Taking Control of Your Future – the Business Plan

The franchisee who has no thought out plan for the future of the business is likely to be a franchisee whose business has no future.

• What is your Vision of where you see your business in, say, five years time? Your dream? If you do not know where you want to be, you surely will not get there.
• Set a Mission that has specific targets you need to achieve on the way to achieving your Vision. The steps along the way. The path that you will take.
• For the coming financial year you have to have sets of Key Objectives.These should be set in prime areas such as:
  • Finance – profits, return on capital and so on.
  • Customer satisfaction - % of customers rating your products and services as ‘Excellent’
  • Processes – the chains of activities you need to undertake to keep your customers happy and, therefore, your business profitable. You want objectives here that will drive down your costs of operation and speed up your service delivery.

• Make a truly objective assessment of your business and those working in it. You want to be sure of your strengths. But more important, be aware of your weaknesses before somebody else discovers and exploits them.
• What do you offer – your products and services? Who do you offer it to – the age groups, income groups and geographical area you cover? What is the competition?
• Summarize your Strengths and your Weaknesses. Identify the opportunities out there in the marketplace for you to exploit your Strengths. Pinpoint your weaknesses and how you can stop others from exploiting them.
• How you are going to promote your products and services to your target customers? Are you going to offer the same products and services to all groups, at the same price and promote them in the same way?
• Prepare an Action Plan –exactly what you are going to do? When you are going to do it?

Plans have to be flexible. The world will not adjust itself to you. You have to adjust to the world. But you will be in a better position to do this if you have gained the real understanding of your business and your market that undertaking this activity demands.