Planning for Your Business
Is a continues process

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Have a "Business Plan" to pushing for success; a "Business Exit Plan" plan for the worst; and a "Continuity of Operations (COOP) Plan" to be prepared for everything.

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Your business plan should plan for growth and success under normal conditions. Incorporating:

• Mission, Vision, and Values Statements

• The why, how, and what of your business

• SWOT Analysis of Team Structure, Business Structure, and Corporate Structure

• GROW Goals / Business Strategy, SMART Objectives / Market Tactics, and Metrics

• Industry Benchmarking and Porter’s Analysis

• PEST external threat analysis for long term business outlook

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Business Exit Plan

• You can’t live forever, so what are you going to do with the business.

• Your business only ends four ways:

1. Dissolution (normally because of a failure to plan)

2. Bankruptcy (normally because of bad planning)

3. Sell (should be planned in from the start)

4. Pass on to heirs (can create family and financial problems if not planned)

• Determine Business Value (book, sale, insurance value)

• Identify possible buyers (specific if know, general if necessary)

• Buy-sell Agreement and Insurance: Pays to buy your business on behalf of your heirs, a trust, or a third party when you die or become incapacitated. 

• NOTE: Having to quickly find a buyer and sell under pressure could minimize your opportunity for profit.

• NOTE: An abrupt loss in your leadership of the company if you die or become injured will likely have a significant impact on its operation, revenue and value.  This could leave you business unmarketable.

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Continuity of Operations (COOP) Plan

• Ensuring the continuous performance of essential functions/operations during an emergency

• Identify critical assets, equipment, infrastructure, information, personnel, potential legal liabilities, and insider threats (fraud, theft, or embezzlement)

• Identify types of threats, time frame, immediate needs, control requirements, emergency requirements, and follow-on requirements

• Considerations

• Key employees: Long term absence of owner or key employee

  • Replacement of income

  • Pay operating expenses (employees and overhead)

  • Pay for work lost and to hire coverage and/or contract out work

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