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Introduction to Business Planning

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https://www.business.govt.nz/getting-started/business-planning-tools-and-tips/introduction-to-business-planning/

Introduction to business planning

If you are self-employed, own or run a business, planning helps you step out of day-to-day tasks to set work goals and decide how you’re going to reach them.

Business planning is about setting a clear plan of where you and your business are going and how to achieve goals. It also involves regular monitoring to make sure you’re on track.

Why it’s important

Every business — from a one-person, part-time operation to a large corporation — needs a business plan. Regular business planning helps you:

have a clear plan of where you’re going and the path ahead
build a business that best suits you and your lifestyle
understand your current business skills and identify any gaps
spot opportunities that can help you reach your end goal
use your resources wisely — without a plan you can end up spreading your time, money and energy too thinly
know whether to say yes or no to opportunities that come up — if it doesn’t support your vision, move on.

Case study

Countdown to launch

Before launching Common Ledger, Carlos Chambers and his team had an idea for software to streamline the information accountants received from their clients’ different programs. They spent six months speaking to accountants in New Zealand and Australia to understand their potential market and refine their product.

Common elements in business planning

What goes into a business plan can vary, but often includes:

an overview of your business — name, products or services you offer, revenue, key partners, goals
an overview of your market — your customers, your industry, how many people will buy your product or service
your marketing strategy — how you’ll get customers, the cost of attracting customers
competitor analysis — your rivals, how your strengths and weaknesses compare, your competitive edge
financials — your costs, revenues, growth rates, measures of success
team — employees, skills, skills you need, your mentors and advisors
operations information — IT, systems, compliance.

Tips and advice on business finance

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Business planning tips

Put time in your diary to do business planning — it’s something you should do regularly to monitor progress.
Set short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals to help you understand the milestones you’re trying to reach.
Do it offsite — getting out of your normal workplace can put you in a different mindset and see things you wouldn’t normally.
If you have a team, it can be great to get them involved in business planning, but it isn’t something you should delegate — it’s important for the owner or manager to be involved in setting the direction of the business.

Common mistakes

Avoid these common mistakes:

Getting caught up in the day-to-day running of the business without taking the time to look forward.
Reacting to things as they pop up as opposed to setting clear goals.
Investing time and money into things outside your value proposition — a clear statement that sets out how your product or service solves customers’ problems.
Creating a business plan that sits on the shelf and doesn’t get used.
Not regularly checking in on how you’re tracking to your plan.

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