Plan your dive, dive your plan

Added by Love Business East Midlands | 7 February 2013

UPDATED: 11 February 2013

Since the recession hit in 2008 life has been tough for many businesses. Many have experienced reduced sales, tighter margins and find it harder to get paid on time.

But how many businesses wait to react to what is happening to them? Usually when it is too late to make changes to influence things and how many actively have a business plan which is monitored regularly and which drives action, to influence future results rather than reacting to events after they have occurred?

Like any deep sea diver will tell you; "plan your dive, dive your plan"

If you don’t you could end up in deep water and in big trouble! So, doesn’t it make sense to apply this logic to your business too? A business plan outlines your vision for the future of your business, looking at where you are now, where you want to be by a given date, and how you are going to get there.

Good planning will dramatically increase your chances of succeeding in business.

A good business plan will;

Give you a sense of direction and an action plan
Provide you with a set of realistic goals and targets
Enable you to track your growth and measure your success against these goals
Demonstrate the seriousness of your intentions to banks, investors, colleagues and employees
Enable you to spot potential problems before they happen and take appropriate action

The five key stages

Decide on your goals
Establish your key criteria
Set targets
Ensure systems are in place to measure actial results
TAKE ACTION!

McGregors Business Services are championing the Business One Page Plan in the Midlands because they know it works for them and have seen it work for their clients too.