Is your business established and running well? If so … congratulations! You may be inclined to let your business continue to run as it is right now.
But right now is the best time to take a step back and examine your business processes. Assess how well your business is performing, uncover strengths and areas that need improvement, and determine the actions necessary to implement the improvements your business needs.
Here are some questions to consider with senior leadership at the beginning stages of a business process assessment:
- What’s your direction? Look at where you are now, where you want to go over the next three to five years, and how you intend to get there.
- What are your target markets (now and in the future)? Which markets should you compete in, how will they change, and what does your business need in order to be involved in these sectors?
- How do you gain market advantage and perform better than the competition in your chosen markets?
- What resources do you require to succeed? (In terms of skills, assets, finance, relationships, technical competence, and facilities.)
- What business environment are you competing in? What external factors may affect your business’ ability to compete?
- How are you measuring success?
Through several blog posts over the next few months, we will be covering the components that should be addresses in a business process review, including:
- Assessing core activities
- Assessing business efficiency
- Reviewing your financial position
- Conducting customer/market analysis
- Redefining business goals
- Using models for strategic analysis
It’s important to stand back and review your business performance. These steps will give you a clear indication of any issues you need to address quickly to maintain your business in its early stages.
If you feel that all of the areas are strong, it’s a good time to start planning for the next phase and building a cohesive strategy to develop your business; however, if there are areas that need attention, deal with them now so that you can move forward. There are a variety of growth options for every business, and it’s important that you settle on the right one for you.
This information was gathered from Info Entrepreneurs, a team of business information experts from the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal, part of the Canada Business Network.
Photo by Serge Bertasius Photography