Business plans vital

Jeremy Tauri.

When was the last time you sat down and drew up a business plan for the future?

Especially in busy times, it can be hard to find the time to start thinking strategically.

But for a lot of small businesses in particular, it's this lack of planning that is going to prove the biggest impediment to their future success.

A new survey from PWC found that Kiwi family businesses are positive about the future. A third expect to see steady growth.

But it warned that their growth plans could suffer, not because of any economic factor but because they did not have a business plan that took them from where they are now to long-term goals.

Succession planning was taking a back seat - only just over half of businesses surveyed said they had any plan to bring other people up to take over senior roles.

Almost half said finding people with the right skills would be a significant challenge.

It can be really hard to allocate the time and resources to good business planning, but it will pay off over the long term.

If you have a clear vision for the future, that will help in each decision you make.

When you have the option of picking up a big new client, you'll be able to assess how that fits in with your growth plans, and how hard you should work to accommodate them.

If you have to make some choices about investment, a good growth plan will help you prioritise.

And if you know who you want to be leading the firm in five or 10 years, you can start looking for opportunities now to give those people the skills they need to get there.

It is really helpful, particularly in a situation where there are family dynamics at play, to get some independent, objective advice.

There are lots of business coaches and accountants around the country who know how to talk a business through the process of planning for the future.

- Jeremy Tauri is an associate at Plus Chartered Accountants