Business Plans & Growing Small Businesses In A Sea Of Change

I recently read that the knowledge base is doubling every 2 to 3 years.  If you think about all the millenia that have gone before in creating the current knowledge base, that is an astounding fact.

No longer can growing small businesses rely upon everything  in their world continuing just as it did before.  The evidence suggests that change will quickly overtake you if you stand still.

This was again brought home to me when I viewed a video today introducing WiTricity.

It is now possible to power objects without plugging them into electricity grids or installing batteries.

In other words they will start recharging or working in proximity to a harmless magnetic field.

This invention will inevitably be adopted as people seek to dispense with unsightly wires and expensive batteries.

But what will it do to the manufacturers of wire and batteries?  Their market is changing.  How will they respond?

Whilst this is a big change, such changes are constantly taking place on a smaller scale.  We all have to adapt to changes in interest rates, exchange rates, new taxes,  new inventions, suppliers changing their terms or going bust, customers not paying their bills, staff not turning up to work, tighter credit conditions etc  etc

So change is a given.

And what use is a business plan when it will quickly become obsolete as your business is tossed on a sea of change?

Well the learning point is that your business plan will probably need to change too.  Whilst your ultimate goal may not change very often, the route you get there probably will as you steer a new course to get your business back on track.

But it is not unusual for entrepreneurs to produce a detailed business plan at start-up and never look at it again.  However, to get any value from business planning, you really need to carry your business plan around with you constantly, using it as a tool for pushing your business forward.

Compare your actual performance to what was planned, try to understand why you are moving off course and re-plan your route to get back on course or set your sights on a new destination i.e. change your business plan.

With the holiday break fast approaching, now is a good time to plot your businesses course for 2010.  It’s likely to be a tough year for the economy but it doesn’t have to be tough for your business if you adapt and change to the new environment.

If a paradigm shift is taking place in your industry, such as the introduction of WiTricity, how can you position your business to take advantage of the changes?  It’s much better to plan your response now, than to you watch your business disappear to a new competitor.

On a macro level, we are watching the gradual decline of many industries in the West as globalisation moves jobs to cheaper labour markets.  How can you position your business in such an environment such that your business will survive and thrive?

Planning is about asking the right questions, researching the answers and formulating a response to what you learn.  Talk to your customers, your suppliers and staff, they will often have insights and opinions that can help you to shape your plans.

Within business consulting, diagnosing business problems is about asking questions and listening to the answers – the business owner always has the answers and it is just a question of facilitating a process to find them.

So you already have the answers, you just need to tap your resouces to find them.  I hope you will take some time out this holiday season to plan your business.

It could just make a world of difference to your business in 2010.

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