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E-Myth – “Why most small businesses don’t work & what to do about it”

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Edmonton Business Consultant | Crafting Your Perfect Business Plan

The only bad business plan is the plan not created says Edmonton business consultant. From Palo Alto – businesses that complete a business plan are 50% more likely to grow their revenue. That means that just by having a business plan, your business is more likely to succeed than businesses without. But if you put time into creating a business plan you should create the best type of plan you can. Creating your businessís perfect plan doesnít need to take a lot of time. Creating plans around the three most common business challenges will allow you to be prepared for when the situations arise. Donít worry about trying to predict all potential future events in your business plan, adjusting these three issues is enough.

One of the biggest problems businesses face is a cash flow problem. They have great sales, they have money coming in, but itís not in the bank account when they need it. The best thing to do to alleviate that issue is to create cash flow projections. Cash flow projections are important because they will help you plan your cash flow month to month. If you are having trouble creating cash flow projections, contact an Edmonton business consultant who can help you or direct you to an accountant can.

42% of businesses said that attracting new revenue was they are number one business challenge. Not having a comprehensive marketing and sales plan is a huge detriment to your business. Take the time to identify your customers, and how best to reach them in order to create a marketing plan. Donít make the mistake of thinking any person is your ideal client, that simply isnít true. Besides you donít want any customer you want to attract your ideal customers. Once you have a marketing strategy in place plan how youíre going to communicate that to your staff.

Last business challenge to address in your business plan is coming up with an HR strategy. Businesses without human resources plan tend to fall short when it comes to hiring and retaining staff. Company culture does not happen by accident, you will want to have a plan in place best hiring practices, retention strategies as well as plans on how to train your staff.

These are the most important things to include in your business plan, but you may want to include things such as market differentials, pricing, operation strategy, in addition to cash flow projections, sales and marketing and HR policies. Donít worry about trying to consider every single variable that may affect your business, because you canít possibly anticipate every single challenge that may arise, or how it will affect your business, says Edmonton business consultant. Once you have your plan in place make sure you share it with your team, and remember to review it and update it regularly. Answer these questions in a year from now and see how your answers change based on your experience running a business, and discover the limitations of your business plan. As you learn what does and doesnít work I just your plan accordingly.

Edmonton business consultant | crafting your perfect business plan

Benjamin Franklin once said if you fail to plan you are planning to fail, and this could not be more true when it comes to business plans says Edmonton business consultant. Not having a business plan in your business sets your business up for not being able to know how to react when these challenges come up. Not having that plan in place means you will not act as efficiently as possible. You donít need to have a complicated plan in order for it to be effective, just consider these three most common business challenges in your plan. Addressing these common issues will allow you to be prepared for almost anything that occurs in your business.

Set aside about four hours of time to consider these scenarios, making notes to ask professionals when needed. You wonít need to spend much more time on creating your business plan, as there is diminishing returns and spending more time on a plan. Spend time implementing the plan, and reviewing and updating at, will make most efficient use of your time says Edmonton business consultant.

The first business scenario to address in your business plan is coming up with a concrete HR strategy. Planning how you will attract and hire new employees, how you will keep them, and how you will train them is important. 23% of business owners identified staffing issues as the number one problem in their business. Knowing best hiring practices allow you to proactively hire staff rather than reactively hire.

The second scenario to address in your business plan is sales and marketing strategy 42% of businesses identified failure to attract new revenue as their number one business problem. Creating and sales and marketing strategy from the start will allow you to avoid this common pitfall. Identifying your most ideal client and knowing how they make their purchasing decisions are two important factors when creating your marketing plan. Youíll also want to consider your sales strategy will it be inside salespeople, outside salespeople, is that you? Take regular notes of what is effective see can update your plan as things work or not.

The third scenario is running out of cash. 29% of business owners said that having a negative cash flow was their biggest challenge. Contact your Edmonton business consultant for information on how to create cash flow projections for your business they will most likely recommend conservative cash flow projections in order to address unavoidable circumstances your business may face. Rather than including strategies how to overcome situations like key people quitting, losing your biggest customer, banks pulling loans, failure of equipment, changes in the market, regulatory changes, supply chain issues, and staff leaving your business.

By addressing these issues in your business plan, you can be better prepared to face any challenges you encounter in business.