Do You Need A Plan? 10 Reasons Why You Should Have One!

31/03/2011

By Gerard Burke, Founder & MD, Your Business Your Future

Someone recently posed this question on our Ambitious Owner Managers group on LinkedIn and received a deluge of replies. A few argued that a business plan is only necessary if you’re looking to raise finance from a bank or impress investors, and that the rest of the time, business plans just sit in a cupboard gathering dust. The majority saw differently and could see at least ten good reasons why it’s not just important but imperative to have a living, working plan for your business.

1. A plan is like a road map...

...- without one you can lose your way. If you have a plan of where you’re going and how to get there you don’t have to make a decision every time you get to a junction.

2. It’s more likely that you'll create the better future you want for your business and for you if you can articulate it clearly and put together a clear, comprehensive and robust plan of what you will DO to get you from where you are now to where you want to be.

3. In any situation where there are more than a couple of people involved you have to write down your thoughts to make sure everyone is pulling in the same direction and understands priorities. A business is no different.

4. Many business owners are so bogged down with day to day issues that strategy gets forgotten, leading to missed opportunities or threats. One of the most important aspects of planning is looking at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that exist. It can provide a real focus for addressing the big issues.

5. When it’s clearly communicated, a plan ensures that no matter how large your organisation, every individual understands exactly the company’s expectations, aspirations and ambitions.

6. A... continued on page two >

 

 

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