WHAT DOES PLANNING MEAN?
The notion of planning, and adjusting our plan, is a fundamental part of all of our lives. We do it daily, sometimes without even realizing it, on things both big and small. Planning for retirement? Planning a vacation? Planning for next week’s dinner menu?
We plan, we live the plan a bit, then we adjust based on our progress. We live some more, adjust again, and on and on. It makes sense—we want to be sure to achieve a goal, and our plan helps us get there.
This simple method for managing our lives works the same in managing a business, and it’s fundamental to your success. For your business to succeed, you need to know your goals and see your progress in real-time.
At EAI we utilize a variety of tools built for entrepreneurs and small business owners. These tools enable the development of:
BUSINESS PLANS
Developing and documenting the fundamentals of your business model is the first step to create a winning business plan.
STRATEGIC PLANS
Small business owners don’t have the luxury of a strategic planning department, and daily operations consume most of your time. Entrepreneurial Advisory Institute (EAI) can serve as your strategic adviser and help you boil your strategy down into measurable goals, execute your strategy and review your progress on a regular basis.
ORGANIZATIONAL STUCTURE
Your employees want it. Your organization needs it. Yet despite the investments companies have made, whatever learning is happening isn’t being translated into the workplace. What’s more, the problem doesn’t just lie in the how, but the what. Surveys have shown that less than half of new managers have ever been given explicit training on how to manage people and the “soft skills” that are critical for people management tend to fall by the wayside. But employee development has never been more urgent. To experience organizational success, you need to help your people adapt to—and thrive within—our changing world. Let Entrepreneurial Advisory Institute (EAI) help you understand your options
BUDGETs
Guidelines on how much should be spent in different areas of your business. Most commonly, budgets are considered spending guidelines. Budgets are typically detailed guidelines for spending on things like payroll, travel, office supplies, utilities, insurance, etc.
FORECASts
A high-level, strategic view of where you want your business to go in the future. It is a prediction of where you think your company will grow that’s based on historical data and future plans and assumptions.
KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPI’S)
KPI’s vary for each type of business. Developing KPIs most relevant to your business, formulating them into a dashboard and reviewing them on a regular basis is key to effective management of your business. Comparative data based on other businesses as well as other industry sources provides an effective tool to benchmark your results in comparison to your peers.
Working with the professionals at EAI develops the insights you need in a format that's simple to understand.
I reached out to Scott and Sharon for help integrating LivePlan with QuickBooks. They went way above and beyond! I now have an accurate forecast for the next 12 months, cleaned up books, and actionable strategic and operational steps to take in order to grow my business. I cannot recommend them more highly!
Marty Reiswig, Owner
Patriot Building Systems
