Edmonton Business Consultant | Using Your Business Plan to Grow

Businesses that complete a business plan are 50% more likely to grow their business then businesses without a business plan at all says Edmonton business consultant. But that information in mind, business owners should see how important it is to create a business plan. And whatís better than any business plan, is a great business plan. With the right information in a business plan, business owners can increase their revenue and to grow their business. There are three things to consider when building a business plan, they are three common pain points businesses face. Once you have strategies to get past these pain points, growing your business will be much easier.

The first pain point businesses face is the inability to generate new revenue 42% of business owners say that is their main business problem. Businesses can address this problem with a thorough sales and marketing plan. Business owners who are not marketing are failing their business. How else to expect brand-new customers to find your business? There are many different ways to market your business, utilizing everything from online advertising, SEO, SEM strategies, social media, newspaper, radio ads, television. The list is endless contact an Edmonton business consultant if you need help figuring out which methods are best for you. Your sales and marketing strategy should also have a plan for sales. Whether itís an outside salesperson, inside sales, utilizing your team, or if you are the sales department for your business.

The second pain point businesses face is the inability to hire the right team. Company culture doesnít happen by accident, your staff should be the driving force behind your business. Great hiring and training practices will help you get the right people through your door, stay there, and do great work for you. A great plan will include a great training program for your staff, and great retention strategies. Edmonton business consultant will be able to help you on this if youíre stuck.

The third pain point that businesses face is running out of cash. The problem any business owner can face and without careful planning is difficult to overcome. Great cash flow projections included in your business plan will be able to help you plan for future spending easily and effectively. Your accountant will be able to help you create conservative cash flow projections to aid in your business plan. The recommendation is to have conservative cash flow projections in order to reduce the impacts of variables that may come up in your business that create problems out of your control.

Spend about four hours considering these three pain points, as you are the experts in your business for hours is more than enough time to come up with plans for each of these events. Be careful not to spend more time on this as this is just a plan, not a crystal ball once you have your plan in place you should put your energy towards running your business.

Edmonton business consultant | using your business plan to grow

Business owners who donít have a business plan in place, are not as prepared as they could be to grow their business says Edmonton business consultant. If you fail to plan you are planning to fail says Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States of America. In business this is extremely true. Without a plan to lead entrepreneurs youíre leaving everything to chance. Increase your chance of success in business by creating a business plan. Itís not necessary to consider all of the relevant variables in a business plan, as long as you take into consideration the three pain points businesses face. Coming up with strategies for that is a great way to create your business plan.

The first pain point is running out of cash. 29% of business owners say this is their biggest problem in business. As your business grows cash flow is needed to fund the growth, from business expansion, landing large jobs and needing raw material, hiring new staff or even moving locations. Creating cash flow projections to include in your business plan can help you map out your growth. It will help you see where you business has been and help you track market trends, so you can anticipate what you may need in the future. Edmonton business consultant recommends seeing your accountant to help you with your cash flow projections. Your accountant will be able to take your vision and business plan and come up with reasonable projections for you to use in your business plan.
Several business owners have said their biggest problem in business is the inability to attract new customers and generate new revenue. If youíre not growing your business, your business is dying. Attracting new customers and generating new revenue is key to your business success and growth. Come up with a sales and marketing strategy for your business plan in order to address this problem. This is the number one problem business owners face as 42% identified this as their main problem. You will increase your chances for success simply by having a sales and marketing strategy.

The last pain points to address in your business plan is your HR strategy. 23% of businesses said not having the right team was their largest challenge. Having a plan means that you will not be hiring people on a reactionary basis, but finding the right fit for your team at the right time. In your plan also includes retention and training strategy, company culture is deliberately set. By not having a plan in place, your inviting chaos into your workplace.

Other things that you can include in your business plan are market differentials, operation strategies, and pricing. However donít fall into the trap of thinking that you can consider all variables that you may see in your business. Some examples of things you wonít be able to include in your plan that may happen to your business are banks pulling loans, failure of equipment, changes in the markets. However by addressing the three major pain points will enable you to overcome those hurdles when they arise.