How to review and update your business plan

Its a great idea to review your business plan frequently, to ensure you are always aligned with your goals. What you thought to be a strength in the past may not be so now. Is it time to have a business review? You may dream of opening a second location, investing in new technology, or expanding to new markets. If it’s been more than a year since you last reviewed your business plan, it’s likely time for an update. After all, a lot can change in a year. A new competitor may have emerged, your business may be ready for to take on staff or you may want to take advantage of a growth opportunity. Laying out your goals for the year ahead and how you’ll achieve them is essential to take your business to the next level.

The organising of a strategic planning session is a skill that is developed with practice. You may have practice running meetings, but if the only time you facilitate a strategic planning session is once a year, then you may not get the same value that you would if you bring someone in who helps teams with the process on a regular basis across different environments. Teams who are clear about their current situation have a solid foundation on which to plan. The value is not knowing what the information is saying, but in asking “so what does it mean?” and how it can help you make decisions.

The Business Minder SWOT analysis is a structured planning method used to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that are involved in your business venture. It involves specifying the objective of your business venture and identifying the internal and external factors that are favourable and unfavourable to achieve that objective. The point of a SWOT analysis is to help you develop a strong business strategy by making sure you’ve considered all of your business strengths and weaknesses, as well as the opportunities and threats that you face in the marketplace.

Strengths and weaknesses are internal to your business (think: brand, products, location). You can change these over time but not without some work. Opportunities and threats are external (think: suppliers, competitors, prices) - they are out there in the market, happening whether you like it or not. You can’t change them.

Your business can use a SWOT analysis, at any time, to assess a changing environment and respond proactively. In fact, I recommend conducting a strategy review meeting at least once a year that begins with a SWOT analysis.

Identification of SWOTs are important because they can inform later steps in planning to achieve the objective. First, the decision makers should consider whether the objective is attainable, given the SWOTs. If the objective is not attainable a different objective must be selected and the process repeated. Users of SWOT analysis need to ask and answer questions that generate meaningful information for each category (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) to make the analysis useful and find their competitive advantage. As you gather your information, I encourage you to ask yourself “so what?” and surround yourself with people who will challenge you to make your information useful to help you get to where you want to go.

All businesses should use a SWOT analysis as a part of their planning process. What you focus on, you create. If you go into a planning process believing it is a waste of time, you will likely meet your own expectations. There is no “one size fits all” plan for your business and thinking about your business in terms of its unique “SWOTs” will put you on the right track right away, and save you from a lot of headaches later on. You can simplify the process by focusing on the three strategic areas of staffing, financing, and staying competitive. The Business Minder provides business management expertise to business owners throughout Asia with large and small business clients in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.