Strategy is not about waiting for opportunities to come to your business. It’s about making sure your business is moving, and, most importantly, that it’s moving in the right direction. Here are five things you must do to develop a solid plan for strategic growth:
1. Know exactly how the market you’re doing business in operates.
2. Learn your role in the value chain. Make sure it’s a profitable position.
3. Identify your competitors as well as your business’ competitive advantage.
4. Understand what your customers need and how you can best serve them.
5. Be sure the products and/or services the business is providing now as well as those it’s capable of providing in the future are aligned with the company’s core skill set.
Want to know more about growing your small business? Join us at Black Enterprise’s annual Entrepreneurs Conference, taking place May 22-25, 2011 in Atlanta Georgia. Visit blackenterprise.com/ec for more details. As an incentive BE is offering you a discount on early registration: Just enter code BEDG295 and receive $200 off.
Tennille M. Robinson is Senior Multimedia Content Producer for Small Business. You can follow her on Twitter at @TennilleSmBiz and send your business questions to smallbiz@blackenterprise.com.