Take Inventory
In order to see where you are going in the future, you must first understand where you are now. By answering the following questions honestly, you will get a clear sense of the current strengths and weaknesses of your business. This information will help you to paint a more realistic picture of your future. If you went through a Needs Analysis with us at the start of this program, then you can refer to it for much of this information.
- How would you describe the business you are in?
- Based on your intuition, what kind of shape is your business currently in?
- What is its position in the industry? (How do you compare to your competition?)
- What are your gross revenues? (By product line).
- What are your profit margins?
- What Key Performance Indicators do you measure?
These are the things that tell you how your business is doing. Examples include sales, quality, delivery time, efficiency, cost, productivity, growth, etc. They are different for each business.
- Who/what is your target market? (By product line).
- What is your market share? How much of the market do you control?
- What are the overall strengths and weaknesses of your business?
- What is unique about your business?
- What else do you perceive as important about the current state of your business?