Planning

Ironbark Country offers an extensive range of planning services that can be broken into several areas:

• Business Strategy Development
• Community Strategy Development
• Business Plans
• Marketing Plans
• Project Plans

Reasons for Planning

Planning is certainly not "old hat." If we are to survive in today's very competitive world market, we must look at what the future will bring and how it will impact on our community and our business. Planning demands that we look at the future of both our community and our business.

There are a lot of good reasons for developing a plan.

• Set a clear future direction.
• Control future risks and uncertainties.
• Control activities to maximise resources.
• Control growth.
• Avoid crisis.
• Avoid cash shortages.
• Avoid succession crisis.
• Ensure work load is shared.

Planning significantly increases your chances of success by focusing on areas in which operators sometimes get lost.

Planning introduces realism It is easy to be excessively optimistic about a new idea. Planning helps to prevent you viewing the future in ways, the facts do not support.

Makes you result orientated A detailed business plan enables you to monitor your results against a predetermined set of goals and performance standards.

Recognising shortfalls Planning enables you to recognise problems that call for outside sources of information and assistance.

Recognising change The nature of markets and consumer needs change rapidly. Planning cannot predict change but it helps you to recognise it and to work out your strategy accordingly.

Balancing growth We tend to either grow too fast or too slow in order to maintain cash flow. Planned growth enables you to plan your capital needs in advance and to ensure that funds are available as needed.

Some old sayings still ring true today:

"Proper planning prevents poor performance"

"If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail"

"Any enterprise built by wise planning, becomes strong through common sense, and profits wonderfully by keeping abreast of the facts."

All the pieces must fit together

Without an up to date business plan, there is usually blurred vision, no objectives, no strategies, and no incentive to achieve. The community, or business, stagnates and dies, or goes from one crisis to another, leading a very mediocre existence, with disgruntled people and a lack lustre balance sheet.

Most business people receive no formal training on business planning, if they do, it is generally planning as it applies to corporations and therefore very hard to relate to.

Does planning really work? In 1953 Yale University surveyed the graduating class and discovered that only 3% had written goals. Twenty years later, Yale surveyed this same class and learned that the 3% who had written goals has amassed a net worth greater than that of the other 97% combined. The moral of the story:

• Planning works.
• Hardly anyone uses planning techniques.
• Failing to plan is a plan to fail.

For further information on business or community planning please contact us