Financial Planning for Success in Your Business

Creating and implementing an effective business growth plan is central to business success. You should have a business growth plan in place to ensure that your company stays on the right track and continues to make money, in addition to a marketing plan to map out how to achieve and measure such growth. However, many businesses are not set up with such a plan and growth strategies.

To help you start creating your growth plan for your own company, we will further discuss what a fiscal growth plan is, how it works, and what components are indispensable to obtaining business growth.

What is a financial growth plan?

For a business to be successful, it needs to be financially stable. This means the organization must take steps to ensure its financial health. Companies can implement different strategies to expand a business and its revenue to meet your company’s growth goals.

A fiscal growth plan is a roadmap that will help you achieve your goals. It is the process of creating, implementing, and monitoring a strategy for growing your business. Successful businesses evaluate historical data and forward-looking projections to implement a growth strategy. A well-defined business growth plan specifically targets expansion and outlines strategies to keep growth efforts on track for greater success.

A business growth plan will consider and account for the marketing strategy in the upcoming accounting cycle. Small business owners need business processes that allow planning efforts to increase customer retention, optimize growth plans, and achieve business goals.

Businesses fail when there is no cash flow allocation or management. Small businesses with a growth strategy increase sales with the right finance and accounting team. Accordingly, a strong team will help identify KPIs, or Key Performance Indicators, that measure and report your level of performance.

Many successful businesses implement business growth plans connected to KPIs. Tracking your plan to actual performance will demonstrate whether you are trending toward hitting your goals.

Read our previous article, “Small Business Financial KPIs.”

Understanding Business Growth

Business growth refers to the process of increasing a company’s revenue, profitability, and market share over time. It involves a combination of strategies, tactics, and initiatives aimed at expanding the business, improving its competitiveness, and enhancing its overall performance.

Business growth can be achieved through various means, including increasing sales, expanding into new markets, developing new products or services, acquiring companies, and improving operational efficiency. By focusing on these areas, businesses can ensure sustainable growth and long-term success.

Why is Business Growth Important?

Business growth is essential for any company that wants to survive and thrive in today’s competitive market. It provides numerous benefits, including increased revenue, improved profitability, enhanced competitiveness, and greater market share.

Business growth also creates new opportunities for employees, investors, and customers, and can help establish a company as a leader in its industry. Furthermore, business growth can provide a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment for entrepreneurs and business owners, driving innovation and progress within the organization.

How do you create an effective financial plan for a business?

A small business owner with a growth strategy needs the proper planning, management, and controls to measure performance. Planning for business growth requires evaluating marketing efforts, the business plan, and operating systems. Without the proper software programs, it is hard to make more money.

Creating an effective business growth plan begins with having an understanding of the following areas:

• Your business and its goals. As a small business owner, you must live your mission statement with a clear vision of where your company will go and how much money it will take.

• Your current financial position. Does your business have enough cash on hand for emergencies or unexpected expenses? Your growth goals may dictate significant capital investment.

• How much debt do you owe, including personal loans and credit cards? Do other people own part of your company in exchange for capital, such as angel investors or venture capitalists who want partial equity in return for funding?

• External Environment: The market you are in—specifically, who is doing well right now (competitors), what products/services sets them apart, and how many customers are buying from each (revenue stream analysis).

Identifying the best growth strategy involves setting high-level, ambitious goals and differentiating oneself in a saturated market by offering unique experiences or solutions.

The first step in creating an effective financial growth plan for your business is to define your company’s goals. These goals should be realistic, time-specific, and measurable so that you know when they have been achieved. Goals may include increasing sales revenue, decreasing expenses, or improving profitability by a certain percentage.

Once you have defined your goals, determine the necessary steps. These are referred to as milestones or action items. You might also want to create a timeline for each milestone so there is no confusion about when it will be completed. Business growth plans require equal time, effort, and energy during the formulation and execution phases.

Setting Growth Objectives

Setting growth objectives is a critical step in developing a business growth strategy. Growth objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART), and should align with the company’s overall mission and vision.

Examples of growth objectives might include increasing revenue by 20% within the next 12 months, expanding into a new market within the next 6 months, or improving customer satisfaction ratings by 15% within the next 9 months.

By setting clear and achievable growth objectives, businesses can focus their efforts and resources on achieving specific goals, and can measure their progress and success over time.

Conduct Thorough Market Research

Conducting thorough market research is essential for developing a successful business growth strategy. Market research involves gathering and analyzing data about the company’s target market, including customer needs, preferences, and behaviors, as well as competitor activity and market trends.

