THIS WEEKS MODULE: Strategic Planning

Strategic planning is a method of positioning an organization to take advantage of its future by
- Capitalizing on it’s opportunities
- Addressing it’s challenges
- Providing the kind of leadership that can effectively guide change
- Assumes that an organization must be responsive to a dynamic (changing ) environment
- Stresses the importance of making decisions that will enable an organization to successfully respond to these changes
- Is useful only if it supports strategic thinking and leads to strategic management (the basis for an effective organization)

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

STRATEGIC PLANNNING 1: ANALYSIS TOOLS

1. SWOT ANALYSIS


STRENGTHS:

A firm’s strengths are it’s resources and capabilities that can be used as a basis for developing a competitive advantage.

Examples of such resources are:

 Strong brand awareness

 Patents

 Customer loyalty

 Cost advantages

 Exclusive access to resources

 Favorable access to distribution channels

Monday, March 8, 2010

STRATEGIC PLANNING 1

PLANNING


A robust business plan depends on careful thinking up-front around the strategic context of the company

Ultimately your business plan must answer these questions:

 Where are we now?

 Where do we want to be?

 How do we get our business there?

Monday, March 1, 2010

COMPANY DESCRIPTION

 The company description will be the foundation upon which you will build your business plan


 It is full of assumptions, ideas, and hypotheses that need to be tested through research

 Testing the feasibility of your business concept will help you bring out your company description

 Plan on revising and fine-tuning your company description as you build on your business plan

Monday, February 22, 2010

BUSINESS PLAN OUTLINE 2

6. MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION


Make investors feel confident that the management team knows the market, the product, and can implement

 Background of the principals

 Personal data (age, special abilities, interest in business idea, education-formal and informal)

 Personal financial statements with documentation

Monday, February 15, 2010

BUSINESS PLAN OUTLINE

BUSINESS PLAN OUTLINE
Executive Summary: 2-6 page summary that precedes the completed Business Plan.

I. Company Description
II. Product or service
III. Industry Analysis
IV. Market Analysis
V. The Competition
VI. Management & Organization
VII. Marketing Strategy
VIII. Operations
IX. Financial Plan
X. Expansion/Exit Strategy
XI. Appendix: Supporting documents and contingency plan

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND BUSINESS PLAN BASICS

WHAT IS ENTREPRENEURSHIP?

“The managerial function that combines land, labor, and capital in a cost effective way and uncovers new opportunities to earn a profit; includes the willingness to take the risks associated with a business venture.”

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Want to start a business?

CHECKLIST FOR STARTING A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS
During the planning and start-up stages of the business enterprise, you are likely to be faced with a wide assortment of problems and tasks. A checklist can be an incredibly useful tool for helping you to think through the many variables that you may forget in your rush to start a business.