Business Planning

For a business to be successful there must be clarity on direction and results required. Whilst this is important on a day to day basis, it is essential that the plan also focuses on a year to year basis. Strategic Plans are developed by business owners who want absolute clarity on what the business is to achieve and, even more importantly, how it is to be achieved.

Business owners who own, manage and operate small to medium sized enterprises are so busy meeting immediate requirements that they do not have the time to focus on the years ahead. That is why the majority of small businesses fail: Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail!

Even where the time and inclination exists with business owners to develop a Strategic Plan, the truth is they do not have the necessary knowledge, expertise and tools to do so. It is difficult to even know where to start.

Knowledge works with business owners to help them develop better businesses. Key to this process is developing a Strategic Plan. The process is simple. Working with an experienced Business Advisor, the Business Owner(s) and/or Managers are taken through every aspect of the business and supported in addressing them in a thorough and complete manner. Key areas addressed include:

Vision for the Business: What is the desired outcome for this business for the future?
Strategies, Objectives and Plans: What are the specific ways and means that are going to be applied to achieve the Vision?
Structure and Culture to support the Strategies: How are the people, resources, funds and all it takes to run a business to be organised? What are the underlying rules that govern the business?
Marketing, Sales & Business Development: How are Customers going to know about the business and how are prospects going to become Customers? How are you going to retain and develop your best Customers, Products & Services?
Production, Operations & Logistics: How are you going to source, manage and produce goods and services that will meet the needs of Customers, with a quality and consistency that you want to maintain?
Accounting, Finance & Cashflow: How will you manage the book-keeping, accounting and financial information while ensuring that Cashflow is in line with the requirements of the business?
People & HR: How will you source and mange the best people needed to run the business?
Process, Systems & Information to pull it all together: What specific systems and procedures do you need in place to support all aspects of the business?

Business Plan Implementation

The business planning process is in two parts: first, assessing the current strengths and weaknesses, reviewing the opportunities and threats facing the business and only then the second part; defining the specific actions that need to be taken to achieve success in the implementation of the plan, building systems of tracking, monitoring and managing the implementation and ensuring that the necessary resources are in place to ensure a successful outcome. Knowledge has the people with the expertise, systems and capacity to help steer and direct a successful course from inception through to completion of the business plan development and implementation.

Do you want to learn more? Knowledge is focused on helping you deliver practical business solutions based in reality. To find out how you can best move your business forward, call us today on 01-8439114 or email us at gyb@knowledge.ie.

Other services that we provide include:

Business Coaching
Personal Goal Setting
Building Better Business: A Programmed Approach
Team Diagnostics: the Route to a Better Team
Business Health Check
Management Training & Development

Knowledge Business Solutions - Finance for the Non-Financial Manager