This information can be used to identify opportunities for growth, develop effective marketing strategies, and create products and services that meet the needs of the target market. Market research can be conducted through a variety of methods, including surveys, focus groups, customer interviews, and online analytics. By understanding the market landscape, businesses can make informed decisions that drive growth.

What are the eight components of a successful financial plan?

A growth strategy requires the expertise of a finance and accounting professional to provide budgeting, forecasting, and modeling support. A successful business will outsource such activities to a fractional CFO. This section should also include a break-even analysis, determining how much business volume must be generated to meet all your costs and expenses.

The break-even point is usually expressed as the total units sold or sales value. This information helps you determine whether you can produce enough revenue to stay in business and what sales growth would be required for your company to grow at projected rates in the current market. These numbers must be realistic so they don’t discourage an investor or industry experts who may see the plan as too risky or unproven.

• Sales Budget

• Expenses (outflows)

• Cash flow forecast: 13-week cash flow projection

• Break-even Analysis

• Operations plan

• Income Tax Management

• Statement of Financial Position (Balance Sheet)

• Resource Allocation and Management

The Operations Plan allocates resources needed for operations—including facilities, equipment, product lines, and labor—and explains how those resources will be used efficiently within each company department during each month covered by the plan (usually 12 months). As your market needs changes, your customer base will have new requirements. Ensuring more customers can be supported is your ultimate goal. 

Financial plans are developed and revised throughout the year. The most critical steps are planning to begin the year, tracking budget vs. actual, utilizing financial methods and tools to measure success, and revising plans to improve results and increase sales. For example, your leadership team targets more revenue, which requires tracking sales reps actual performance to their target.

Continuous improvement is a common theme as each step forward helps accomplish tax goals for business owners. Creating and redeveloping growth strategies will help implement long-term positive habits that will help you make money in the long run. The growth mindset will help drive a company culture like other successful companies.

Types of Growth Strategies

There are several types of growth strategies that businesses can use to achieve their growth objectives. These include:

• Market penetration: Increasing sales of existing products or services to existing customers.

• Market development: Introducing new products or services to new markets.

• Product development: Introducing new products or services to existing markets.

• Diversification: Entering new markets with new products or services.

• Acquisition: Acquiring other companies or assets to expand the business.

• Partnership: Forming partnerships with other companies to expand the business.

• Innovation: Developing new products, services, or processes to drive growth.

Each of these growth strategies has its own advantages and disadvantages, and businesses should carefully consider their options and choose the strategies that best align with their goals and resources. By selecting the right growth strategy, businesses can effectively pursue their growth objectives and achieve long-term success.

How To Implement a Business Growth Plan

Implementing and executing your business growth plans requires the management of a finance professional, such as a fractional CFO. Execution of your growth strategy consists of resource allocation, cash flow management, and performance management.

Strategic financial management involves planning, organizing, directing, and controlling an organization’s financial resources to achieve its goals and objectives. Equally important is adjusting business plans when data provides insightful information. Market fluctuations happen with established businesses much like startups. Your economic strategy must balance business operations, marketing, and working capital to maximize market share.

Most businesses fail to follow the steps of plan implementation:

• Set milestones: Break down your plan into smaller, achievable milestones. This will help you track progress and make adjustments as needed.

• Set financial targets: Based on your plan and market strategy, set specific financial targets you want to achieve. This will help you stay focused and measure your progress.

• Assign responsibilities: Determine who will be responsible for implementing each plan aspect. This may include hiring new employees, outsourcing tasks, or delegating responsibilities to existing staff.

• Monitor progress: Review your progress regularly and make adjustments as needed. This will help you stay on track and ensure your business growth plan works effectively.

• Analyze financial statements: Review your financial statements, including income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements. This will help you identify areas that need improvement and opportunities within the growth strategies.

Remember, implementing a business growth plan takes time and effort, but it can help you achieve long-term success for your business.

A growth plan is central to business strategy success.

A business growth plan is a strategic business planning tool for growing any company. It is not a budget but rather a plan for the future. The goal of creating and implementing the financial aspect of your business growth plan is to reach the financial goals you have set for the company over time.

To achieve its growth goal, your business requires expanding into new markets, trying different marketing tactics, and acquiring new customers. New businesses will have different organizational structures in five years. Work with Westport to create strategies that help your business grow and provide excellent service.

To learn more: How to Optimize your Business Financial Planning

Conclusion

Whether you’re just starting or trying to take your business to the next level, a financial growth plan is essential to achieve success and grow a profitable business. With careful planning and consistent execution, you can create a realistic roadmap for achieving your growth goals and getting the most out of your company.