Aside from preparations and unforeseen problems two of the major things that give business owners headaches, when they realize they haven’t thought about it before, include their long-term business plan and their information system.
Long-term business plan – Although we all know how important a long term business plan is, believe it or not, there are plenty of “business persons” out there who enter into something without a clear and solid plan. A one or-year strategy is NOT a long-term business plan. it’s more of just a survival plan. A long-term business plan should include details such as expansion possibilities, variation of customer base (whether to handle changing customer needs or simply as part of the expansion plan), future funding, etc. In short, think about problems and opportunities that might arise in the future. Lack of a long term business plan is one of the reasons why many small business become really stagnant and never grow. If you don’t plan for a brighter future you may survive your business’ birth pains but you can be sure it’s growth will be stunted.
Information systems – As mentioned in previous posts a system is required for a busines to run efficiently. Information systems are one of the most overlooked aspects of running a business since it is deemed by many as not that important or even worse not needed at all since it does not really generate money. An information system is simply a process put in place to make sure that the needed information is relayed in a timely manner to the people who need to know the information. Whether this includes customer feedback, inventory, employee performance monitoring, the important thing is that it ensures that no problem goes unnoticed since the information is passed along efficiently.
Originally posted on September 12, 2010 @ 4:30 am