Personal Perspective: It's Not Too Late for 2008

By Sharon Pinder

Recently I chatted with a small business owner knee deep in work. She'd given her staff time off for the holidays and was using the down time to review files, pay bills, organize her office and return phone calls. When I asked if she had developed or updated her strategic plan for '08, she threw her hands up in frustration, pointed to the piles of work surrounding her and asked: "Who has time to plan?"
She is not alone. Between serving and satisfying customers, responding to proposals, identifying opportunities and motivating staff, thousands of small, women and minority business owners feel they don't have the time to develop, let alone execute, an annual strategic plan. The truth is, however, they can't afford not to.
If you ended 2007 without developing a strategic plan, it's not too late to Quick Start your way into 2008. A Quick Start analysis takes a couple of hours and focuses on four primary categories - marketing/sales, financials, personnel and technology.

Marketing/Sales
Do a SWOT analysis. Determine your company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Who are your new and existing competitors? Make a list of potential customers as well as contacts who can help you establish these new relationships.
Spread the word about any new products and services you're offering in 2008 and don't be shy about asking for endorsements and testimonials for your web site. And be sure to have a system of checks and balances. The Balanced Scorecard is another tool that can be used. It is a set of performance measures that allows you to examine four areas: financial, customer, internal processes, and learning and growth.

Financials
CPA Graylin Smith, managing partner of SB & Company, says you should review your 2007 revenue strategy and focus on three areas that will significantly increase your bottom line. "If you're focusing on decreasing transportation costs or employee benefit expenses, 2008 gives you a chance to step back and determine a new approach," Smith said.

Personnel
Do you have a plan for retaining employees you can't afford to lose? Do you have the latest salary information for your market or industry? Can you afford to increase salaries or provide enrichment opportunities? During your human resource analysis, "you'll look at training and development, skills gap analysis, retention and salaries," said industry guru Meredith Levert, president of Levert Group Management Consultants.

Technology
Take inventory of your company's technological assets and consider its anticipated needs. What are your customers - and competitors - using? Have they converted to Window's Vista? Do they use Macs or PDAs? Are you expected to respond to your customer's e-mails on demand? And during this age of technology, let's not ignore the obvious: There is no substitute for human contact.
Essentially, the Quick Start approach allows you to peek into the future. Once in place, you'll see the bigger picture and find it much easier to sidestep the distractions. You'll be motivated to dedicate the time needed to develop a comprehensive annual strategic plan.

Sharon Pinder is CEO of The Pinder Group, founder of the Top 100 MBE Awards Ceremony and professor of practice at the University of Maryland University College where she teaches "Women As Entrepreneurs" to students around the world. She can be reached at 410-489-7098 or on the web at www.thepindergroup.com.