Planning for Business Success in 2014 Presented by Fiona Redding,

“The reason why most people face the future with apprehension instead of anticipation is because they don’t have it well designed.” Jim Rohn Planning for Business Success in 2014 copyright Business with Vivacity 2013

In Today’s Session We Will Cover: What is a strategy? A business plan? Quick, run for the hills! Business drivers, motivations & values. Reflection as a learning tool. Identifying strengths & opportunities for improvement. Setting goals & targets. Developing an action plan. Measuring success. Innovation as an embedded business process. Planning for Business Success in 2014 copyright Business with Vivacity 2013

Strategy Strategy is often referred to in military terms as: “The Art of the General” The Oxford Dictionary describes it as: “a plan of action designed to achieve a long- term or overall aim”. Planning for Business Success in 2014 copyright Business with Vivacity 2013

A Business Plan “A business plan is a formal statement of a set of business goals, the reasons they are believed attainable, and the plan for reaching those goals. It may also contain background information about the organisation or team attempting to reach those goals”. – Wikipedia Who is your audience? Planning for Business Success in 2014 copyright Business with Vivacity 2013

Understanding Your Why Why did you start your business? What do you want/need your business to provide for you? What are your values? What problem does your business solve? Who are you providing the solution for? Why are you the right person to be doing it? Planning for Business Success in 2014 copyright Business with Vivacity 2013

It Is Good To Navel Gaze Be honest. What parts of your business are you truly passionate about? What parts of your business drive you to drink? What is working in your business? Where are the gaps in your business? What do your customers think about your business? What would you like to happen differently in the future? Planning for Business Success in 2014 copyright Business with Vivacity 2013

Know What You Excel At Work out what makes your heart sing and then: – Think about how you can do more of that in your business – spend as much time as you can in this space. – Outsource or delegate the things that are draining, hard, or you constantly procrastinate on. – Investment normally comes before growth. Don’t wait for growth to invest. Planning for Business Success in 2014 copyright Business with Vivacity 2013

Commit Identify your top priorities for the next 12 months & be clear on their purpose. Put a SMART goal/target on each of those priorities (specific, measureable, achievable, timebound and realistic). Cost each of the priorities. Prioritise them on their ability to increase your profit margin (as opposed to turnover). Planning for Business Success in 2014 copyright Business with Vivacity 2013

Plot Your Route Post it notes are your best friend here. Break each of your goals down into individual actions. Put these actions into a logical chronological order. Taking into account projected income & expenses, identify what quarter they will be achieved in. Flesh out Q1, and then break it down into a monthly, weekly, daily schedule. Planning for Business Success in 2014 copyright Business with Vivacity 2013

Understand What Success Means The most often missed and undervalued step in business EVER. Have a system or process in place to set, manage and measure the attainment of your business goals/KPI’s. Know when you have achieved your goals. CELEBRATE. Aim ever higher and set new reach goals! Planning for Business Success in 2014 copyright Business with Vivacity 2013

Innovate Or Die "No issue is more important to the engineer, or entrepreneur, than intelligent failure" – Dr Jack V Matson. There is a high connection between creativity & risk (so don’t get bogged down in risk analysis). Jump off the cliff… and build your wings on the way down. Planning for Business Success in 2014 copyright Business with Vivacity 2013

Next Steps Reflect on your why – why did you start your business, what do you need your business to provide for you, what are your values? Know where you are going – develop a vision board, or write down where you personally & professionally want to be in 5 years time. Get clarity on the BIG PICTURE. Set yourself some 12 month goals – prioritise them, cost them, break them down into a quarterly action plan & identify how you will measure them. CELEBRATE every single win in your business, and have a supportive network to share them with. Planning for Business Success in 2014 copyright Business with Vivacity 2013

Q & A Planning for Business Success in 2014 copyright Business with Vivacity 2013

Thank You I hope that you enjoyed this webinar; that it has increased your strategic knowledge and that you have been able to take some practical steps from it to apply to your business in Please send any feedback or suggestions for improvement to or join me at facebook at Planning for Business Success in 2014 copyright Business with Vivacity 2013