Strategy and Planning for Small Business

Business planning and implementing a strategic plan for your small business is essential to its success.

Learn how to analyse your current business position and formulate strategic aims. Confidently set up targets, and measure and monitor business performance, in Strategy and Planning for Small Business, a hands-on, one-day MIT Business Course.

Outcomes

At the end of this MIT Business Course for SMEs you will:
- Examine the planning process.
- Assemble a current situation analysis.
- Formulate strategic aims for future growth.
- Identify critical factors for measurement and monitoring.
- Construct a written plan from the strategic aims.
- Arrange to communicate the plan to stakeholders.

Training Style
- Presented by industry expert
- Real-life case studies
- Group discussion
- Action planning for your business with in-class feedback
- Post-course follow-up

Core Content

What is Business Planning?
- Qualities of business planning
- Overview of the planning process
- The risks of ignoring business planning

Where are you today?
- Assessment of your current position
- What is your fundamental business purpose?
- Appraisal of your organisation and your market
- The Porter Model

What are you aiming for?
- What is the future likely to be?
- What options do you have to grow the company?
- What are strategic aims?

How do you get there?
- How to define outputs, indicators and targets
- Types of resources required and timescale for execution
- Options for financial plans, budgets and projections
- Importance of tracking critical factors

Writing the Plan
- How to collate what you have so far
- How to format and write the business plan
- Plans for specific purposes
- Common pitfalls to avoid when writing the document

Activating the Plan
- Importance of communicating the plan to stakeholders and obtaining support
- Timetable and responsibilities for implementation of the plan
- Importance of monitoring and managing the company’s progress
- Ongoing planning activities and improving the plan

Phone 0800 SKILL UP (754 5587) or email businesstraining@manukau.ac.nz