Musings

Basic Business Planning

       It is late, but not too late to start your strategic planning for 

2013.  Remember that you can't build a house without a plan and you can't succeed in business without a plan.

       If you already have a comprehensive business plan you can go through it and tweek it, change goals, alter focus, or add projects.  If you don't have a plan it is important that you create one. It doesn't have to be as comprehensive as what you would need for a bank, but it does have to be a basic working model.

       Your basic business plan has to consider four areas of concern, it need not be complicated, but it does need to address all of these areas, and it does have to be written, not just stored in your brain.

 What is your product or service?

       What makes you different or unique? How will you create value for your customers?  Why should your customers choose you? Is your product a want or a need?  Does it lead to continuing business or one-time purchases?  Who is your competition? What makes you the best choice for your customers?

What is your target market?

       How will you identify your customers? Do you have different types of customers who require different approaches; like retail walk-ins, internet, or mail order?

       How big is your potential market? Are you catering to 100% of a small group or 25% of a big group.  Each takes its own marketing strategy; print ads, social media, or direct mail.

What are your goals?

            It is important that you write down definite action steps and the dates they will be completed. It won't due to just have these numbers and dates in your head, writing them is an important part of the process. This is your master "to-do" list and will help you keep on the track to success.

            Your goals should not only include the current year, but also two, three, or five years out.  This part may take some serious reflection and possibly some guessing, too, but it will help you do the right things now to make the future more productive.  Your goals are not carved in stone; you are going to be reviewing them on a regular basis and changes are eminent.

How will you handle your finances this year?

       First determine your fixed expenses, things like rent and utilities that re paid monthly, regardless of your profit status;  variable expenses, items that change each month like inventory and operating expenses; and capital expenses, the one-time purchases of things like equipment that are important to your growth.

       Next, determine what you want to earn each month.  Add that number to your expenses and you will know what your target sales have to be.  Any earnings over that is your profit, under and you will have to try harder or change your marketing strategy.

Your Money - Your Life 

Your Credit Report

       It is not too late to review your financial status for the end of last year and start planning your strategies for 2013.

       The first thing you should do is check your credit report. Credit scores are not only used for buying things; employers, insurance companies, landlords and others also use them. 

        You can get a free copy of your reports at annualcreditreport.com; you are entitled to a copy of each report once every twelve months.  Since the information in each report 

should be about the same as the others, we suggest that you order one report every four months instead of getting them all at one time.  This gives you more timely views of what is happening with your credit and any errors on that one report can be passed on to the other two.

       Monitoring your credit worthiness regularly helps with your financial planning, helps you catch discrepancies, and alerts you to possible identity theft.  

       Your good credit score is one of your most valuable assets; it is very important that you maintain control. 

FOUNDATION, Inc.  

We want to sincerely thank you for your wonderful support in 2012 and are looking forward to your involvement in 2013, too.

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