Despite challenging market conditions ahead the indications are that little over half of Australia’s brokers have business plans in place for 2009.
Just 55 per cent of respondents to a Mortgage Business straw poll said they would have a business plan ready for the new year – 32 per cent said they wouldn’t have a plan ready and 13 per cent said they didn’t need one.
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Business coach Caroline Beasley of Coaching for Growth told Mortgage Business it was a concern that so many people didn’t see planning as important.
Without a plan Ms Beasley said businesses would have no clear direction of where their business was heading.
“There’s an old saying that if you fail to plan you plan to fail. If you look at bankruptcy stats you can see that many of those businesses that go bust never had a business plan,” she said.
If brokers don’t plan, Ms Beasley said, they are likely to fail to really know their market, understand their competition and they could miss out on valuable opportunities.
Peter Smith of Express Finance Options in Victoria is one broker who recognises the value of following a plan.
“It’s imperative,” he told Mortgage Business.
“Without a plan you’ve got nothing to track yourself against and nothing to work towards.”
Mr Smith said his plan for 2009 was part of a larger plan that had been in place for a couple of years as his business worked towards growing and diversifying.
While his business plan has a long term outlook Mr Smith said it is assessed every month to ensure the business stays on track.
For brokers unsure how to get a business plan rolling Ms Beasley stressed that there are plenty of resources available.
“The state government websites for example are a great place to start,” she said.
“Even a really rudimentary plan is better than no plan at all.”