All You Need To Know About Strategic Planning For A New Business
INTRODUCTION
Planning is one of the most important aspects of a business. If you want to build a business that would stand the test of time, strategic planning is required. Strategic planning is the process by which you define your vision for your business. It also involves identifying your objectives and goals for your business.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- What is strategic planning?
- Processes of strategic planning
- Approaches to strategic planning
- Importance of strategic planning
- Conclusion
What is strategic planning?
Strategic planning is a process by which an organization or a business owner defines its business aim and objectives. It is the process by which you identify your business vision. It also involves the process of making clear your business objectives and what you hope to achieve from and by it.
For you to set up a new business, you require a lot of strategic planning. These plans in the long run help you to create a balance and set you up for growth. For you to successfully set up a business, a series of strategic planning must be done. You have to carefully examine the business market you are about to go into and make smart business plans. You should also do your research and make your own findings before launching a business.
Processes of strategic planning
Strategic planning is in stages and processes. Some of the processes involved in strategic planning include the following. Determining your strategic position, stating your objectives, and also developing your plan. Also, by executing and reviewing your plan.
Determination of Your Strategic Position
It is important that you understand the need for a strategic plan. For a business to grow or for you to open a business it is important to set goals. Research has shown that about 86% of business owners or teams spend less than one hour per month on strategic planning. This however is not good for business. A lot of businesses fail to plan strategically and so you must avoid this mistake even as you plan to get into business. You have to understand your target market, what you wish to offer and why you want to offer that service. Understanding the target market doesn’t only set you apart it gives you an insight into the likely challenges you may encounter. This also helps you provide solutions that may arise on time.
Understanding your business aims and objectives is an important part of determining your strategic position. When you have successfully established your business aims and objectives, you then examine these objectives to identify the most relevant ones that directly affect your target market. Failure to do this only results in problems that would have been well avoided.
Prioritizing your aims and objectives
Once you have been strategically positioned, the next thing is to state and prioritize your objectives. Identifying and prioritizing your objectives is a very essential part of strategic planning. When you prioritize your business objectives it gives you an insight into what you are about to venture into. It gives you focus and helps to minimize time-wasting. Business objectives include the reasons why you have decided to venture into that line of business. This step clearly defines the aim of the business. It draws a distinct line of duties and responsibilities. This type of planning broadens the scope and horizon of what to expect from the business. It is however important to note that this is a defining step in strategic planning.
Developing the plan
When you have successfully listed and prioritized your business aims and objectives, developing your plan is the next big thing to be done. A lot of businesses fail to have a plan and therefore sometimes end up ruining great business ideas. It is one thing to have a business plan, and it’s another thing to develop the plan. Developing your business plan is a way of sustaining business. When you have a business plan, it is easy to navigate through the business world with minimal challenges. Also having a good business makes you do the right thing at the right time and saves you from unnecessary troubles. A good business plan serves as a structural backbone for a business.
Executing and managing your plan
Also, once your business plan is set, the next process will be to execute and manage your plan. This is the process in which you kick start your business properly. At this point, all the necessary things to be done are set in motion. However, this is the stage that would set the business pace. This also determines the success or failure of the business. Executing and managing your plan would involve the business launch itself. It is the commencement of the business itself.
Reviewing and revising your plan through strategic planning
When you have successfully set your business in motion and started to execute and manage your plans there is a need to review and revise certain plans. Plans that do not ultimately fulfill their purpose have to be reviewed and revised. However, the purpose of reviewing and revising your business plan is for growth. This process allows you to make corrections. Also, it allows you to make better decisions that would benefit your business. This is the final stage of strategic planning for your business. In addition, a business plan may be good but this option allows us to make it better and then best.
If you, therefore, follow these processes diligently, you can be sure of achieving a workable and feasible business plan to grow your business.
Approaches to strategic planning
When planning a new business there are several approaches to Strategic planning. This sometimes includes the sole owner of the business, or the entire business partners, a combination of both parties, or everybody involved in the commencement of the business. However, some of the approaches include
The top-down approach
This approach involves the business team, ranging from the highest person in the business plan to the lowest. Decisions and plans are made by these individuals with everyone making significant contributions. It is however an effective approach since everyone gets to contribute a significant quota of their knowledge.
The bottom-up approach
This approach is also good. Although not as effective as the top-bottom approach. In this approach, the business plan is drawn by every member of the business group ranging from the lower to the upper members of the business team. However, with this approach, good business plans are also made with the highest contributions from the people in the lower group.
A combination of both
This is one of the most effective approaches to getting ideas for setting up a new business. This occurs when the entire business team draws up a plan. It includes using the top-bottom and bottom-to-top approaches. A lot of ideas stem from this approach as there is a lot of brainstorming from different individuals. Different people get to make contributions that could birth great ideas.
The team approach
This is the fourth approach to strategic planning for a new business. In this approach not every member of the business group gets to contribute to the planning. A selected team from the entire group is set up for the sole purpose of creating a business plan. Once they have come up with a plan they give out instructions to the rest of the business group. This is also an effective approach but not the most effective. Even though the best of individuals may have been selected for this job, the Knowledge contributed is limited as not everyone gets to make their input.
Importance of strategic planning
Planning or starting up a new business has never been an easy task. This is a way of positioning your business in the right dimension. One of the importance of strategic planning is that it gives a template to work with. Strategic planning helps you to study the target market. It allows you to do your research and gives you a better insight into the venture. It helps you have a structural organization as there is an already existing plan to work it. Starting up a business strategically helps you avoid unnecessary risks and losses. It allows you to critically evaluate your business at any point in time and also make possible adjustments where necessary.
Conclusion
Every person considering starting a business must consider strategic planning. It gives you a wide range of possibilities. It broadens business horizons. With strategic planning more business successes have been recorded. It is however important for people who desire to go into business to take out time to embrace strategic planning before the business launches officially.
