When your business faces growing pains – an increase in demand that means you must expand your capacity - you need to work out how best to deal with this.  Time spent planning helps you stay in control of where your business is going. 

• If you have been working by yourself, do you now need to take on an employee?
• Does your expansion require a move to new premises?
• Will your growth depend on marketing a new product or service?
• Do want to buy new equipment to enhance your capacity, but need funding?

Your planning should consider all these aspects and more, over a sensible time span.

Where your business is going
 

Business planning involves looking ahead over the next 1 to 5 years to where you want your business to be.  Your own wishes and lifestyle choices will influence this as much as the opportunities and threats facing your marketplace.  For those in fast-moving industries, the planning horizon will tend to be shorter, no more than 3 years. 

There are a number of support agencies with whom you can talk through business issues and clarify your objectives.  An adviser can review your plans and raise questions that you may not have considered.  They can draw upon a pool of expertise to give input on areas where you may only have general knowledge.  Business Link West has specialists dealing with high growth businesses. 

An adviser can give advice on structuring your business plan for different audiences - perhaps the bank or a venture capitalist if you need to find additional funding.  You may wish to involve key members of staff in developing the plan.  This document can then be used for internal communications.  A written plan helps ensure that everyone is clear about the company's objectives and their part in achieving them.