#Business planning for success, are you concentrating on what matters?

Those of you that have followed my Business blogs, will know that I am passionate about Business. I play route one and loathe wasteful thinking.
Businesses that just have a head down and keep running approach very often run out of steam! Quite simply, how do you know what is working, a profit often disguises reality! Losses not acted upon can be terminal.
Let us start by going back to the beginning, something YOU seldom do! Admit it!
When you came up with your original plan, you had a vision, did you not?
Earn more than you were currently earning as an employee? £50,000?
Develop the business to the point in 10 years it would be your pension pot? Make enough on the sale to keep you in retirement? Take a back seat, provide work for others, family perhaps?
Leave a legacy? Improve your local community?
Head down you go……..
What happened to your staged approach?
Why did you not revisit weekly your Cashflow?
What were your dates for individual success triggers?
Take a step back, adopt a helicopter approach each day, for at least 30 minutes, best before the day starts.
An example of this approach is stock in a retail environment. Humour me, even if you are not in retail, the rules apply to all!
When we start we obtain a stock list, usually based on those suppliers we can get to trade with us. NOT necessarily the ones we really need
This costs money!
Stock, or inventory, is another word for CASH! Your cash!
Sitting on a shelf is your money!
You may be selling enough stock to cover your overheads and possibly make a profit, but have you analysed what is selling and what is not? Velocity of product? Stagnation of product?
Every square metre of shelving is your sales space. Dead space makes no money, and therefore you cannot maximise profit.
See it as doing less hours if you were an employee. Less hours less pay. Can you see?
Immediately, you should recognise, this is unacceptable trading, at best inefficient trading, at worst suicidal.
Look at the big stores. Do you think Tesco/ Walmart gives space anywhere in their stores to a product that does not have a set velocity/profit expectation? Even a brand leader has to earn it’s keep. They will look at sub groups, size, price range, competitor uptake comparisons.
A daily approach to stock value/velocity is paramount. Many stores mistakenly give prominence to dead/dying stock, disproportionate space versus a product that is profitable. Not only is this crazy logic, but you can even cut off the oxygen for your winning brands.
A loser is a loser. If you have to promote a sale. Short and sweet, get it off and back to full price goods that people want.
I see so many stores with prolonged sales, that people expect reduced prices all the times, and the store becomes know as a cheapy!
Your offering needs to be the right one. It is often the one you started with, and hey are two different things.
If you do not start the day looking at where you are versus the competition how do you know how you are doing? What is your place in the market hierarchy?
You should strive to stay current, lead do not follow.
Make people want to visit your store. Vibrant, alive, interesting, current. That includes you and your staff.
Look in the mirror!
Do you make an effort?
Ask yourself, if you were the customer would you like what you saw in the store! Would you think, the person before you was quality, knowledgeable, smart, impressive?
Come on be honest!
Tradesmen, would your wife, girlfriend trust the man at the door? You can still be well turned out, polite and helpful!
So to recap
Always take a step back
Reappraise your plan
What is working
What is failing
Are you being efficient
Is your offering current
Have you looked at your competition
What is trending
Are you, your product fit for purpose?
I hope this helps you?