This is Part # 2 on Business Coaches. See Business Coach
In the past article, there were several points discussed about Financials, Leadership & Customer Service
In today’s Part 2, we will discuss having a plan, strategy and planning over time.
Huge Expectations For Small Business Owners
In today’s changing and challenging economy, many of the people who desire to start their own business have no idea where to start. If you have either a start-up small business or a business that has been around for a couple of years or more, it is likely that the recent economic downturn has had some affects on you and your Company. This has probably toughened up both you and the Company.
When you own a restoration business, whether you have decided to recently start a business or have had one for many years, you should, at a minimum, have a simple written business plan that is based on your business idea. This can be as simple as a general outline with your vision and goals or as in depth as you would like it to be. Generally speaking, a well written business plan will give you a substantially better position of strength over your competition and is extremely valuable when dealing with your bank.
When running a business, an entrepreneur should always remember to conserve cash. A Business Coach can help you not only to get started but also to clarify what you are looking to do for now and over the long haul.
A Well Written Strategic Plan And Business Plan
It has been said by many Corporations that having a business consultant who is experienced in resourcing, developing & implementing business plans is crucial to their business and worth their weight in gold. Investing in a business Coach is part of a strategic business plan. Most businesses don’t sit down and create a dream business that is instantly successful. That is where the strategic plan comes into play.
Business coaching focuses on helping a business owner create a business plan with the owner’s and company’s “personality” (needs) in mind as well as taking into consideration the different local and logistical issues that the company may come up against. Because an experienced, all-around business consultant can help a business to expand and grow, a seasoned business consultant is an invaluable strategic piece of the puzzle for many Entrepreneurs.
A good strategic plan describes clearly how the business will thrive and grow not only this year but over a planning line that looks out 2 to 5 years.
Strategy And Planning Over Time
The execution of strategy usually takes longer than the preparation of strategy. Having said this, the importance is still squarely on planning, not execution, even if things are beginning to change.
Competitive strategy, planning and preparation does not occur in a “planning vacuum” isolated from day to day “execution issues”. A poor strategy or continuing to work at a strategy that simply is not moving forward for whatever reason is a recipe for disaster.
The role of the Business Coach is to view the company from the outside looking in and to see the company challenges and relevant issues. If that company has had a poor strategy in the past, the Business Coach must also work at implementing changes to the processes, procedures and systems associated with making the plan work. If there is or was a poor strategy, people can become skeptical and cynical of what you are working on within your company.
Key Point Indicators (KPI’s)
When setting a business plan, the owner, Team member(s) and Business Coach, all review information about where the company has been, where it is at and where it can go in the future. This is a critical component of preparing to grow.
In order to grow, there should be several KPI’s that are viewed on a regular basis. The KPI’s are either job data OR financial driven pieces of information.
From a job data perspective, you would like to see where jobs are at, in terms of what is going on “today” not weeks from now. Data collection can be done with the proper software. Many pieces of data may look like financial data but are mostly job related. This allows you to actually “see” in live time how long things are taking, what is going on, how much work you actually have in progress, what is working well and what is not working so well, etc… This is a far different scenario that finding out at the end of a job, or weeks later, how you did.
Financial data is the machine that drives the business. When you have the accurate info and know what you are looking at, it makes a tremendous difference in planning, purchasing and performance within each job and within the company.
Having job related and Financial data is the key to having control over your business and having a life. With a hand full of reports, you can literally be anywhere in the world and know what is going on within your company. For more information on these topics of other information, please contact us at Info@CTT4You.com
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