Some suggestions for simple but effective strategic business planning

Bahaa Moukadam

The eyes of most small business owners glaze over almost immediately when they hear the term ‘strategic planning.’ However, it is critical for long-term business success, and there are ways to simplify it once you know the easy questions to ask.

The most common misperception is for business owners to think that somehow, a 50-page “Strategic Plan” will quickly put them on the road to easy street.

The truth is, most lengthy strategic plans simply sit on a shelf gathering dust while the business owners continue to make unnecessary mistakes. By not planning, they let external factors determine their destiny and direction rather than taking control of their future.

In its simplest form, a strategic plan is all about assessing where you are now, deciding where you want to go in the future and mapping out the steps to get there. That’s it. As easy as that may be, the complications surrounding the term ‘strategic plan’ keep many from asking themselves simple questions that will vastly, and immediately, improve their businesses.

First determine what is the “essence” of your business and what niche in the market do you serve? Remember there are Riches in Niches. How and why are you different? Your answers could include any number of factors; better pricing, longer association with the community, better selection, quicker service or a unique combination of many.

Looking at market trends and customers needs, you will want to align your offerings to take advantage of the trends and fulfill customer needs. If you have the time to look at more detailed data, the U.S. Small Business Administration offers detailed statistics for markets across the USA.

Nevertheless, even if you do a simple analysis and ask some deeper questions, the answers become the essence of your strategic plan. In more simple terms, once you commit to paper why your customers do business with you, you can begin to gauge your strengths and use them to get additional customers, leading to profitable growth.

There are, of course, dozens of other factors that will ultimately determine the success of your enterprise, including cash flow, key performance indicators, pricing, customer relations, etc. Those can be simple too but undoubtedly, your simple strategic plan becomes a roadmap to the future.

For instance, do you want to increase sales by 20 percent this year? Do you want to grow into a new market this year? Do you want to expand your sales by offering new products to existing customers? Knowing where you want to go and identifying the strategies to get there, in reality, are very simple concepts that can pay enormous dividends for your business.

These are good times for small business. Nevertheless, if you are too busy to plan, chances are you will not reach your ultimate potential. Sure, strategic planning is a complicated term, yet can be made simple by asking a few of the right questions.

After all, it’s much easier to drive by looking through the windshield rather than the rear view mirror. Right? For Sun readers, we offer a simple strategic planning workbook at my website, www.seemetricspartners.com. Strategic planning can be easy and, if done properly, will generate enormous benefit.

Bahaa Moukadam is a former Silicon Valley CEO and turnaround specialist who counsels business and government on sustainable growth strategies and economic development using the Rockefeller Habits.