Strategy is the core to moving forward.

Now that most States are coming back to some form of new normal, with even more changes possible later in 2021, with wide spread use of vaccine and the International market opening up, many regional businesses are looking at their future.

At these times I have observed, businesses have a focus on tactics, doing things to get their businesses and their lives back on track. Back to marketing, dropping rates to create cash flow, not spending for maintenance and just trying to get through these times, to get back to what life was.

However, with 45 years experience developing businesses across a number of business sectors, across regional Australia and around the World, I have found that you start from strategy.

Why Strategy.

That’s the reason for the tactics, whether they will be relevant to your recovery or just making you feel great because you are doing something, but just going round and round in circles.

Its like when you decide that you want to climb a mountain. Rather than just starting to buy walking and climbing equipment, deciding what light weight food you are going to take with you – you have to work out why you want to climb a mountain and what mountain you are going to climb.

Its at these times that you start to ask the “big questions”

1. What do you want out of life.

You only have one life we are told and you have the power to do what you want. I was one who fell into Tourism, was a builder of Transportable Homes – called Pods now, and saw a huge opportunity to not only serve businesses already in Tourism, but saw gaps in developing new businesses.

You are the only person who knows if your business is what you want to do, that fulfills you now and into the future. Is running your own business, worry about cash flow, having funds to pay wages, the hassles of employing people. The joy of seeing a plan work, building a business and having an exit strategy to another outcome.

Or you are part of a great team, an employee in a business that appreciates you and the people they serve, that is great as well. You don’t have to own a business to be satisfied – that’s understanding what mountain you are climbing.

• How do you want to climb that mountain.

Do you want to work 7 days a week, 12 hour days – I did that for many years and its fun as you get into a groove to wheel and deal. You move from one success to another, but its an issue with having a relationship, to be part of a family or to be around friends.

I see a lot of business owners working long hours, weekends and no holidays, for less money than a good employee. But they are stuck, they cannot get out of the rut they have found them selves and try tactic after tactic to get them back on top.

• Now you can start on the strategy for the business.

Who are the customers that you really want, high end with high expectations and high levels of product and service, or lower end, with different levels of expectations, higher levels of competition.

Are there enough of them so your business will succeed to the level that you want.  

What does your most profitable prospect look like, what inspires them, excites them, what are they looking for in a break.  Really understand what makes them tick. Their age, family singles or couples – kids?

Does not mean that you will not sell to others, it just makes it easier to focus on one segment at a time.

How is your inventory – have you enough rooms to be viable – the business my investors purchased was to small – would never make money as an investor, so we needed a strategy to initially double the size and now looking to double again. That then needed strategy to increase sales to fund the cash flow and repayment.  Then operational strategies etc…

Do you have systems in place, especially with the challenges of Covid restrictions or do just bumble along?

• Then you can start considering tactics to support the strategy.

Don’t try to do everything, especially when capital is scarce along with enthusiasm to move forward. Follow the plan, the strategy to succeed, but its okay to review it if success becomes scarce. However the tactics should be towards the current strategic plan. 

Great tactics to no or poor plan, creates poor tactics.

So just some idea’s to help regional businesses start to move forward in a positive way, not spend all your efforts on tactics that may not be helping to achieve your strategic outcomes.

Tony Park

Tony is a Best Selling Author, Entrepreneur and Academic. Has been developing businesses all around the world for 45 years.