Create a growth plan

Achieving your goals requires a growth plan. Like your business plan, a growth plan clearly states your objectives and the means you plan to use to attain them.

Your growth plan is essentially your game plan to reaching your goals. It includes, for example:

• Your company’s mission.
• Your long-range vision of your company’s future.
• The strategic goals that will allow you to reach your vision.
• The means you plan to use to attain your goals (including funding).

Evaluate each of your company divisions

Your company’s marketing, operations, Human Resources and finance divisions must be critically evaluated in terms of the growth plan. This analysis will allow you to make a comprehensive diagnostic of the current state of each component and, if appropriate, identify needed changes. The evaluation must be honest, objective and exhaustive so you can draw relevant conclusions.

Sample questions to ask:

• Is each division achieving its full potential?
• Will each division be able to meet the new demands of the growth plan?
• Does the management team have the experience required in the event of the takeover of a competitor?
• Does HR possess the language skills it needs to do business in China?

SWOT analysis

Analyzing your company’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT analysis) is a proven and commonly used strategic planning technique that can help you identify the aspects of your organization that need to be improved in order to reach the goals outlined in your growth plan. It enables you to assess your competitive position through an analysis of your company’s internal and external environments.

• Strengths are the specific aspects of your company that have contributed to your success so far.
• Weaknesses are the aspects of your company that need to be improved.
• Opportunities are external conditions that favourably impact your company.
• Threats are the risks posed by external conditions to your company.

Choose a growth strategy

There are several ways to make your company grow. You can increase sales with any the following strategies:

Innovation	Invest in research and development to create new product and service designs, or ways of delivering them.
Market concentration	Convince potential customers in a given market to purchase your products and services, or existing customers to buy more.
Market penetration	Sell your product or service outside your local market.
Diversification	Develop new products and services to meet the needs of current or new customers.

	At the caisse	Contact an advisor at a caisse.
	At a Desjardins Business Centre	Contact an account manager at a Desjardins Business Centre.