Originally Posted by
glassngrass
SmartCompany.com.au has compiled these business planning secrets from successful entrepreneurs and business experts:
Go weekly
If you are just doing your balance sheet every three months then you are not close
enough to your business. Yes, you can calculate how much GST and tax you need to remit, but you are not all over your business, you dont know it as well as you need to know it.
You need to have the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) each week, have the monthly financials done pretty promptly after months end, and then analyse the financials by comparing the actuals with your budget and saying, here is what we did well and here is what we didnt do well.
(Michael Griffiths, Prosperity Advisers)
A constant evolution
A business plan is essential, but make it flexible and constantly evolving. Sometimes you just have to act and see what happens. And whatever you think starting a business will cost in terms of money and time... triple it.
(Anthony Moorhouse, founder of Dynamiq)
Setting sales targets
A part of any good business plans is clear sales targets. Look at the numbers to
decide what you have to do. If you need X amount of revenue, then look at what your average sale is, and out of that ask how many sales you need to make each year, how many prospects do you need to talk to for sales and ask how many people you need to contact.
You need to look at details. Know what markets you need to be targeting. Who do you need to be in front of, and how often do you need to do that?
(Sue Barrett, The BARRETT Group)
This edited article compiled by James Thomson is reprinted with permission from SmartCompany.com.au