Business growth strategies – future proofing your business Workshop by the Christine and Darrell Baker
The Thinking 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Where do you want to position yourself in the market? Who is going to use your services in the future? How do you build on your current uniqueness? How do you tap into an income stream that is consistent even during an economic downturn? How do you increase your market share and provide services that complement Optometry?
The Strategy 1. Put your strategy into action with the PESTEL decision making tool, as a new way of business planning 2. Look at Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legislative factors that may influence your growth or success 3. Note everything that you are currently facing, on a Global, National and Internal scale, and whether they are immediate or emerging. These are your “conditions”
Assess Your Appetite for Risk Against the Opportunity Consider a “Risk / Opportunity matrix” rather than the traditional SWOT analysis (Link to attached resource)
Map and Rank Your Conditions 1. Take your conditions from point 2.c. and map them onto the risk / opportunity matrix 2. Rank your conditions on a scale of 1-10 in terms of level of importance 3. Pick the top 3-5 from each quadrant and place them into 4 pillars a. Customers b. People c. Financial d. Process *ensure that you have something in all 4 pillars
Your Strategic Plan • •
Put all the above into a strategic plan Re-visit your strategic plan at a minimum annually (quarterly reviews may be necessary)
How Christine and Darrell Did It – And How You Can, Too • • • • • • • • •
Define your scope and start small Share case studies to understand the benefits of integration Develop integrated care plans and referral pathways Hold fortnightly / monthly meetings and or training sessions with your team Ensure that everyone on the team uses common language across the Allied Health sector Communication is key in an integrated team; it’s not about hierarchy, it’s about being professional peers Develop a marketing strategy Provide professional development Inevitably some team members will not buy into your new model, but this provides opportunities for new staff and opens career pathways
Learnings • • •
A plan doesn’t have to be perfect Some things can take a lot of time and effort to start up (I.e., NDIS) Seek support from external subject matter experts where required
Your Challenge • • • • •
Where are you now and how will you future proof your business? What are the potential disruptors coming your way? Do you know what they are or what they could be? What are the current and emerging trends, and not just in eyes? (PESTLE) How could you link your services to other complementary professions in order to create an integrated practice? How does the risk / opportunity matrix inform you on doing nothing versus enabling change?
Start Asking Yourself How You Can Future-Proof Your Business, What Your Niche Service Is, and How you Can Integrate with Others Examples of niche services: • Elderly and macular degeneration population - Nurse Practitioner, Gerontologist, Nutritionist, falls prevention clinic, Physiotherapist, OT, Social Worker • Low Vision - NDIS funding, Social Worker, OT, Physiotherapist, Psychologist • Diabetes - Nurse Practitioner, Nutritionist, Podiatrist, OT, Physiotherapist, Exercise Physiologist, GP • Dry Eye Clinic - Nutritionist, Hormone expert, Wellness and Mental Health solutions, functional Health Practitioner