Having carried out a business needs assessment for your business, the next thing is to make a strategic growth plan for your business. The strategic growth plan is like a roadmap for your business. It shows you where your business is, where it needs to be and how to get there.
The most common strategic growth plans are categorized into a vision statement, a SWOT analysis, and a goal list.
How to Make a Strategic Growth Plan
- Focus on the Big Picture
Creating a vision statement for your business gives you the opportunity to focus on your business’ big picture. You need to know the big “WHYs” and “WHATs” of your business. Why did you create your business? What’s the purpose of your business? Why would your business be important to people? What value is your business providing to people? What is considered valuable to the growth of your business? All these questions and more help you identify what’s important and to create a big picture for your business.
- Know your Business Thoroughly
Performing a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis helps to know the ins and outs of your business and the steps to take to make the best of each analysis. Knowing these put you in a better position to tackle whatever comes next in your business’ life cycle.
- Energize your Business
Your business goals list help you figure out ways to energize your business and bring your business’ vision to reality. A business goals list is simply a list of all the goals you want to achieve with your business. Specify all the goals as much as you can and write them down where you can see them often. These goals need to be S.M.A.R.T i.e. specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. They also need to be in line with your vision statement.
The strategic growth plan can bring new people, products, or services to your business. However, the process of making the plan should be guided by what’s right for your business. It should not be based on what was right for another business. No matter how long your business has been in existence, making a strategic growth plan every step of the way can help your business grow steadily.
