To start your company on the road to success, you need to develop a 1 to 5 year Strategic Business Plan that will focus on your business now and in the future.  The first stage in developing your plan is conducting an external analysis; in other words, taking a look at the trends and factors that currently have an impact on your business.  You must determine which of these you have control over.  Then, you need to prioritize these events, trends and factors.  Similarly, use the same process to do an internal analysis.

With this critical information in hand, the next phase is to set your company?s objectives, along with time frames, so you can develop a strategy to meet these objectives.  In doing so, you must ask yourself ?What skills and knowledge will I or my staff require to meet our objectives??

• Focus you business for success
• Develop a road map of where and how you are going to operate you business
• Track your achievement of goals (Are the original goals you set realistic?)
• Determine what products and services you business should deliver, including their features and benefits
• Identify your competitive advantages/disadvantages
• Identify your most viable market segment and how to access it
• Give structure and direction to your business
• Reduce and/or control risk by tracking cash flow
• Compare results from one quarter to the next (Are you on target?)
• A well prepared plan also presents a picture of your business, which will help you to secure financing from a bank or other lending source, should you require a loan.

When you are ready to develop your business plan, consider consulting with a professional.  Above all, remember -- planning is a process, not an event.  The road to success is always under construction!