Small Business Plans Made Easy
Get the MOST out of your Small Business
by: Ramsay Mameesh
Every year Fortune 500 Companies, and many other large corporations, spend millions upon millions of dollars on business consulting. Receiving consulting assistance in every facet of their business; management, human resources, marketing, operations etc. A few large firms dominate the industry, employing the majority, of the 1 million people who work in the consulting industry.
Fortunately, and unfortunately, most small businesses can’t afford high-priced consulting services. Fortunate, because in many cases, the end product of the expensive consulting service is worthless. Unfortunate, because many small business owners, could benefit from quality business consulting.
Why does your business exist? What do you want to achieve with your business? What are your business goals? Do you have any idea how to accomplish them? Do you have a business plan?
A small business is a miniature version of a corporation. The difference between the two is mainly the absence, of layers of managers, between the C.E.O and the janitor. In many small businesses, the C.E.O is the head of human resources, marketing, sales, and performs the janitorial services as well.
In a large corporation, the C.E.O has the ability to hire qualified managers, to lead each of the different areas of the business. And yet, corporations with skilled managers, still pay large sums to consulting firms for business help. In small businesses, the C.E.O. performs several managerial roles, and usually lacks the money to obtain consulting help. Life is not fair for the small business owner.
However, there is a business planning concept that is simple, easy to understand, that can be applied to any part of your small business, at any stage. It will clarify the business decision making process, creating a focused plan, leading to better results.
It is called MOST. Mission - Objective - Strategy - Tactics. It is a comprehensive approach to business planning, that can be used in corporations or small businesses, and that levels the playing field for everyone. And best of all - it’s free! No need for high-priced consulting services, you’re learning about it right now, and you can use it right away.
MOST can be used before you start your small business, to create your small business plan, it can be applied to any area of your small business, even to individual campaigns within your small business.
The best way to explain MOST, is of course, through an example. Let’s use MOST to increase customer satisfaction.
- Mission - Increase customer satisfaction.
- Objective - Raise percentage of “Highly Satisfied”, responses from 30% to 50%, in the next quarterly customer satisfaction survey.
- Strategy - Incentivize Employees.
- Tactic - Offer employees 10% salary bonus if objective is met.
With MOST, you begin with the Mission and end with the Tactic. The Mission determines the Objective, which determines the Strategy, which determines the Tactic. It is a systematic approach to business planning.
There is always only one Mission, however, there can be several Objectives, Strategies, and Tactics, stemming from the Mission. For instance let’s expand the business.
- Mission - Expand the Business
- Objective - Increase online sales by 20%
Open 2 new retail stores - Strategy - Use online advertising
Identify high net worth neighborhoods in Northern California - Tactics - Use Google PPC
Conduct Census Bureau Research
MOST produces comprehensive, focused, quantifiable, business plans. MOST speeds up the decision making process, concentrates the thinking process, and can be applied to any process within your business.
Using MOST, will get you the most, out of your small business.
Ramsay Mameesh received his B.S. in Business Administration from California State University. He has worked for large corporations and owned small businesses. His current business is Retirement Planning.