News and tips for contractors to help you make more money.

Strategic Planning for Profitable Growth
This is part one of a two part series
By Judy Guido

Too many companies do not have strategic plans because owners believe that planning is only important for large companies. Without a strategic plan, small companies become reactive and spend too much time putting out fires. A good strategic plan address issues like growth, product/service and alliance development, debt management, cash flow, overhead, production capacity, and responses to market share losses due to lower prices.

Strategic planning provides direction and tactics for meeting all these issues head-on. Small companies that conduct strategic planning have on average 41% higher profits than those that do not. The process of planning hinges on an assessment of the company, its place in the market, its goals and the skill level of its people.

6.	Identify the major elements in the business environment that are affecting your company.
7.	Create a concise mission for the company in terms of its nature and function. Be specific. Identify services, location and customers types.
8.	Identify and address the internal and external forces that will hinder and promote this mission.
9.	Develop a set of long-term objectives that will identify what the organization will achieve in the future.
10.	Outline an action plan defining the logistical, financial, and personnel factors needed to integrate the long-term objectives into the organization.

Sit down with your team and plan your profitable growth. We are here to help. Call us if you need a hand.

NEXT TIME IN THIS NEWSLETTER: The Ten Immutable Laws for creating a profit driven Strategic Plan.

New Masters in Marketing & Sales - We will be holding the first Masters in Marketing & Sales on August 1, 2004. Please contact Judy Guido at jguido@kehoeguido.com or call her at 949-715-3804 or, contact the Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA) office at 800-395-2522 and speak to Joan Haller for information. Seating is limited.

If you'd like to access past educational articles go to our site www.kehoeguido.com and click on the Green Industry icon and then click on Weed It And Reap. We'd love to hear from you ( info@kehoeguido.com) regarding subjects you want to learn more about. Let us know and we'll include them in upcoming articles. If you are interested in growing your company profitably, please call us at 949-715-3804.