Prepare the Final Draft of Your Business Plan
When you have a working draft of your business plan, look at the document as a whole to make sure that all the pieces fit together. For example, your company overview should reflect your mission statement [more…]
Organize Your Company Around Your Business Plan
The first step in putting your business plan to work is to configure your company to reflect your plan in every part of your organization, from the structure of your management team to the procedures you [more…]
Assign Staff Responsibilities According to the Business Plan
Planning a business means structuring your organization and then assigning duties and responsibilities to your key people. Take time to review your assignments against your business plan — at least for [more…]
Get Team Support for Your Business Plan
Share your business plan with your team — the people you count on to help you achieve success. See that everyone on your team is familiar with your plan, clear about the strategy, comfortable with their [more…]
Lead Your Business Team Effectively
Effective teams demand strong leaders who can see the future, communicate the vision, inspire and influence others, and make things happen. The best leaders are people who move easily among the following [more…]
How to Gain Staff Support to Further Your Business-Plan Vision
Your business plan presents the vision of what you want your company to become. By sharing it with everyone who has a stake in your company, you can create a sense of shared commitment and direction. [more…]
Is Competition a Good Way to Motivate Business Teams?
Although competition among teams can be a potent motivator, the approach can also backfire, creating resentment and hard feelings. When using team competitions as a motivating tool, make sure that everyone [more…]
Develop Employee Business Skills
The success of your business plan depends on hiring and retaining qualified employees, but staff development is also critical. Development means expanding the skills of people already on your staff. [more…]
Nurture Your Company’s Future Leaders
If your business intends to be around for a while, it’s important to think about who’s going to support your leadership and perhaps one day step in to fill your shoes. [more…]
Keep Your Business Plan Current
The business-planning process is never over. The only constant in business is change. Markets evolve; technologies emerge; customers and preferences change; and your company is bound to change as well. [more…]
Continuously Monitor Your Business Plan
Conducting an annual review of your business plan is good, but consider checking certain parts of your plan more frequently. For example, if new competitors are popping up all around you, take a close [more…]
Encourage Staff Feedback on Your Business Plan
Encourage staff input on your business plan to tap a rich vein of ideas on how to revise and refine it. Employee assessments of the business plan will make it even more effective. By listening to the people [more…]
Planning for Changes to Your Business
A business plan sets your course for the future. It dictates what you need to do and how you plan to do it. A business plan only works if you and your employees follow it. But here’s the catch. Changes [more…]
Ten Signs That Your Business Plan May Need an Overhaul
Giving your business plan a good once-over one time a year may not be often enough, especially when the economy is tight or markets are changing fast. If your business environment is experiencing choppy [more…]
Ten Ways to Fund Your Business Plan
A great idea sparks most business start-ups, but money is the fuel that keeps those start-ups running. Even if you’re launching a one-person freelance business, chances are you need cash to get off the [more…]
Ten Ways to Evaluate a New Business Idea
Every business venture starts with an idea. That idea may be as simple as opening a shop that features local artwork or as complex as creating a new biotechnology company. Either way, your success depends [more…]
Determine Your Business-Planning Team Guidelines
As soon as you've selected your business planning team, you need to establish procedures that spell out exactly how the team is to carry the work out. The clearer the ground rules, the smoother the process [more…]
Tips on Assembling Your Business-Planning Team
If your company has a management team, divide the work involved in putting together your written business plan. The size of the team you bring together to develop your business plan depends on the size [more…]
Develop Your Business Systems and Procedures
In order to put your business plan to work, you must know how your business will operate on a day-to-day basis. Your knowledge leads to the development of systems and procedures for everything from product [more…]
Recommended Online Resources for Business Planning
The Internet is a gold mine of business-planning information and resources. As you delve into the riches, begin with this list of popular sites where you can find useful and reliable tips, tools, and examples [more…]
Business-Plan Check List
Putting together your written business plan is a bit like preparing for a final exam: You want to make sure that you're well prepared and that you have all the resources you need at your fingertips. [more…]
Setting Business-Planning Team Priorities
Issues of timing are bound to come up as you try to put your business plan on paper. How can you put together the executive summary, for example, before you have the rest of the business plan in place? [more…]
What Succession Planning Can Do for Your Organization
In today’s rapidly changing world — with its new technologies, new markets, and new global mobility — succession planning matters more than ever before. The success of your organization depends on the [more…]
How to Develop a Succession Plan
Whether you’re developing a succession plan for a small family business, a large nonprofit organization, an educational institution, a major corporation, or a government organization, the process boils [more…]
Your Best Sources of Help and Advice for Your UK Business
You’re not on your own when setting up or running a business. The following organisations in the UK offier a wealth of information and expertise if you need help from filling in your tax forms to recruiting [more…]
