In the business world today, being prepared is key. Amidst the heavy competition and new companies constantly springing up in the global marketplace, businesses must be prepared and always have a plan B in order to stay afloat. Being prepared could mean anything from having a business plan to having a back-up plan if something were to go wrong. A business plan sets a pathway for your business’s future and provides guidelines to move in the right direction.
Of course, businesses must continuously adapt to changing times, but companies must also be prepared for those times. Small businesses drive our economy but only around half survive their first five years. Many of these companies fail simply because they are not prepared for the future. Being prepared for success, failure, and any other challenge your company may face can set you apart from the rest.
Take a company like Google, for example. It is one of the most successful companies in the world even though its attempts to compete with Facebook by creating social networking apps like Google+ have not been extremely successful, among other business ventures that have failed as well. Google thrives because the company has continuously invested in innovation and research, preparing themselves for the future. So it seems that great companies don’t rush to adapt with current times, because they are the ones who are preparing for and developing the future.
One of the first steps of preparing for the future is developing a strong business plan. To assist during this process, the University of Pittsburgh Small Business Development Center offers an affordable two-step program – The First Step: Mechanics of Starting a Small Business and The Second Step: Developing a Business Plan which is held monthly!