This content is provided by Carol Farbe. For more information, please visit my site for great tips.
Do you have a business growth plan? Is your business growing enough that you need a plan for the future? Running a business takes time. If you have a brick and mortar business, you have stock to reorder and accounting to keep up with daily or weekly. If you have an online business, you have blogging updates to regularly post to and social media to update daily. They both take time planning for your business needs and a commitment to get that list down.
New entrepreneurs tend to get focused on one thing and skip the rest or lay them by the wayside. But small business owners must consider if their current practices and procedures leave room for growth. Does your plan include a plan for growth?
Here is a checklist for you to use. I suggest you print it. That way you would make sure you’re setting the foundation for business expansion with as little time, money and energy as possible. It is not an all-inclusive list but it does get you thinking – and planning.
Business Planning
□ You have a business plan that takes growth into consideration. This will include a marketing plan, competitive research, product development, and management operations.
□ You have a plan to regularly assess your business plan, experts recommend spending a minimum of 25% of your time planning your business. Make sure you schedule this on a regular basis. Weekly is best.
□ You have a plan to regularly assess industry trends. Check to see what your competition is doing. Are you one step ahead of them?
□ You have a plan to create business partnerships. If your business is online, you need to plan joint ventures with other online entrepreneurs
□ You have a plan to regularly assess your personal and professional strengths and weaknesses. As your business grows your strengths and weaknesses will change, it’s important to stay on top of them so you can plan accordingly.
□ You have a vision and mission statement that looks to the future as well as the present. Is it posted where you can see it?
□ You have a plan to review your mission statement yearly. That way you will know if you’re growth is matched up with your vision.
□ You have a management plan that leaves time for yourself. If you don’t have time for yourself, you will get burnt out. If you don’t have spare time now, you won’t have spare time when your business increases years from now.
Every aspect of your business plan should address business growth. By planning to grow, you are more prepared when something happens. If you have planned free time and a situation arises, you have the time to repair or fix the problem. When things are returning to normal, you will be able to go back to your free time. Balance between work and leisure time is always important Make a plan to grow your business. Business expansion is a good problem to have. Do you agree?
Business (Photo credits: www.roadtrafficsigns.com)
