Strategic Planning

Strategic Planning for Business: Set Your Strategy for Success in 2025

Posted by: Glenn Sharp on December 17, 2024

With the start of a new year, businesses often ask how they can use strategic planning to drive success. Strategic planning is more than just goal setting; it’s about creating a clear path to achieve your overarching outcomes and ensuring every step contributes to that bigger picture. Read on to discover how a solid strategy can set your business up for success in 2025.

Strategic Planning vs Business Planning: What’s the Difference?

Strategic planning and business planning are often confused or used interchangeably, but they serve distinct purposes:

Strategic Planning outlines the overarching strategy or “big picture” of where your business wants to go. It considers long-term growth, external forces, and key objectives to position your business as a leader in its industry.
Business Planning focuses on the specifics and short-term actions needed to achieve your strategic goals. It includes practical plans like cash flow budgets, sales targets, employment projections, and HR strategies.

Think of it this way:

The strategic plan defines your destination (the “Where”).
The business plan maps out the steps to get there (the “How”).

Together, these plans work in unison to move your business forward.

Why Strategic Planning Matters

Strategic planning provides clarity and direction, helping you identify where your business wants to be in the next 12 months and beyond. It involves setting goals, defining priorities, and aligning resources to achieve key outcomes.

The start of a new financial year or calendar year is ideal for developing or revisiting your strategic plan. By taking stock of where you are now and identifying your goals, you can break your strategy into clear, actionable steps to set your business up for success.

The Key Elements of a Strategic Plan

A strong strategic plan focuses on both high-level goals and detailed actions. Here’s what it typically includes:

Overarching Strategy: Define where you want your business to be in 12 months, 3 years, or longer.

Budgets: Develop cash flow budgets, sales targets, and financial plans that support your strategy.
Targets: Set employment, HR, and operational targets to align your team and resources with your goals.
Action Plans: Break your goals into actionable steps that can be tracked and achieved.

For example, setting employment targets or HR plans ensures you have the right people in the right roles to help achieve your strategic outcomes.

Steps to Develop Your Strategic Plan

Follow these steps to create or refine your strategic plan:

Define Your Destination: Where do you want your business to be in 12 months and beyond? Be clear about your overarching goals and outcomes.
Set Specific Targets: Develop actionable goals such as cash flow budgets, sales targets, and employment plans.
Identify Priorities: Determine which projects or initiatives will have the greatest impact on achieving your strategy. If a task doesn’t align with your strategic goals, consider whether it’s worth pursuing.
Allocate Resources: Ensure you have the right team members, tools, and budget in place to implement your plan.
Measure Progress: Set clear milestones and regularly review your progress to stay on track.

By breaking your overarching strategy into manageable steps, you create a clear roadmap that aligns your team and resources with your goals.

Why Now Is the Time for Strategic Planning

The beginning of the year, particularly the first six months, is a critical window for businesses. It’s an opportunity to:

Reflect on the past year’s performance.
Set clear goals and develop budgets to drive your business forward.
Focus on the key actions and targets that will ensure a successful year ahead.

Strategic planning now can give your business a competitive edge by:

Providing a clear vision of where you want to be.
Aligning your team with shared goals and priorities.
Creating actionable steps to achieve success in the next 12 months.

Strategic Planning with Sharp Accounting

At Sharp Accounting, we specialise in helping businesses develop strategic plans that drive growth and success. As part of our business advisory services, we work with business owners to:

Identify the key challenges holding you back.
Develop practical strategies to overcome obstacles.
Set actionable goals and targets to position your business for the future.

If you’re ready to set your business up for success in 2025, book your free 20-minute consultation today. Together, we’ll create a strategic plan to help you achieve your business goals.

The Power of a Strategic Plan

Strategic planning isn’t just about setting goals—it’s about creating a clear, actionable roadmap that aligns your business with its overarching outcomes. By combining a strong strategy with detailed plans, you can:

Focus on what matters most.
Align your team and resources with your vision.
Position your business to thrive in the year ahead.

Make 2025 the year you leverage strategic planning to achieve your goals and drive success.

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We made the change to engage an accounting firm from outside of our home town and Sharp Accounting came highly... recommended. Ewen has been our accountant for more than 3 years and the changes within our business models have reflected his invaluable input. Ewen has provided support and recommendations on setting ourselves up for the future whilst continuing to run well established businesses. We highly recommend Ewen and the team at Sharp Accounting. Matt and Katherine Bissettread more

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The Sharp Accounting Team have been nothing but professional, very supportive and extremely prompt with any queries... since transitioning across to them 12 months ago. Their knowledge and expertise has definitely helped me grow my business and I couldn’t have done it without them. Highly recommend for both personal or business needs.read more

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02:10 03 Nov 23

Sharp Accounting and Tarynn in particular are wonderful to deal with - she is incredibly professional, passionate and... thorough in all our dealings. She cares about her clients and always goes above and beyond. I cannot recommend her highly enough - she is an asset to our business and it is like having an extra employee on our team - she is always available and helpful whenever we have a question. Thank you Tarynn for all the hard work you put in.read more

