Small Businesses and Business Plans | Intuit Loan Finder Blog

Planning out the road map of your business is vital to the overall success. Just as you prepare for a vacation with roads and freeways you plan to take getting there, you should start your business the same way. Look at your starting point and the route you plan to follow to get to your final destination. Business plans can help keep your small business on the right track. Here are the 4 key components of successful business planning.

Goal Setting

Of course, your small business needs a mission and a vision ? statements about who your business is and what it brings to the table. A business also needs goals. Setting goals doesn?t just apply to the company as a whole. Clear goals serve as motivation in helping the company move forward to achieving those goals.

- Department, group and individual goals can help keep staff motivated. Reward people as they meet your business?s goals. If goals aren?t met, a discussion about reworking the policies and strategies may need to occur. You can measure the success of individuals and leaders with goals such as these.

- Long-term and short-term goals demonstrate your expectations. Short-term goals help employees see what needs to be done now for the long-term goals to be reached. Be realistic about what can be done and push for a little more with each short-term goal.

- Goals should be achievable, but not too easily. As a small business, you probably want to grow the business with those around you. Asking the business as a whole to work towards achieving goals will show you who is willing to go the extra mile, and who isn?t, to make things happen for the company?s progression.

Defining Policies and Procedures

As a small business, it can sometimes be difficult to establish the correct protocol for various situations as they happen. This is why it is important to have an outline of policies and procedures so everyone is aware of how things will be handled right from the start.

- Policies provide the framework. Your business needs to have rules and regulations that staff are aware of and must adhere to. Planning for various common kinds of incidents now will save you time and effort in the long-run.

- Having procedures in place ensures all employees, from top management and down, are following the same rules. If everyone is operating under the same policies and procedures, there is a good chance you can reduce office communication errors.

- Organizationally, an outline of procedures for tasks within your business can allow the business to be more efficient and effective. If each is doing their part within your well-defined policies and procedures, the business will be more dynamic.

Strategy Building

Now that your goals and policies are in place, establishing the right strategies can propel your business forward. With goals in mind, gear your strategies towards achieving those. In the beginning, some strategies will be more successful than others and some will need to be discussed and reworked.

- Determine your budget. Strategies your business can consider must be within budget. Small businesses often have a tighter budget, which means your methods are limited. Do the best you can with what you have.

- Formulating a strategic plan for a business consists largely of learning the answers to such fundamental questions as who your business is, what it does and who it does it for.

- Consider your marketing tactics, promotional items and everything that building your business encompasses. The right strategy for your business will have the greatest ROI. With your goals in mind, discussions about how to achieve those will guide you in your strategies.

Project Management

Determining whether you have all the resources, materials and budget you need for your goals and strategies comes down to project management. Project management ensures the proper execution of your business?s goals and objections.

- Measuring the execution of each project is vital to your company?s success. Why or why wasn?t something successful? How can you make it better? Finding inefficiencies and correcting them can lead to larger revenues.

- Project management is essentially your road map for development. Goals and objectives can be discussed to avoid problems before they happen. Details about costs, time required and effort all go in to managing projects effectively.

- A project management team or individual should be available in case unforeseen circumstances arise. Project management doesn?t end once a plan is completed. It continues until the project is completed and a team or individual focused on project management can take responsibility for making sure things are done efficiently.

One of the most important pieces in small business business planning is making sure things are realistic. Make sure you aren?t reaching too far or not far enough when it comes to your goals. Staying up to date with successful strategies and plans can help your business outperform others. For many small businesses business planning can be overwhelming, but it is something that requires adequate time and thought to make your company successful.

Guest Blogger: Erica Bell is a small business writer who focuses on topics such as business planning and social media trends. She is web content writer for Business.com.

Image Source: freedigitalphotos.net

Source: http://blog.intuitloanfinder.com/2012/07/small-businesses-and-business-plans/

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