Most small business owners don't see the value of Strategic Planning. They usually jump from crisis to crisis and seldom have time worry about the future plans of the business. But, Strategic Planning is not just for big business. It is for every business that eventually hopes to make a profit.

Strategic Plans do not need to be complex, but they should include such fundamental business topics as core business values, current business opportunities and on-going financial plans. The hardest part of the Strategic Plan is to "write it down!" If you don't write it down, you will never remember what you planned!

To get you started in preparing your own Strategic Plan, the following fundamental steps should be included in every Strategic Plan:

Fundamental Step #1: Situation Audit.

The situation audit is a systematic approach to defining the current status of the business. Most often businesses use a SWOT analysis to describe their business situation. This means to define the business strengths (S), weaknesses (W), opportunities (O) and threats (T). This analysis will provide the status of current operating conditions of the company. The Situation Audit should be updated periodically as the situation significantly changes.

Fundamental Step #2: Business Objectives.

Business objectives define what the business is trying to accomplish. Initially this can be a simple task but can become more complex as the number of employees increase and products or services expand. In general, because of the impact on business resources and funds, business objectives should be focused. The benefits of meaningful business objectives will be effective business operations. Since business objectives are imbedded in core business values, they will rarely change.

Fundamental Step #3: Tactic Formulation.

Tactics are the operational tasks of the business needed to accomplish the business objectives. Although the specific tasks vary from business to business, the ability to define effective tactical operations can determine the success or failure of the business. The key factors will be the interactions between the various tactical functions of the business. Although new functions needed as new objectives are defined, the basic tactical requirements of the business do not change often.

Fundamental Step #4: Data Collection.

Business activities produce data that must be collected and analyzed. Generally the data comes in the form of operating statements, financial reports or statistical data. Most of the data should remain within the operating functions. Enough technical description of the operations is needed in the Strategic Plan to give credibility to the business objectives. This task will undergo constant changes during implementation of the operations and should be changed as often as possible.

Fundamental Step #5: Business Metrics.

The final task of the Strategic Planning process is the definition of the business metrics that monitor the failure or success of the business. Business metrics include operational measurements as well as financial measurements. Some metrics are unique to the business industry such as operations, sales and customer service. Other metrics are common to all business such as financial indicators that measure profit and loss. Business metrics are usually consistent during the fiscal year.

Strategic Planning Conclusion

A simple Strategic Plan can benefit both big and small business by enabling them to focus on common objectives and common plans. If the business owner will just take the time to develop a basic Strategic Plan, they would be far more successful in their business, and probably much more profitable, too!