SF : Trusted advisors , including CPAs , Attorneys , Financial Planners and Mentor : these people will tell you what you need to hear , not what you want to hear . Some conversations are not easy .
5 . Does every business need strategic plan and if so , what length of time should the plan cover and how often should the plan be reviewed ?
JF : I recommend that all business owners invest the time to create a business plan . Drafting a business plan is a process that forces the future owner to consider issues and contingencies that may have been overlooked . While drafting the business plan , being open-minded and willing to change your “ vision ” or change your “ baby ” if a change is needed is paramount . A business plan is a living and breathing document but it ’ s also not something that changes daily with daily fluctuations in life and business . How often a business plan should be revised depends upon how successful the business is doing . However , at a minimum , it should be reviewed annually ( maybe at an annual meeting of the owners , directors , or managers of the business ).
SF : Business plans that are created and put in a drawer do no good for anyone . Instead , we recommend a strategic plan which ties financials projections to the plan milestones . The two should integrate . High level financial projections should be prepared looking out 5 to 10 years . Detailed projections should be for the next 1 to 3 years . These projections should be updated annually in connection with the strategic plan .
Another very important piece of a successful business is to have a well-documented transition plan or contingency plan . Often when I ask a business owner / CEO about their exit strategy , they don ’ t have one . Strategies could include a sale to a third party , to employees or family . It is never too early to start considering your options .
6 . Speak to the importance of recruiting , hiring , retaining employees and how this can impact sustainability .
JF : Not all businesses are dependent upon employees in today ’ s greater electronic-based businesses . But for those that are reliant on a workforce , finding and maintaining a qualified , educated , trained workforce is a critical component of your fiscal responsibility ( see above ). Spending time , energy and money on already employed qualified , educated , trained people is almost always cheaper than spending time , energy and money on locating , hiring and training new personnel .
SF : Currently , the common thread among business owners is they can ’ t find qualified people . Building a pipeline of qualified people has become as important as a customer pipeline .
7 . Please share your personal philosophy on sustaining your own business .
JF : In no particular order :
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you . Treat people as you want to be treated when you ’ re their employee , their vendor or their customer .
Do as you say . Your reputation is one of your biggest assets . It can also be one of your biggest liabilities if you ’ re not careful .
Hire good people who share good common goals , values and work ethics and then treat them like they ’ re equals and not employees .
Money is important but it ’ s not everything .
SF : Succession planning is critical to sustaining our firm . Many professional service firms focus on the original technicians that started the business and overlook the training and development of their future leaders . Our philosophy is to continually advance new leadership throughout the firm , which keeps us young , nimble and growing .
8 . If you have one piece of advice what would it be ?
JF : Be realistic . You may not be the first person to think of your idea . Your way of doing things may not be the best . Not everyone may care about your cause or idea as passionately as you . You may be wrong . There may be people smarter on certain issues than you . There is no shame in failing but ideally failure only comes after realizing , adapting and attempting to change to avoid failure .
SF : Businesses that last have built solid systems , which can operate independent from a single person . Too many business owners pride themselves on saying the business couldn ’ t function without them . My response is , “ all you have created is an income stream and not a business .” Well-documented systems and a strong leadership team that can tackle an ever-changing operating environment is critical to business sustainability .
John Guthrie is proud to serve as volunteer editor for EVOLVE . He has served on many boards in the Daytona Beach region and enjoys telling the great stories of the people and places which make up our area .
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