Now’s a great time to make a plan for the next 12 months. First, establish where you are NOW. Then, determine WHERE you want to be. Finally, work out HOW you’ll get there. Need help mapping your growth journey? Get in touch!

For any sort of planning, whether it’s your Strategic Plan, Business Plan, or Personal Development Plan, you must first know your starting point to plan your journey to where you want to go.

The Now, Where, How mindset helps us recognise where we are now, then clarify where we want to be in the future, and determine how we’re going to get there.

Now

To establish your starting point, you must be brutally honest with where you are now. What is your current financial position? How many hours are you working? What roles have you taken on in the business? How are your business’s profit, cashflow and value looking?

Record the answers to these questions. For a lot of business owners, their current situation isn’t what they wanted their business to deliver. So, what is your ideal future situation?

Where

What’s your vision for the future? What does your ideal future financial position look like? How many hours do you want to be working and in what roles? What do you want your business’s profit, cashflow and value to look like?

Record the answers to these questions. This is what you want your business to deliver to you in the future; your goals. Next, you need to identify what steps you need to take to achieve your future situation.

How

The How is the plan that will help you reach your goals. If your goal is to improve your cashflow, your plan might include a Business Plan, Cashflow Forecasting and Cashflow Management Coaching. If your goal is to reduce the number of ‘hats’ you’re wearing or the number of hours you’re working, your plan could include an Organisational Review to ensure your business is adequately resourced. Perhaps delegation and process mapping are also key to your plan.

Following this formula helps us to move from our current situation to our future position by focusing on a clear pathway of how we’ll get there.

If you need help with any part of this formula, whether it’s establishing what your true position is, identifying where you want to be in the future, or developing a plan for how to get there, get in touch.

“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.” – Yogi Berra

Have you defined what success looks like for your business? Are you focusing on what you can control? We can help you with your plan and hold you accountable to achieving it ????

It goes without saying that change has been a theme of late. Much of the change we’ve experienced has been out of our control. However, if we focus on what we can control, such as our response to change, we can regain some control and plan to maximise outcomes.

Five things within your control that will have the biggest impact on your business:

1. Working on your business, not just in it.
It’s hard stepping back from your operational role. Many of us have been in ’crisis mode’ for an extended period – running on adrenaline and coffee… but it’s still essential to set aside time to focus on your plan and review it regularly. After all, working hard will only pay off if we’re working on the right things. Block out two hours each week to step out of your business and ensure your plan is executed. If this is something you struggle with, ask someone to hold you accountable.

2. Your product/service mix.
It’s likely you’ve already made changes to your product or service offering. This may have happened under pressure and without a proper plan. Take time to thoroughly review your offering. Which products or services have the highest margins? Which products or services haven’t been performing well? Are there new products or services you could introduce which complement your current offering? Do you need to review your pricing?

3. Marketing and communication.
Have you updated your Marketing Plan to reflect changes to your business operations? Clearly communicating with customers and prospects is essential in these times as they need to know when you’re open, that you’re taking their health and safety seriously, and any changes to your offering. You also want to be front of mind as customers look to support businesses.

4. Human resources.
It’s likely that your human resources department took a hit over the last year. While government support helped save some jobs, for some businesses, they had no choice but to reduce the size of their team. Have you spent time reviewing your organisation structure to identify resourcing gaps and areas where you’re over-resourced? You must ensure your team is the right size for your business with the right people on board.

5. Your finance, profitability and cashflow.
You may feel this part is out of your control, however, there are steps you can take to regain control of your finances. If you haven’t already, revise your personal budget and identify areas you could reduce your spending. Then update your business budget, ideally, you’ll review and update this monthly. If you’re struggling with cashflow, we can help you identify improvements you can make to your processes to manage your cashflow.

There’s a lot you can control in your business and it’s crucial for morale and progress that we focus on these things to get our business in the best possible shape. Even if you’ve been back to business for a while, use these simple strategies for continuous improvement.

What does success look like for you and your business? If you need help developing a plan, improving your profitability and cashflow, or just want someone to bounce ideas off, get in touch.

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill