Most small businesses start operating without having a roadmap that can guide them through the whereabouts of doing business. Questions such as:
- Should I expand my product line or should I reinvent the services that I’m already offering?
- Do I know my Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT)?
- Should I stop offering an unprofitable, specific service, or eliminate a product line?
- Questions like these should be answered and executed by a business owner no matter the size of the company.
According to the University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing, 2016, “Strategic Plans are the essence of strategy, according to one classic view of strategy. A strategic plan is a carefully crafted set of steps that a firm intends to follow to be successful” (p. 5).
Very important to remember is that a strategic business plan is not a static set of words, numbers, and graphics, rather, it is dynamic, constantly changing and getting adjusted to the many unforeseen changes in government regulations, economy, environment, customers tastes and preferences, and technology, to name a few.
In my experience, most small business owners are way too busy into the daily routine of doing the work and bringing in the sales, and not enough time is invested in strategizing. This kind of approach impedes the company’s growth and success.
To be able to be strategic, first, you must have to change the mindset of being the technician of your own business, delegate and rely on competent professionals that can help you navigate through the challenging, but rewarding task of developing and implementing a strategic plan.
A small business owner who has a strategic plan is in a better position to stand against the competition and remain strong when the different and unexpected twists and turns of owning a business come around.
Ask us how we can help you develop yours
University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing. (2016). Mastering Strategic Management. Retrieved from https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/mastering-strategic-management
