No matter how long your company has been operating, it needs a strategic business plan. A strategic plan is a roadmap for your company. It lets you see not only where you want the business to go, but also the best way to get there.
Despite that, many small and mid-sized businesses go without a plan every year. If your company doesn’t currently have a plan, a virtual CFO can help you not only create one, but also put it into practice.
What is a Strategic Business Plan
A strategic business plan is somewhat different from a standard business plan. The major difference between the two is when they are needed. Most companies create a business plan when they are just starting up. A business plan describes the company and its product or service. The plan is often used to seek funding for a new company and to let investors or lenders know how viable the idea is.
Strategic business plans are commonly used by more established companies. The goal of the plan is lay out the company’s strategy, where it wants to go in the future and how it plans to get there. It describes ways to arrange the business’ priorities to make the best use of revenue. The plan should allow a business to build on its strengths and find ways to improve or eliminate weak areas.
One area a strategic business plan commonly focuses is on is its priorities. The goal of many plans is to help a company figure out what is most important and what areas to focus on to increase growth.
Why Your Company Needs It
Having a strategic business plan, or not, can be what makes or breaks your business. A well thought out plan can let you see if it is time to take your company to the next level or if you need to wait a bit before growing or expanding. The plan can also let you see if your company needs to take a step back in terms of size or product offering.
Using the plan to set priorities means that you aren’t focusing on areas that won’t help your business. For example, developing a plan can allow you to funnel your business’ resources to where they will provide the most benefit, whether that is hiring a new employee or removing a product that isn’t performing well.
A strategic business plan also allows everyone in management understand what the company is doing and where it is headed. The plan can also be useful to non-management employees. When they see the plan, they can develop a sense of the direction your company is headed and the overall health of the business.
With a strategic plan in place, you can begin to correct any issues that have plagued your company. A plan can help you see where your company is spending more than it needs to and to find ways to trim extra expenses.
Working with a Virtual CFO
Sometimes, it can be difficult to see the forest for the trees, especially when it comes to creating an overall strategic plan for your business. You may be so involved in managing the day to day operations of your company that it’s hard to take a step back and plan for the future. A virtual CFO can be a valuable resource when you are developing or re-working your company’s plan. He can provide useful third party insight and help your company develop an effective strategy and plan for the next step, no matter what it is.
The team at New Direction Capital has more than 20 years of experience partnering with businesses, helping them plan and solve problems. To learn more about how we can help your company develop a strong strategic plan, contact us today.