Thankfully, our original business plan was well researched and put together so we only needed time to review and update our original assumptions. The new profit and cash forecasts provided all the information we needed to help us manage our unexpected growth.
"For example, we brought forward the employment of another blacksmith as well as investment in new equipment. Originally we'd also planned for me to join Tim in the business part-time after three years. Our rapid growth meant I joined after 16 months."These changes to our plan created a chain reaction. Doubling our capacity and freeing up Tim's time for business development soon led to even bigger and more lucrative contracts."
Control finances"As we've grown, we've stuck to some basic financial principles and processes, such as proper cashflow forecasting, to prevent overtrading. The individual business plans of the departments and separate business units will need to be integrated into a single strategy document for the entire organisation.
"We're very rigorous in our estimates, costing every last step of a job so we don't quote too low. We also have a policy of not offering reductions - we price a job fairly, and that's it. There's no point cutting prices to attract business if you can't cover your costs."Other methods we use to control cash are "just in time" raw material ordering to save on storage costs, insisting on deposits from customers and making sure we get paid in full on time."
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