When you first went into business, you had hopes and dreams about what your business should be like, how it should operate and where it should go in the future. Running a small to medium sized or family-owned business today means you are faced with an overwhelming array of daily challenges that can take your focus away from the future because you are simply trying to survive today.

Are your original dreams still alive?

If you are like most business owners, you have a good sense of how your business is doing right now. What is probably more difficult for you is determining where you should be going in the future and how to get there. A personalized and strategic operational review of your business, known as a business diagnostic, can help you determine if you are headed in the right direction.
The business diagnostic process starts with determining your objectives and reasons for being in business. Knowing what you want is very important. Next comes a review of the external factors that affect your business, such as customers, competitors, industry and technology. Finally, a diagnostic will review the internal factors that affect your business. These areas include, but are not limited to, your vision, your strategy, and your systems and processes.

A complete business analysis provides you with a detailed report that reviews the strategic position of your business and its operational performance. This “health check” will tell you how you are doing in each of the nine key areas of your business.

Tune in next week to find out where you go from there…