Emerging
Where Do You Want To Be?
Created on Monday, 03 November 2008 04:04 Last Updated on Friday, 06 May 2011 11:37 Published Date Written by Small Business Can Hits: 1424
You need to define where you want to be, preferably in the form of targets and milestones- your future "destination". Try this exercise. Don't be concerned if you cannot complete the exercise in the level of detail suggested. The purpose is to give you a sense of direction - you can fill in the gaps in late.
Defining Targets
What large ambitions - "Big, hairy, audacious goals" in management-speak - do you have for your business?
What are your overall targets:
- > For year 1?
- > For year 5?
- > For year 10?
Can you set more detailed targets for your business' performance?
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Financial |
Next year |
Next year + 1 |
Next year + 2 |
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Sales |
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Gross profit |
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Net profit |
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Your own salary |
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Total promoters/management team remuneration |
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Customers |
Next year |
Next year + 1 |
Next year + 2 |
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Number of customers |
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Average purchase per customer |
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Average purchase per customer - units of product/service |
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Products/services |
Next year |
Next year + 1 |
Next year + 2 |
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Percentage of total sales accounted for by each of the business' top three products/services: > Product/service 1 > Product/service 2 > Product/service 3 |
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Number of products made/hours of services supplied for each of the business' top three products/services: > Product/service 1 > Product/service 2 > Product/service 3 |
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Average cost of each unit of product made/cost of service provided per hour for each of the business' top three products/services: > Product/service 1 > Product/service 2 > Product/service 3 |
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Assets and liabilities |
Next year |
Next year + 1 |
Next year + 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
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Fixed assets |
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Cash |
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Stock on hand |
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Money due by customers |
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Money due to suppliers |
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Total Working Capital |
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Less Borrowings |
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Total Net Worth of Business |
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Equity contributed by promoters and management team |
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External equity |
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(External equity as a % of total equity) |
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Profits retained |
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Total Shareholders' Funds |
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Other measures |
Next year |
Next year + 1 |
Next year + 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
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Number of staff (including promoters and management team) |
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New products/services introduced |
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Percentage of total sales accounted for by new products in first year |
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New customers won |
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Percentage of total sales accounted for by new customers in first year |
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What new customer types can you reach:
> With your existing products/services?
> With new products/services?
What new products/services will you introduce?
When?
What stage are they at now?
What market demand do you expect for each?
What competitive reaction to do expect for each?
Which of the following factors are important to the market? For each factor that is important to the market, what targets will you set for improvement and how will you reach them?
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Importance to market |
Target for improvement |
Method of improvement |
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Product features (specify what these are) |
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Quality of products |
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Range of products |
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Customer service |
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Marketing |
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Price |
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Location |
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Delivery |
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Image |
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Other (specify what these are) |
Do you expect important changes in these factors? If "Yes", what are these changes? How can you capitalise on them?
How will you measure the success of your business in the future?
Every year, you should set yourself targets for the next year, keeping in mind your 10-year plan, which sets out the direction of your business.
Using a road map analogy, the 10-year plan is your destination; the one-year plans are the turns (right, left, straight, short cut, scenic route, stop-over, break for coffee, etc.) that you take on the way. And, just as on a journey by road, you need to check your direction on a regular basis to see whether your plans need adjustment.
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