At the beginning of each year I create a strategic business plan and evaluate it quarterly to make sure I am on track. The plan can change as my business grows and clients ask me for different things to help them build their brand. However the fundamental principles remain the same.
When I started Thriving Brand these are a few questions I asked myself:
WHERE ARE WE NOW?
- What’s our mission statement? – What’s the organisation’s purpose? This could include the business of the organisation or the products or services you produce or customers you serve.
- What are our values? – This clarifies what the company stands for and believes in.
- What are our SWOT’s – SWOT is an acronym that stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. These elements are crucial in assessing the strategic position of the organisation.
WHERE ARE WE GOING?
- What’s our competitive advantage? – What is it that you are best at and what is its uniqueness?
- What’s our vision statement? – What will your organisation look like in 5 to 10 years from now?
HOW WILL WE GET THERE?
- What are our strategic objectives? – In the areas of finance, operations and customers.
- What is our strategy? – Does your businesses strategy match your strengths in a way that provides value to your customers?
- What are our short-term goals? – Define clearly what you want to accomplish, when you want to accomplish it, how you’re going to do it and who’s going to be responsible.
- Our business strategy execution – How committed are you to implementing the plan to move your organisation forward? Will you commit money, resources and time to support the plan?
I hope this helps you to create your own business plan and if you have any questions then don’t hesitate to contact me and I will help in any way I can. Also download the review guide on the resources page to help you focus.