Edmonton Business Consultant | Writing Your Business Plan

Most business owners don’t have business plans, however businesses that do have a business plan are 50% more likely to grow their revenue says Edmonton business consultant. The reason for this is often because business owners don’t know what information to include in their plan. They get overwhelmed or run out of time to follow through. However a business plan doesn’t need to be difficult, or time-consuming. Here are some reasons why business owners should take the time to create your own business plan.

Are business owners who complete a plan more likely to grow their business? The answer is a resounding yes. Palo Alto says businesses that complete a business plan are 50% more likely to grow their revenue. The reason for this is because they are more likely to have a plan on how to address issues that they face regularly and business. They also have a roadmap for how to hire and train staff, sales and marketing plans, and operations strategies.

Our business owners who complete a plan less likely to run out of cash – asks Edmonton business consultant. Business owners who complete a business plan also are more likely to be able to effectively communicate their vision not only to their staff and customers but to their accountant who will help them create realistic cash flow projections, which will help them free up the cash they need in their business when they need it. 29% of business owners who failed attribute the failure of their business to running out of cash. Almost 1/3 of all failed businesses would have succeeded if they had a positive cash flow. This is easily addressed with the business plan

Do business owners who complete a business plan have a more concrete HR strategy? Absolutely says Edmonton business consultant because business owners who don’t have a plan on how to hire staff don’t look for staff until they need to hire, and often hire a less than ideal person due to a time constraint. They also tend to fail to train their staff, and don’t have a staff retention strategy. This leads to the stop start hiring method where hiring is reactionary. This method leads to unnecessary downtime, as well as hiring less than suitable candidates. These problems can all be addressed with a great business plan.

Is it possible to predict all potential future events and a business plan? Unfortunately not all variables can possibly be considered in a business plan advises Edmonton business consultant, it’s not a crystal ball or Time Machine. However coming up with solutions to the three most common pain points all businesses face, businesses will be better equipped to deal with problems they could not predict when they happen. These three common pain points are unable to find new revenue, running out of cash, not having the right team in place.

With a few hours of thoughtful reflection on these three pain points, most business owners will be able to come up with a great business plan that can better prepare them for the future.

Edmonton business consultant | writing your business plan

Business owners are busier than ever says Edmonton business consultant. But the key to success is knowing where to spend your time, working on your business and not in your business. 50% of businesses who have a business plan are more likely to grow their revenue than businesses without a plan. This should be encouragement enough for all business owners to spend a few hours necessary to create a comprehensive business plan to help them through the most difficult situations they’re going to face in business. Simple about answering a few questions, business owners can use those answers in their business plan.

29% of all business owners that fails say the reason their business failed is because they ran out of cash. All businesses need to positive cash flow, not just startup businesses. Many people think that failing businesses are the only businesses who have cash flow problems and that’s simply not true says Edmonton business consultant. Businesses who have a properly planned in advance can have cash flow problems. And as businesses grow, scaling up requires money and if business owners haven’t put an effective plan in place to manage their cash flow this can be a problem. By creating a great business plan, and taking this to your accountant they should be able to create cash flow projections based on your answers. They recommend you favour conservative cash flow projections in order to safeguard against problems that may arise in their business such as losing key customers, regulatory issues, or business owners themselves getting sick. By managing your cash flow, business owners will be able to have the cash that they need to grow their business when it’s time.
Is it possible to predict all potential future events in a business plan? There are too many variables in business to be able to create a business plan that addresses each and every potential problem. However by addressing the three common pain points all businesses will face, business owners can be better prepared to face these variables. The three most common pain points in all businesses is the inability to attract customers, running out of cash, and unable to hire the right team. Spending four hours of time thinking about the answers to these three questions will help business owners face any problem they may encounter.

A great business plan only needs to take four hours to create, but once you have created it don’t let it sit on a shelf collecting dust. Review it often throughout the year, and once a year spend the four hours answering those questions again. Your second and third and fourth years will be far more effective with your four hours of time and in your first year. With this plan in place entrepreneurs will be better able to face difficult situations, overcome them and build their business.