How to Stay Focused On Adding Value to Your Business

Regardless of whether you are building a business to run or to sell, there are a number of key areas that you need to review regularly to stay on course and increase the value of your business.

Focusing on the eight areas below will ensure you keep making progress.

CAPITAL AND RESOURCES

• Do we know what we need to keep running and how we will provide it?

• Future growth and expansion: are we clear on what we need, why we need it and where it will come from?

GOVERNANCE AND RISK

• Do we understand our regulatory obligations and are we meeting them?

• Does CSR (Corporate social responsibility) matter to our people, customers, and suppliers, and is it built into our vision and business plan?

• Do we understand risk across all aspects of our business – what is our process and frequency for reviewing this?

• What is our contingency plan?

TECHNOLOGY

• Do we have the right IT architecture to enable us to deliver today and keep growing?

• Do we have an innovation plan?

• Are we thinking about what new technology means for our business? e.g AI, IoT, Robotics

OPERATIONS

• What is our productivity level and how does this compare with our industry overall?

• If our business is growing, what needs to change in systems and processes?

• What does our budgeting and forecasting look like in relation to our ambitions?

VALUE PROPOSITION AND BRAND

• Do we have a clear value proposition and does it differentiate us?

• Do we have a strong brand and reputation on which we can build?

• Who are our best customers and are they advocates for our band?

• What do stakeholders value about us?

MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS

• Do we know what our customers want and like?

• What is our customer journey and experience?

• Do we need to undertake research into new products, services, and customer behaviour?

• What does our marketing technology roadmap look like?

PEOPLE

• Do we have a compelling employer brand?

• Do people want to work for our business?

• What is our plan to attract and retain generation Z?

• Are our employee benefits competitive?

SUCCESSION

• What is our end game - are we consistently building value in our business to meet the end goal?

• What is our plan and timetable?

We know that it’s easy to get buried in the day to day and it can be a real challenge to free up time to think, review and plan. But it is good practice to step back, understand the issues that need to be addressed and improved, and update your master plan.

WE KNOW THAT IT’S EASY TO GET BURIED IN THE DAY TO DAY AND IT CAN BE A REAL CHALLENGE TO FREE UP TIME TO THINK, REVIEW AND PLAN

At Haines Watts we support business owners along their journey. We recently asked 500 business owners what advice they would give their younger selves about running a business. You can watch our 10 Years Younger video at www.hwca.com.