So your bank has asked for a business plan. And straight away, you’re thinking what business plan? You have a quick google of “business plan”, evaluate how much your can copy and paste, figure out a makeshift SWOT Analysis, and hit send. And most likely, you felt like the entire exercise was a big waste of my time.

You aren’t alone in this feeling. Many business owners share the same sentiment, and your stock standard business plans are likely a waste of time. Many people make them and never use them or develop anything meaningful from them. 

Instead of that, consider building out an actual Business Strategy. One that actually gives you a sense of where you’re going and doesn’t lay dormant in a folder on your desktop. For that, you need to plan a series of business goals and objectives, an idea of how you will achieve them and the resources to achieve them. 

Set Goals and Debrief them Regularly 

When clients tell us that they want to double their business revenue in the next 12 months, we look straight away at their cash levels, knowing that doubling revenue will result in more working capital requirements (cash), and if they have enough to achieve that business goal. 

The most important thing to do with your business strategy is to debrief it – the things that worked and the things that didn’t work. 

If you set out 3 monthly goals and you achieve them, why did you achieve them? 
If you didn’t achieve them, why did you not achieve them?
What can you do differently over the next 3 months to achieve these goals? 

Don’t Overcomplicate

Even for small businesses, you need to have a basic business strategy. At Hatcher, no matter your size, we help you build one – discussing 12-month goals, objectives and debriefing them regularly. If we have something to aim for, we have something to hit, and we can help you get there.

Your business strategy doesn’t need to necessarily be long and complex, it needs to be simple and built for your needs. As your business gets more complex, your strategy should grow with you, but it’s important not to overcomplicate it. 

____
At Hatcher, our own strategy gets an update every 3 months to build, refine and ensure we’re on track with our long-term goals. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel for business success, you just need to copy the processes that work.

If you need help with building out a valuable business strategy, have a chat to the Hatcher team today.