Edmonton Business Consultant | Business Planning

As Edmonton business consultant tells us, even the worst plan is better than no plan at all. Palo Alto says businesses that complete a business plan are 50% more likely to grow their revenue. So if you’re going to create a business plan, plan to create a great one. And it’s easy when you know the information to include in your business plan. Including three commonly encountered business problems will ensure that you are prepared when you face them. There is no need to spend dozens of hours to create a great plan, all you need is four hours of thinking about the right questions to include. Most business owners also think that you must include all potential future events and problems in your business plan and this just isn’t true. Have plans for these following three problems, in your business plan will be steps ahead of the rest.

The first thing that you must take into consideration in your business plan is having cash flow projections the reason for this is cash flow problems is something that many businesses face whether your start a business, an established business, or growing business. As you grow and scale up your business, you’re going to want to have the cash freed up to help grow. Edmonton business coach recommends that you include conservative cash flow projections so that you can take into account the unpredictable nature of business. You will have a supply chain problem, have an unexpected illness, experience failure of equipment, and the list goes on. Projecting conservatively will allow you to weather those problems. It’s much easier to change your goals because you achieved them, rather than fell short of them. And remember that your projections are just a plan, they can be off and that’s okay. Regular reviews of your business plan will keep you on target.

The second thing to include in your business plan is a plan to attract new revenue. Edmonton business consultant says that the number one failure of all businesses is not getting new customers. This is completely avoidable through including it in your business plan. The first step is knowing who your customers are. It’s very tempting to say that everyone is your best customer, but that’s simply not true. No matter what your business is, someone is not going to be your fan. You need to identify who your most ideal client is, and when you know that information, you can figure out your marketing plan to find them. Once you have that plan in place, plan a client retention strategy. Once you get your clients, keep them happy.

The third thing to include in your business plan is your concrete HR strategy. You need to have a plan in place to find your team and once you have them, how will you keep them. Building company culture is a deliberate plan. You want to ensure that you’re always looking for the next great employee, because you will never know when an employee will leave your business advises Edmonton business consultant.

Now that you have your business plan, don’t forget it during your day to day operations. Review it regularly, and update it as you achieve your goals and let it help you set new goals.

Edmonton Business Consultant | Business Planning

There are three problems business owners face in business, says Edmonton business consultant ñ they are: running out of money, not having the right team in place and not attracting new revenue. These may seem like insurmountable problems, but they are very easily addressed with a business plan. If you don’t have a business plan yet, it’s never too late to build one. If you have one, but haven’t looked at it since you opened your doors, now is a great time to revise it. If you don’t address these three issues in your business plan, spend some time to think about them and include them in your plan.

Businesses don’t have to be brand new to run into cash flow problems. As businesses grow, scaling up costs money and if you haven’t been planning for it, you can run into cash problems very quickly. The best way to address this is to include cash flow projections into your business plan. Don’t worry about them not being very accurate, a business plan is just a plan. Best practices are to have your projections be conservative. The reason for this is any number of unpredictable events can happen at any time that throws off your plans. It can be anything from supply problems, equipment breakage, you can even encounter an illness yourself. Having a conservative projection will help you get through the unpredictable events that happen in business. It’s far better to readjust your business plan to a more favorable one, rather than having a very optimistic projection that you have to scale back due to circumstances out of your control.

Having the right team is very important to your business. Without the right staff to drive your business forward, they may be pulling you backward. Write into your business plan what you want your company culture to look like, and how you plan to attract new staff, and what you plan to do to retain them once you have them. Culture doesn’t happen by accident.

Finally, Edmonton business consultant recommends having a plan in place to attract new revenue. Failure to attract new revenue is the number one problem business owners face. Research who your ideal client is, and then create a marketing strategy around that. Your marketing strategy should also include how to keep the clients you do attract. Businesses will always see customer attrition, and your competition will always be attracting new clients, you want to ensure that once you attract your clients, they stay loyal to you.

Once you’ve created or revamped your business plan, don’t let it sit there. Review it on a regular basis. Are you achieving your goals? Are you falling short? What needs to change. Four hours spread out throughout the year will be invaluable time spend on your business.