Q. How can I create a strategic plan aligned with my business exit goals?

A critical component of your strategic plan is establishing business goals and identifying how to achieve them. If your goal is to exit in five years, what is it you need to retire successfully? Based on that, you can determine next steps. Whether it’s achieving more growth through acquisitions, streamlining financials or improving value drivers, knowing what goals you need to reach your desired business value is key!

If you are looking to grow through acquisitions, speak with your advisor to help outline options and develop a plan. This will help you identify targets with your end goal in mind.

If its streamlining financials, then budgeting is a critical component of your strategic plan, as it will ensure you can financially support expectations. If your current budget doesn’t support the plan, examine budgeting needs and processes, and identify areas where you can cut costs.

If it is establishing and improving profit drivers, get started using a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis to determine where your business is today. What is driving profitability? How can you maximize these value drivers? Are there any current market opportunities or threats? Where can you improve to achieve desired value?

Once you’ve determined your position, develop a strategy to build, plan and implement tools to successfully manage it.

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Chris Masters, CPA, is the Houston Managing Shareholder at Doeren Mayhew, and can be reached at 713.860.0264. For more information on developing a strategic plan, contact our strategic advisors today.