Top 3 Things To Know Before Starting To Write A Business Plan

While you may be very knowledgeable of the business you want to start, it is still really important to write and prepare a business plan. Here are 3 things to know to prepare yourself when building a business plan.

Planning And Starting An Online Business

This article takes you through the process and planning required in starting your own online business.

Opening A Dollar Store - Lay The Groundwork for Success!

One of the real keys to success when opening a dollar store is to lay the groundwork for the business before you even begin operations. That groundwork includes defining the mission statement, the long-term vision statement, and the strategic objectives for the business. Each of these pieces of the business puzzle can help to build a success business for the long-term.

Planning and Execution - Lessons from Prisoners

In both leading an organization and in the classic film: Fear can hold you prisoner. Hope can set you free.

Business Growth - Exploring The Ambidextrous Organization

The Roman god Janus had two sets of eyes – one pair focusing on what lay behind, the other on what lay ahead. General Managers and corporate executives should be able to relate. They, too, must constantly look backward, attending to the products and processes of the past, while also gazing forward, preparing for the innovations that will define the future.

Business Growth - Looking At Darwin And The Demon

As commercial processes commoditize in a developed economy, they are outsourced or transferred offshore or both, leaving onshore companies with unrelenting pressure to come up with the next wave of innovation. Failure to innovate equals failure to differentiate equals failure to garner the profits and revenues needed to attract capital investment. It behooves us all to use our brains to get out in front of this Darwinian process.

Business Plan - The Executive Summary

The executive summary is one of the most important parts of a business plan, especially when you want to attract potential investors.

Seven Strategic Actions To Deal With Change And Uncertainty In Business And Life

Dealing with and handling change and uncertainty is one of the major challenges each of us faces in today’s world. And we face it in our business and personal lives. It can be said that change and uncertainty arrive together and that most people find it much more difficult to manage and endure ambiguity and waiting than to deal with changes as they happen. And, in my opinion, on thing is certain – each of us will face some type of change and uncertainty at multiple times during our life. So, what are some strategic actions we can take to deal with this change and uncertainty? Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach researched this question and developed seven (7) strategic actions to recommend dealing with change and uncertainty in business and life.

Eight Key Characteristics For A Strategic Planning Facilitator

Selecting a professional strategic planning facilitator is very important. Facilitation of your strategic planning process involves working with groups of people and requires that the facilitator be tuned in at all times to what is happening. The facilitator also must be able to suspend or change the direction of the process when necessary. An experienced professional facilitator used in your strategic planning process will greatly increase the probability of a successful process and strategic plan and will also enable the participants to leave with positive feelings, a stronger cohesiveness, a sense of accomplishment and a stronger team. In selecting a professional facilitator, your strategic thinking business coach suggests that you look for the following key characteristics.

Open A Dollar Store - How to Reduced Cost of Goods Sold

When you open a dollar store one of the ongoing challenges becomes continually reducing the costs associated with the business. One of the biggest impacts to overall profit comes from reducing the cost of goods sold. Even a 1? reduction across all of the items that are purchased during a year can amount to thousands and thousands of dollars in savings during that year.

Open A Dollar Store - How to Reduce Freight Costs

Knowing how to successfully reduce freight costs is a required skill for every person who is about to open a dollar store. Freight costs add significantly to the cost of good sold. As fuel prices increase, freight costs tend to increase as well. Fortunately there are several steps that every business owner can take to help reduce freight costs for their business.

Business Intuition - The Future of Corporate America

In an increasingly competitive world market, Business Intuition has become a critical skill of successful CEOs who need to think outside the box to find creative solutions. Discover 3 critical business areas where structured intuition can provide unique solutions to take your business to the next level of success.

Strategic Actions For A Strategically Structured Succession Planning For Company Leadership

Succession planning is very important to the long-term success of any company. Leadership transitions in business affect the entire organization’s continuity, employee retention, client retention and returns on investment. It is essential to create and implement a process that creates visibility, accountability and greater integration of all facets of the business. The rapidly changing demographics in the workplace, especially the aging baby boomer segment, there is a real challenge to find talent for leadership roles. Companies that are able to respond pro actively with strategically developed and implemented effective leadership succession plans are in a superior position in the marketplace and global economies. Your strategic thinking business coach offers the following list of recommended strategic actions to structure a leadership succession planning process.

Clearing Up The Myths About Strategic Thinking and Planning

I continue to be amazed at the amount of misinformation and the number of myths that exist about strategic thinking and planning. During my entire career, I have heard business owners, senior executives and not-for-profit board members and executive directors utter “mythical” statements about strategic thinking and planning. And I have observed that these same people truly believe that these myths are reality. My purpose in writing this article is to share what I believe are the 5 biggest myths and also provide some insights into what I believe are the 5 biggest “realities” of strategic thinking and planning.