Strategy Advice for Business Owners
Whether you’re just starting out in business or you’ve been established for years, you need a plan.
Most of us created a Business Plan to show the bank when we first wanted a
facility, or when we were looking for some extra capital for expansion or a one-off capital purchase.
Most companies never look at that Business Plan again.
A real business plan is a “living” set of goals which are established by a continuing process of identifying, refining, rejecting and adapting. Strategic living business plans are backed by sound financial data, firstly forecasts and budgets then variances to those by reference to actual data. Successful living business plans hold the business owners and managers accountable.
If you want a real, strategic successful plan, you need an external mentor to show you the way through The Total Business Plan™. Created by Sophie White from her experiences working with business owners for over 25 years and being a business owner herself since 1995.
Sophie restricts her commitment to work with only 10 “total business plan” clients a year, to ensure they each get the attention required. A fixed fee of £5,000 plus VAT pays for a six hour strategy meeting per quarter, unlimited access via phone/email throughout the year and a suite of “total business plan” documents updated after each quarter’s session. Clients can sign up for one year at a time or continue on a rolling basis.
How much is your business worth to you right now? If you’re drawing an income (dividend or salary or both) of £100,000 per year then using a rate of return of just 5% your business is currently worth £2,000,000 to you.
Assuming you don’t have £2m spare to invest in anything that might give the same return, you continue to invest your time, effort and energy in your business to maintain that annual income of £100k.
It can be difficult to see how to get off this treadmill – when do you ever get to retire?
A clear succession plan – how to extricate yourself from your business and achieve maximum value – is essential, and it prepares you and your staff for considerable change.
We help you turn your aims and aspirations into a “living” plan and set the business toward exit opportunities such as Company purchase of own shares, Management Buy Out (MBO), Management Buy In (MBI), trade sale, or solvent liquidation.
We facilitate the succession process helping shape and negotiate the deal, liaising with your lawyers, investors, HR/communications resource, as well as acting as primary tax adviser on the exit ensuring you are protected from unforeseen tax charges.
As an employer, particularly in difficult economic times, it is essential that you retain key staff and attract the best new recruits.
Quality people look for more than just the average pay and conditions when choosing where to work. We help you ensure you’re offering the best in terms of incentives to promote your business over your competitors with the Total Employee Retention Plan™.
There are many tax and national insurance advantaged payments or arrangements employers can offer staff, but do you know exactly what they are and how to implement them?
We walk you through the maze of small regular incentives such as beneficial loans, childcare vouchers, company car vs mileage allowance, computer equipment & broadband use at home, employee suggestion schemes, parties for staff to larger investment incentives such as Employee Share Options schemes, Health Care Plans, and Pensions (Small Self-Administered Schemes (SSAS), Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) and Auto-Enrolment).
It is generally expected that employees who can influence and choose their rewards work more productively. We work with you, and your HR department or resource, to establish what retention packages you should provide and for the progressive employer we create a list for employees to “cherry pick” based on a point score/value system.
