP stands for Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats and Strengths Underlying Plotting. This step flows naturally from the detail base (Situation Audit). The Weaknesses and Strengths constitute an internal breakdown, i.e. “what are we at excellent and terrible at?”-

Opportunities and Threats, on the other hand, form an external breakdown. From this breakdown, objectives can be formulated with specific action plans designed to overcome weaknesses and threats by exploiting the business strengths and opportunities.

4. MAKING ASSUMPTIONS:

Assumptions make Plotting doable. Without the use of assumptions, plotting would be nearly impossible. Since plotting deals with the “futurity of current choice-making” and events in the future are nearly impossible to predict with unfailing accuracy; – Assumptions make Plotting doable.

5. DEVELOPING OBJECTIVES

Overall objectives are the real crux of the Business and Marketing Plotting Administer. They deserve every last ounce of time and try – often frustrating. The objectives form the umbrella under which the balance of the whole plotting structure is built. Because of the key role they play they must be thought through and be expressed in the most specific and concrete fashion. In simplest terms an objective is… “what do you want to accomplish?” Objectives are prepared to overcome weaknesses and threats developed in the WOTSUP Breakdown and to exploit the opportunities and strengths.

6. STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT:

Once the objectives have been developed, the preparation of strategies is the next step in the administer. Strategies, must clarify, in a broad sense, how the objectives will be achieved.

7. SPECIFY ACTION PROGRAMS:

After the objectives and strategies have been developed, describe the work to be performed. The actions must be very specific; what work is to be done, by whom, how and when.

8. FORECASTS/BUDGETS/FINANCIALS PREPARED:

The action programs when completed form the basis for budget preparation. T the cost of each action and the revenues derived from the detailed actions generate the operating budget and cash flows for the Business Plot.

Many organizations fail to differentiate plotting with budgeting. One valuable purpose of the budget is to ensure the business has adequate financial resources to function. Budgeting is about not failing, plotting is about what is doable.

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