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01:03 01 Nov 23

We initially approached Sharp Accounting as we weren't entirely pleased with our previous accountants. Since we engaged... Ewen and Tarynn from Sharp Accounting, our business has made a steady profit every year. They changed the way we structured our accounting practices, and have listened to what we want to achieve every year. Somehow, even though our yearly goals were ambitious, they were able to get our business to our desired target within that financial year. We would highly recommend Sharp Accounting!read more

Tree Tech Management Tree Tech Management

03:13 30 Oct 23

Sharp Accounting has been an invaluable support to my business during the uncertainties of the pandemic. Glen and... Matt's responsiveness and expertise have been instrumental in guiding my business's growth. Without their help, my business wouldn't be where it is today. Whether small or large, Sharp Accounting stands out as the best in the business!read more

Matthew Fontana

10:46 16 May 21

Dealt with David on an ongoing basis, very professional and knowledgeable man who has been a tremendous benefit to my... business. I can recommend Sharp accounting to any serious business owner wanting to take their business forward.read more

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01:33 10 Mar 20

Sharp have always been a pleasure to deal with and offer honest straight forward advice, you can tell the advice comes... from experience and a team who love supporting Ballarat localsread more

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22:53 17 Dec 19

Couldn't be more helpful, efficient and anxiety relieving! Fast, absolutely professional and polite, Sharp Accounting... is a well-oiled machine that actually almost makes tax time fun! I'd highly recommend them to anyone - and have been doing so for people with woeful stories of alternative accounting businesses...read more

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03:38 11 Nov 19

We could not recommend Sharp Accounting highly enough! Working closely with Sam, we've been up-skilled and empowered... to feel more confident when it comes to managing our finances and making financial decisions for our growing business! We don't actually know where we would be without you! Thank you, from the Ookami Kids Team!read more

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08:46 06 Nov 19

Sharp accounting are friendly, affordable and professional. They always deliver a great service and have the flexibilty... to cater for clients appointments, times & needs. From a Happy long term client. Keep up the great work Sharp Accounting Team Cheers Michelleread more

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07:45 06 Nov 19

Fantastic accounting team. Have been essential in helping to get my small business off the ground. Would highly... recommend.read more

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07:09 06 Nov 19

Where do I start???? After going through the most traumatic time of being in business for over 17years .... I honestly... would’ve closed my doors if it hadn’t have been for the support, knowledge and expertise of Ewen and his team. I now actually know “all my numbers” and am slowly getting back in front. Working closely with Sharp accounting has saved my business( and my sanity ). Thanks Sharp Accounting 😊 Petaread more

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06:58 06 Nov 19

Glenn and the team at Sharp Accounting have supported our company's growth for over 14 years with a caring and... personalised service that we value. Nothing is too much trouble for the staff who have even assisted us after hours from time to time. We can't recommend Sharp Accounting enough.read more

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01:46 20 Aug 18

Sharps Accounting have always delivered prompt, professional, accurate advice and services. Whether it's for a tax... return or guidance in business finance we've always recommended the team at Sharps accounting before any others. Keep up the good work!!read more

Wayne Squire

07:19 12 Jul 18

Moving our Business across to Sharp Accounting has been one of the most beneficial decisions we have ever made. The... experience and knowledge they bestow on our Company has seen us grow from strength to strength in the time we have been with them. They are always accessible and provide the correct advice and direction when needed. The staff are helpful, courteous and they follow through on their promises. Sharp Accounting contribute significantly back into the community in many varied ways, they are a vital part of my business and are a company I cant recommend highly enough.read more

Simon Fletcher

03:39 11 Jul 18

Sharp have given fantastic, professional and prompt service since day 1. Several years ago they provided us with... invaluable assistance in the purchase of a business and all the challenges that entailed. We couldn't have done it without them. Wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone for their business or personal accounting needs.read more

Jenny O'Keefe

01:22 11 Jul 18

Ewen at Sharp Accounting is our trusted family accountant. He has changed my life for the better - so encouraging and... instrumental in establishing a new small business, I’ve been so well taken care of and never feel like any question I’m asking is too silly or a waste of his time. Ewen and the team at Sharp have given me a great deal of confidence in business, and with my personal finances. I know they always have my back. Thanks Ewen!read more

Steve Friend

01:25 14 Jun 18

I have been associated with Ewen and the Sharp Accounting staff since agreeing to purchase a business some 12 months... ago. Sharp Accounting stepped me through the purchase process, established all company regulatory requirements and just made the process painless for a first time business owner. Now we are up and running, Sharp Accounting were retained by our business, despite being 300km away. Sharp Accounting now look after all of my personal and business tax and business accounting needs. They are all easily approachable, extremely timely in responding to questions and on top of my key dates, ensuring I have everything I need to have lodged, done well in time. I highly recommend Sharp Accounting to any prospective clients.read more

Paul Ballinger

00:20 08 Mar 16

The team at Sharp Accounting have looked after us from both business and personal perspective for the past 10 years.... Their professionalism is beyond reproach. We have always had sound business advice and find the team easy to communicate with. Sharp Accounting deliver great service I highly recommend them.read more

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