January is Planuary - Who/What do you need?

Now that you’ve established what stage you are at, the plans you already have and the plans you need going forward we come to the Who/What sections. 

 

What are you going to need and who are you going to need to be able to create your plans?

 

Here we look at the humble SWOT analysis, a very under-rated planning tool which can really shine a light.

 

At ABL we love doing a SWOT and do one every 3 months as it’s a great way to look at your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. 

 

A SWOT is tool that is used to help you establish who, what, why... It allows you to work out the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats that your business might have, which from this you can establish what the business needs to grow.

 

You can use a SWOT to quickly assess any situation, pick an area and create a quick 4 box plan!

 

                                                                                                  Internal

Strengths   What do you do well? What do others see as your strengths?	Weaknesses  What could you improve? Where are the gaps?
Opportunities  What opportunities are available to you?    Where can you see growth?	Threats  What threats could harm the business?  Where do threats come from?

                                                                                                     External

 

Now that you’ve done your SWOT you can choose who you need to help you.

 

Pick your advisor based on your Weaknesses vs Opportunities/Threats. 

 

If you’re not ready to work with an advisor you can still do your SWOT yourself. Alex is a strategic planner and does a lot of SWOTs  says "you don’t need to be a genius to do them. They help to bring clarity, focus and simplify things." 

Ask members of your team their thoughts, sometimes they might have strengths and weaknesses for the business that you’d not realised. 

 

SWOTs help to highlight risks, and opportunities. Be brutally honest!

 

As for the who can help … as in the last blog we recommend joining The Business Exposure Group or The Entrepreneurs club to meet other like minded businesses owners. If that isn’t an option, give us a call we know loads of businesses in different areas to help you.

For example: 

Looking to buy a business? Give Alan Shala at Chelsea Corporate a call.

 

Need help planning your HR strategy? We’ve been working with Jaxs from HenRys Ark Management Consultants to sort all ours out.

 

Sorting out your HMRC payments for the year ahead and need a financial pair of eyes?Check out the FD centre.

 

Want a joined up approach? Contact the team at Alpaca 

 

There are many people out there who are able to help with get your plans together or help you action your plans.

What has your SWOT highlighted for you?

 

January is Planuary