5 Tips to Revive your Business Plan in 2022
We all have that New Year’s resolution, to eat healthier, get fit, and save money. Whatever the goal may
be, it is essential to have a plan. Planning helps map out your course of action so you can accomplish
your goals with manageable steps.
For a small business owner, the same principles of planning can ensure the growth of the business. A
business can really benefit from having a structured business plan in place. Planning will also allow a
business to have all the necessary preparation, stock, staffing, marketing, and finances in place.
Most businesses will have the normalised components of a business plan, including an introduction,
executive summary, what products and services are offered, marketing campaign strategy, financial
aspects, and a budget. We created a list of things you might want to include in your business plan.
Let’s explore 5 things you might not have considered yet as you start your business planning for 2022.
1. BUILD IN FLEXIBILITY
The ability to adapt to your surroundings in an ever-changing market is important. Especially during the
COVID-19 lockdowns, the business world learnt to be adaptive and flexible. Restaurants adapted their
menus to cater to takeaways and deliveries. We saw pubs and clubs bottling cocktails and travel agents
promoting virtual tours of cities. These creative initiatives were not likely a part of their initial 2021
business plan.
Take the time to think of creative ways to continue receiving cash flow in case of any unplanned events.
Assign team members responsibilities to different projects in the road maps, you can even have a
planning day where everyone can come up with ideas for when things go wrong. Develop a roadmap of
continuous improvement planning. Rather than having one business plan that doesn’t get changed
throughout the year. A business can also benefit from being open to adopting a new form of technology
whether it be an app to help automate processes. Technology can also help you respond flexibly to
changing environments.
2. BE PREPARED WITH EXTRA CASH FLOW
A continuous business plan will include monthly forecasting as opposed to annual forecasting. Monthly
forecasting is a way to determine finances over a 30-day period including sales, production costs,
profitability, routine expenses, and your overall balance sheet. There are several loan options available to
borrowers that can increase their chance of financial success and recovery if sales are to ever take a hit
or if you simply want to put money back into the business to grow. These include a business overdraft, a
line of credit, or a secured or unsecured small business loan.
A great option to ensure your business has cash reserves and can maintain business operations could be
a Lumi business line of credit. If the line of credit starts at $20,000, the borrower can leave the balance
untouched until they choose to access a certain amount. The borrower will only pay interest on the
amount debited and the remaining balance will stay available in credit. Once the borrower repays the
debited portion of the loan, the balance will be replenished back to its full amount working similarly to a
credit card. This can be really helpful in your continuous business planning.
3. MINIMISE ANY UNNECESSARY EXPENSES IF POSSIBLE
If COVID-19 taught us anything, it was to ease your spending and cut unnecessary items. This minimises
financial leakages and keeps more cash available to the business. Most business plans will include a
profit and loss statement of the previous year. You can use this as a way to look at any expenses you
didn’t really need from the previous year and reduce them for the upcoming year.
There are other ways to reduce expenses, such as reconsidering your office space or offering staff the
ability to work from home a few days a week. Rostering staff onto separate days could reduce the need
for a large office space with high rent and limit spending on utilities and office supplies.
4. CHECK IN WITH YOUR BUSINESS PLAN
Make it a habit to check in with your initial plan regularly throughout the year. Will the goals you set at
the beginning still be relevant in 6 months? Setting goals for your business gives the whole company
something to work towards. Having realistic and achievable goals in place can set structure. These could
be setting a monthly sales target or a plan to expand and open a new store.
For example, a Café may want to expand and open a new store. By completing a detailed plan including
the projected costs, they will be able to know what is feasible. We have added some of these into the
table below.
Marketing campaigns
$5,000
New chairs/tables
$7,000
New coffee machine
$8,000
New POS system
$5,000
Total
$25,000
The Café would be able to look at the table and know they needed an upfront amount of $25,000 to
expand their business. This Café could look into a business loan of $25,000, covering the costs of
expansion, and repay it in a way that suits them best. Lumi offers loans that are tailored to the needs of
small businesses like this Café.
5. PLAN TO MARKET YOUR BUSINESS
A business needs to stay in the public eye if they wish to attract sales. Make sure you plan out at least 3
months of marketing campaigns. Get creative with your marketing, keep in mind all advertising spaces
including social media platforms such as Instagram, radio/TV, local newspapers, magazines and
billboards. Keeping regular and consistent communication with your current and potential customers will
keep your business front of mind.
HOW TO APPLY FOR FUNDING ?
With the many loan options available today from Lumi, acquiring the funds needed to improve your
business has never been easier. The application process is simple, fast, and can be done online from
anywhere, even the convenience of your own home.
What you would need to apply is:
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Have a registered Australian Business Number
Have income statements and proof of sales for at least 6 months
Determine which loan is right for you e.g.: a line of credit vs. term loan
Business plans and future projections on sales