Business strategy (Part 1 of 2): Where to start

OK, so you own a business and someone has asked you about your strategy. Essentially, this is a question about where you're going.  It is key to keeping your eye on the ball about what you are achieving with your business.

Let's break this down simply and provide some guidance to build your business strategy.

Your mission statement is a statement to the external world outlining your key purpose.  Along with your values, it communicates at a high level how you choose to operate. This is not your strategy.

Your strategy is the clear road map of where you want to go and how you're going to get there. It must be clear communicative and measurable, otherwise how will you know you've achieved it?

What is strategy? Starting point

The dictionary defines strategy as “a plan of action designed to achieve a long-term or overall aim”.

A business strategy has two main points:

1. What is the overall aim or long-term goals - this is the why you own your own business?

2. What is the plan including actions you need to take to get there?

Your business strategy is therefore a written document detailing your overall aim and the plan of actions you're going to take to achieve this aim.

Let’s start with overall aim – this is why you are in business.

Sit down with a blank piece of paper and list all the reasons why you choose to be in business. Examples could be:

1. Freedom – flexibility when and how you work or financial freedom

2. Family – being there with the family

3. Growth or entrepreneur – you no longer want to work for others, want to achieve own your own destiny, have a great idea

These are individual to you – what are your reasons?

Expand these and be specific. For example, for financial freedom – what does this actually mean for you, what are the dollars or the lifestyle. This is very individual.  It might simply mean having the ability to own a house or you might want $1,000,000 in the bank and the ability to travel around the world whenever you want. You need to make it clear because it can change the strategy with the business.

So that's your starting point for developing a strategy and can now be used to create your business strategy. Now consider, what level of sales or income or clients or customers does the business need to deliver to achieve your ‘why’?  This becomes your overarching goal/aim for your business.

Before you go any further with your strategy, you need to identify where you are now, and identify the gap to get you where you want to go.  This will assist with developing the plan that is stage two of developing your strategy.

I will be expanding on this in my next blog.