|
Business Planning Skills
1. One of the first rules in
business planning is, "you must have a business plan".
If you visit any professional financial institution and
ask for a business loan, the first thing they ask for is
a business plan. A business plan:
|
a |
Saves time, money and
embarrassment. |
|
b |
Shows that you have
thought things through and that you know what you are
doing. |
|
c |
Enables others to trust
your business aptitude, skill and knowledge. |
|
d |
Gives you confidence and
enthusiasm. |
|
e |
Indicates where you are,
where you are going and how to get there. |
|
f |
Enables you to be aware of
your overall planned financial situation at any given
point in the year. |
Operating without a business plan
could be suicidal.
2. Set clearly defined financial
policies and procedures that govern your life, family
and organisation and stick to them ruthlessly. You must
lay down the laws that govern your finances or you will
lose more than your shirt! I worked for an organisation
that lost over £100,000 because of unclear financial
policies and procedures. If one of your financial laws
are broken, when should you act? Immediately!
3. It is extremely difficult to
make effective financial decisions without proper
financial information. Most families and organisations
find themselves with financial problems because they
have no system. Implement a system that works. Take a
book-keeping course, the reward is great. There are
systems available on the market that will keep you in
touch with your finances as and when you desire. I use
the computerised Sage Sterling Financial Controller.
4. One of the major mistakes most
people make is that they spend more money than they
earn. Live within your income despite what your
neighbours have.
5. Develop residual income. Every
time a copy of a book is sold, the author or his/her
estate receives an income whether dead or alive. That is
residual income, a lifetime return from an initial
investment. Can you go on holiday for six months, go to
work when you want, do the things you love most and
still receive an income each week? Most people are
caught in the 9am to 5pm trap, year after year and have
nothing to show for it when they retire. Apologies, they
do have something to show, debts. It's all very sad!
6. Develop multiple streams of
income. "Do not place all your eggs into one basket",
said a wise woman. Turn your skills and knowledge into
multiple streams of income. Do not rely on one stream of
income to support your family or organisation. What
would happen if that stream dried up? If you were to die
right now, what would happen to your family?
7. Develop a good relationship
with your Bank Manager and get him/her on your side.
Your Bank Manager is your friend and a part of your
organisation. Your bank is another department or
extension to your organisation that works from a
different office. Bank managers give sound advice that
could help your organisation save money and
embarrassment.
When I was Executive Chairman of an
organisation the Chief Executive would take our Bank
Manager to lunch. During lunch he would share our
vision, our current situation and plans for the future.
Investment meetings like these gave us the added
advantage of receiving free advice and assistance
whenever we needed it.
8. Become an expert in all your
financial affairs or find someone that you can trust.
Finance is an indispensable activity within any
organisation and must be treated with the highest
respect.
9. Never start a project without a complete
financial appraisal and secure all the resources that
you need to complete it. To break this law could send
you to an early grave.
Action Without
Planning
Action without a systematic and
detailed plan is one of the major causes of failure in
the home and in the workplace.
What would you say to the managing
contractor who turned up to build your new home without
architectural drawings or a detailed plan? My guess is
that you would give him the sack. A plan is a guide, a
road map or a tool to help you accomplish your vision
and without it you could lose your way. How many
relationships have you destroyed because you acted
without thinking first. How many times have you spoken
or acted in haste only to find that there was more hope
for a fool than for you? Action without planning is like
eating fruit before it is ripe. Think, think and think
again before you act. Those who pay careful attention or
persistently use detailed plans, will be successful, but
those who are hasty will fail.
As soon as we have an idea we tend to
dive straight in with the action, only to realise later
that this was a big mistake.
|
Action Without Planning |
Planning
Before Action |
| |
|
|
|
1. |
Hard to measure |
Easily measured |
|
2.
|
Very risky |
Low risk |
|
3.
|
Reactive |
Pro-active |
|
4.
|
Time wasting |
No time wasted |
|
5.
|
Expensive |
Inexpensive |
|
6.
|
High failure rate |
High pass rate |
|
7.
|
Informal |
Formal |
|
8.
|
Blurred vision |
Crystal clear vision |
|
9.
|
Hard to control |
Easily controlled |
|
10. |
Low productivity |
High productivity |
|
11.
|
No point of reference |
Easy point of reference |
|
12. |
Confuses teamwork |
Unifies team |
|
13.
|
Stressful |
Stress free |
|
14.
|
Hasty decisions |
Planned decisions |
|
15.
|
Little or no consultation |
Much consultation |
|
16.
|
No overall view |
Overall view |
|
17.
|
Hard to evaluate |
Easy to evaluate |
With these listed advantages and
disadvantages, you cannot afford not to think and plan
before you act. It is madness to act before you plan.
It is important to know where you
are, where you want to go and how to get there. The how
to get there is your plan. A good plan may take you
days, weeks or even months to construct, but it has the
potential of saving your health, time and money. Never
put together a plan that cannot be changed and at the
expense of your life and your family. Be flexible.
While your plans are flourishing,
has your family been left out?
Complete the following to produce a
complete action plan or as some may call it, a detailed
business plan.
Objectives
1. List your value/s for this
specific project and put them in order of priority.
2. List your vision.
Reliable People
1. List all the people that you
will work with and identify what Attitude, Skills and
Knowledge they must possess.
2. List your training and
development policy.
Gaining and Keeping Customers
1. List your customers and give
proof of market research.
2. List your customer care policy
for gaining and keeping customers.
Advertising and Promotion
List your advertising and promotion
strategy.
New Ideas
What will you do to remain innovative
in the market place?
Inspired Leadership
How will you build on your strengths,
eliminate weaknesses, exploit opportunities and remove
threats?
Services and Products
List the benefits of your service and
product.
Aggressive Selling
How will you sell to your customers?
Technology
List the resources that you need
and show how you will stay in touch with the growing
technology in your field.
Information / Communication
1. What information do you
require and how will it be obtained?
2. What are the lines for
communication and how will decisions be made?
Organised Financial Planning
1. How much money do you need,
where will you get it and how will you pay it back?
2. List your financial policy and
the system you will use to control your finances.
Networking
Who are you advisors?
Suppliers
Who are your suppliers and what are their terms?
|
©