Are you thinking of setting up your own business, or already running one? Monica Bradley, founder, and Managing Director of award-winning mortgage brokers MB Associates had a clear strategy for her company from day one. Here, she reveals why a firm strategy is key, and how to prepare one…
What is a business strategy, and do you need one? The short answer is yes. Simply put, a business strategy is a vision and direction for your company.
Having a strategy for your business is hugely important if you want to move forward with a clear purpose. It gives your business a set of values and helps you understand what success means for your company.
If you don’t have a strategy, you won’t know when you’ve reached your goals. It’s a bit like going out for a drive without knowing your destination. If you don’t know where you’re heading, how will you know when you get there?
I’ve been running my business for over 20 years, and I’ve always had a clear vision of where I want it to be and the goals I want to achieve.
For instance, six years ago, the business was already well established, but I knew I wanted to open another office in Cheam Village where clients could pop in and talk to our team of mortgage advisers. We already had an admin office in Cheam but would only see clients by appointment, so the new office was something fresh and inviting.
I had a vision for creating a friendly ‘shop front’ for anyone passing by in need of mortgage or financial protection advice. I knew it would also raise the profile of the business and make it more prominent to the local community. A year later, the new office was opened, and was exactly how I envisaged.
In essence, I was very specific about my vision. I was clear on my goal of wanting a second office, but also knew exactly when I wanted it to happen and what I hoped to achieve from it. Although it was clearly a financial commitment, I had clarity on why I was doing it and how it would benefit my business.
Having a clear strategy can help your business grow. According to research conducted by the consulting arm of professional services firm PwC, companies with leaders who had confidence in their strategies grew faster and were more profitable. Their study of 6000 executives showed that a faster than average growth was achieved when company leaders had stated how they added value for customers or clearly defined their capabilities.
Not having a business strategy could mean you lack direction. If you have one set in stone, you will be able to plan ahead so that you know what steps you need to take to reach your goals and also allocate the resources you need to achieve them.
It will also give you a chance to evaluate how your business is performing and whether you’re on the right path to achieving your goals.
So how do you prepare a business strategy? Firstly, sit down and define your vision and objectives. Make sure you’re completely clear on the vision for your business. Where do you want it to be in two to five years’ time? If you’re not sure about what you want, or your ideas are vague at this stage, I would recommend hiring a business coach or mentor to help you gain clarity.
Identify your core values
What does the business stand for? Once you’ve established this, communicate your values to your staff and colleagues so that everyone is consistent in the way they work and how they interact with clients.
Know strengths and weaknesses and your competition
Identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Know where you’re strong so that you can play to your strengths and know where you’re weak so that you can work on areas where improvement is needed. It’s also important to identify what might be key opportunities for your business in future (such as creating new products or types of services) and any potential threats, such as a competitor setting up a similar firm in the same area as you.
Identify key steps to take
Once you’ve been through these stages, then you need to identify the steps you need to take to move towards your goals. This will require you to look at the resources you need and allocate them where you need to.
Have a way to measure your progress
Finally, it’s also important to have a way to track your progress, so that you can ensure you’re going to reach the targets you’ve set or refine things if you’re not on track.
Examples of business strategies can include choosing to target a certain type of customer, identifying who that customer is, what their pain points are and how you can help them. Or another example might be selling more of an existing product or launching an entirely new product.
When working on your strategy, keep your client in mind at all times. Think about how you can help them, what issues they might have and how you can solve their specific problems.
When developing my business, I’ve always kept my clients at the forefront of my mind. I know that if I serve them to the very best of my ability, they will recommend me to their friends and loved ones. I often have clients who think they won’t be able to get a mortgage as they’re self-employed, on maternity leave or think they might be too old. It’s very rewarding to be able to help many of them.
My business is set to expand but before we get too carried away, I’ve set aside some time to sit down with my team and map out exactly how we plan to do that. I’m looking forward to the future but I will ensure I have a clear vision.
More information
Monica Bradley is the founder and Managing Director of award-winning mortgage broker, MB Associates. Her company is based in Cheam, Surrey, and works with over 90 lenders to find the right mortgage product for her clients. For mortgage or financial protection advice, call her on 020 8652 5240 or email info@mbassociates.net. You can also visit the website at https://www.mbassociates.net/