Strategic Planning: Expert Guides and Resources

Financial risk management can be very complicated, which can make it hard to know where to begin thinking about it. This Cheat Sheet distinguishes some of the key concepts such as risk versus danger and opportunity, probability, volatility, normality and uncertainty. It discusses how to manage the seven major types of financial risk in financial institutions including asset managers, banks, insurance companies and dealers.

If you plan on starting a virtual enterprise, you will need to account for a fast-changing climate in your business plan. Many observers are convinced that virtual companies will become increasingly common as advances in technology make it even easier for employees to work wherever they are. Transformative innovations will continue to yield new opportunities and new virtual business models.

Planning for your virtual business means accounting for the technological necessities. At the heart of every successful virtual company is a flexible IT network that allows employees, clients, customers, and subcontractors to interact smoothly and efficiently.Teleconferencing, videoconferencing, and groupchats allow participants from around the country or around the world to connect from far-flung locations.

You need to include your remote team as part of your business plan. At the heart of the virtual business model is a radical new relationship with employees. Instead of punching a clock or showing up at the office, employees work remotely, often when they want to, and their only contact with management may be via phone, email, videocall and groupchat apps, or other project management and digital technologies.

You need a consistent set of policies in your virtual business’s plan. The virtue of a virtual company is that employees have tremendous freedom in their working lives. Managed well, a virtual company can be more flexible and efficient than a traditional nine-to-five, office-based enterprise. But with employees working as free agents distributed around the country — and sometimes around the world — virtual companies must establish specific standards and policies for operations and procedures, so that employees know how the business runs and what is expected of them.

Leave room in your business plan for branding your virtual enterprise. Your brand is the set of beliefs that people associate with your business name. It mirrors the overall image and tone of your company, your employees, your product, and your customer service. Branding is reflected through everything from your name and logo to your business offerings to how product manuals are written and how employees interact with customers.

A strategic plan is essential for a successful business, and creating a strategic plan that you can actually use is key. Your plan should include certain elements, like mission, values, and vision statements. It should also avoid common pitfalls, like neglecting the specific needs of your organization, so it becomes your road map for success.

In strategic planning, benchmarks are surveys and assessments that help determine how well your company performs compared to other companies in your industry or business size. Following are just a handful of benchmarking tools available: BizStats: Visit the BizStats website for instant access to useful financial ratios, business statistics, and benchmarks.

The best way — make that the only way — to achieve business success is to have a solid business plan. A business plan is critical to finding a successful course through turbulent times. If you have a really great idea for making money (or doing good with a nonprofit), an effective business plan will help you make the most of it.