A business plan is powerful tool that can help you reach your goals. It helps you define where you want your practice to be within a certain time and how you plan on getting there.
“A business plan is like a roadmap to getting where you want to be,” says Lou D’Aversa, senior financial consultant with MD Physician Services Inc. in Toronto. “It keeps you on track to achieving your goals and is paramount to your success.”
Business plans come in many shapes and sizes and there is no single right way to create one, says George Hartman, CEO of Toronto-based Market Logics Inc. But they all serve the same function: a business plan is the blueprint for the success of a business.
“It gives you direction and purpose,” Hartman says. “It helps you to allocate resources and allows you to measure your success.”
Here are some simple steps to consider when establishing a business plan.
1. Assess where you’re going
Hartman asks: “If you don’t know where you’re going, how will you know when you’ve arrived?”
Your first step is to define your vision for your practice: what you want it to be within a defined time frame. Closely aligned to your vision is your mission, which describes what you want to be to your clients.
“These big-picture goals provide your practice with a purpose and the reason for your existence,” says Mahesh Dwarkaprasad, project manager at Octane Capital Inc. in Toronto.
Adds Hartman: “They are the foundation for all other decisions.”
2. Take stock of where you are
“Understanding your operating environment and the things that can affect your practice is essential to executing your business plan,” D’Aversa says.
At a macro level, you must conduct an environmental analysis, Dwarkaprasad says. For example, who are the competitors in your space, and what external factors would impinge on your plan? Having answered these questions, determine where you fit into that environment.
Look at your own practice, Hartman says. Assess what you are doing now; your resources; and your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Determine whether you have the capabilities and knowledge to follow through with your plan.
3. Develop a plan of action
Now that you know where you want to go, you have to articulate how you are going to get there. Determine strategies for achieving your objectives, and tactics that identify what needs to done by whom, when, and how.
“You must get into an ‘execution’ mindset at this stage,” Dwarkaprasad says. “It’s all well and good to have a big-picture vision, but realizing that vision means taking appropriate action.”
In addition to your strategic plan, Hartman says, you must also develop a marketing, sales, operational and financial plan. An important question to ask is: Do I have the money and resources to execute my plan?
4. Measure your success
How will you know you are moving toward achieving your goals? One way is to make sure your objectives are attainable and measurable. Another is to develop metrics for tracking growth, costs and revenue.
“Measure by activity, for instance marketing initiatives or cost of servicing clients,” says Dwarkaprasad. Make adjustments, if necessary.
Adds D’Aversa: “Make sure your plan is flexible to accommodate changes over time.”
IE