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Strategic Planning

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Strategic Planning Templates

Free worksheets and resources to simply and effectively plan for your small business success

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Worksheets

Formulas & Spreadsheets

Small Business Tips

 
Company strategic plan process

Download Strategic Planning Worksheet Templates

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Business Model Worksheet

Create a document you can present to funders or investors.

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PNL Worksheet

PNLCreate profit and loss statements for your business.

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Project Sheet

Detail the tasks, timeline and budget for complex initiatives in your plan.
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Schedule Page

Set up a structured
timetable to complete tasks for initiatives.

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Business Math Examples

Profit Margin Formula

Profit Margin = (Net Income/ Revenue) × 100

Revenue Stream

Use this to look at specific itemized spending.

Revenue Stream Worksheet

Small Business Advice

Click the tip icon for the full tip

Mission Vision & Values Tip

Glean from your competitors and others in your industry. Take a look at their MVV for ideas and concepts, then tweak them to meet the needs of your business. I won’t tell!

Here’s a link for more mission statement examples 21 Powerful Mission Statement Examples (fitsmallbusiness.com)

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Mission, Vision & Values

Glean from your competitors and others in your industry.

SWOT

  • Strengths and Weaknesses are INTERNAL
  • Opportunities and Threats are EXTERNAL

Still struggling with your SWOT? Here’s a more comprehensive resource Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat (SWOT) Analysis Definition (investopedia.com)

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SWOT

  • Strengths and Weaknesses are INTERNAL
  • Opportunities and Threats are EXTERNAL

Feedback Tip

If you ask for feedback be prepared to get it

And do not ever write back in response to negative survey info. It’s never “bring your ego to work” day, and while you may not like everything everyone has to say, it can help you to adjust your products and marketing by knowing how you are perceived. By the way if only one person complains about something it probably is a personal thing, but if multiple people are complaining, then you know it’s something that needs to be addressed.

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If you ask for feedback be prepared to get it

And do not ever write back in response to negative survey info.

Logo Tip

If you are unsure if you should update your logo or not consider this: Logos that are less than two years old should probably be kept for now and a plan put in place for a branding update in the future. It’s actually better to keep a logo for three or four years as it helps to solidify your brand for people. However, if your logo looks poor, no longer represents the key aspects of your business, doesn’t make sense to people, or has become offensive as the world has changed then it may be time to consider a rebrand or a brand update.

Trying to do your logo on a budget? Both Wix and Canva are trustworthy brands and they both have a logo creating feature.

Logo Maker | Design Your Own Business Logo | Wix.com

Canva | Logo Maker | Create Free Logos in Minutes | Try Canva Pro

Here are some other tips:

  • Make the logo relevant to your business – i.e. plant for garden shop, paintbrush for house painting, etc.
  • Use two or three colors total rather than many and let those colors also be relevant to your business – Google “color psychology for advertising” and learn about how color speaks to people to help you choose.
  • Don’t be too clever – you might get it, but you could befuddle your audience, keep it simple for better reception.
  • Make it scalable – your logo will be used in different places, make sure it looks good in different sizes.
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Your Business Logo

If you are unsure if you should update your logo or not consider this: Logos that are less than two years old should probably be kept for now and a plan put in place for a branding update in the future.

Marketing Tip

You ALWAYS want to update your marketing in any venue you are using to promo your business. That means that you make sure the place you are marketing has your current logo, and whatever campaign you are running should be highlighted with the art you are using. Keep in mind that a lot of the groups you may be part of, like chambers and BNI have marketing page for you to use as well. These should all be updated as you launch new campaigns. Always add the updates to your overall calendar so you don’t forget to do them.
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Update your marketing

You ALWAYS want to update your marketing in any venue you are using to promo your business. 

Marketing Budget Tip

But be aware that if you are very far behind on necessities like an up-to-date website, and getting an upgrade would go over that budget, you are wiser to get the upgrade than to quibble about an increase in spending. 

Need more help with the marketing budget calculation? Check out this resource for a deep dive if you are unsure. Marketing Budget Example: How Much Should You Spend? – Verde Media

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Marketing Budget Tip

A GENERAL rule is that you should spend between 5%-10% of gross revenue on marketing.

Click here for a business model tip

Business Model Tip

Always keep a copy of your previous business model sheets as they can be good reminders of what has and hasn’t worked through the years.

Here’s a free worksheet I’ve created to plan your business model: Business Model Worksheet

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Business Model

Always keep a copy of your previous business model sheets as they can be good reminders of what has and hasn’t worked through the years.

Online Data Tip

Pulling your online data is not that complicated, and if you have IT people they can help you. If not check out the link below for a “how-to”.

Pull an analytic report from:

  • Google Analytics
  • Your Website Analytics
  • Social Media Analytics (a report for every channel

What you are looking for is:

  • How many visits and unique visits to your site
  • Time spent on each page
  • Bounce rate – this number means how often people come to your home page and leave without clicking any of your other pages
  • Where people are coming from (do they link to your site directly from Twitter, or do they find you from a websearch, etc)
  • Engagement: likes, comments, shares, and reposts

Google AnalyticsHow to Use Google Analytics 4 for Beginners [2021 Guide] (ahrefs.com)

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Online Data

Pulling your online data is not that complicated, and if you have IT people they can help you.

Calls to Action

Don’t forget simple logic. Want people to remember your name and face? Use it on all your marketing. Want people to sign up for a list? Give them an incentive to get them to join. Want to get people to your store, tell them when where and how. And so on. These are called “calls to action” and when they are made as straightforward as possible your consumer has an easier time doing what you want them to do. 

Need to understand call to action? Here’s a good place to start: 15 Call To Action Examples (and How to Write the Perfect CTA) (adespresso.com)

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Calls to Action

Don’t forget simple logic. Want people to remember your name and face? Use it on all your marketing.

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