Firstly, you need to ensure that this is a goal you actually want to achieve.

If your business expands, it will involve usually more time and effort for you in the short term, perhaps more pressure. The old cliché of ‘no pain – no gain’ is useful to remember. Embarking on a plan to grow needs full commitment from day one.

You will need to know what your objective is. Without a destination in mind, it will be difficult to know when you have arrived. You should therefore be very clear as to what your strategic objectives are. A business plan will then help formulate how these are achieved.

Many people pay lip service to a business plan, claiming it is not necessary. However, if you want to build a house you don’t do it without drawings; if you go on a long journey you rarely do it without a map. So why would you look to grow your business without a plan. The answer is you should not.

Not only is the plan useful for your bank, accountants and employees – it will help you focus on what you need to do. Look at it as a route map to success.

The business plan should contain financial forecasts. These will identify how much finance, if any, is required to achieve your aims. If finance is required, the business plan and supporting financial forecasts will stand you in good stead with your bank and other potential investors.

If you look to potential investors, frequently known as business angels, there are many other issues that need to be considered and professional advice is needed.

In your business plan other key areas that will be covered are:

• Development of a management team and employees
• Marketing Plan
• Identifying systems that will be introduced

A business plan is a working document that should be reviewed and updated on a frequent basis to ensure that you have not lost sight of your objectives and are doing the things you agreed on at the beginning

Unsurprisingly, this is something most business owners wish to do. There are normally three simple rules to increase profits:

• Increase sales
• Increase gross profit
• Reduce overheads

Noting these down is simple but it can be more of a challenge to achieve these goals. Some ideas are set out below:

Increasing sales

• When did you last increase your prices?
• Have you thought about menu pricing?
• Do you give away things for free that you could charge for?
• Have you got sales script/procedures in place for employees?
• When did you last ask your customers what they thought of you and what they actually wanted?
• Do you ask for referrals?
• Could your conversion rates improve?

Increasing gross profit

• When did you last go out and tender on your major purchases?
• Do you get quotes for all major expenditure?
• Are there any benefits in bulk buying?
• Have you actually reviewed what you do to see if it can be done more efficiently?
• Can technology help you to be more efficient?
• If you pay overtime – is it under control?
• Have you got systems in place so everyone knows how to do things in the correct way?

Reducing overheads

• Do you get quotes?
• Do you set budgets and regularly review these?
• Could you work with suppliers to bring costs down?
• Have you asked employees if they know of any savings that could be made?

As owners grow their businesses, they do see taxes as an overhead and wish to minimise their tax bills wherever possible.

Ultimately the more profits achieved, the higher the tax bill will be, but sensible efficient tax planning can help to reduce tax payable and ensure more funds are either reinvested in the business or extracted for the benefit of the owners. A few things that should be considered:

• Incorporation into a limited company if you are currently a sole trader or partnership with reasonable profit levels, as this can reduce tax bills
• If a limited company, extracting profits by way of dividends or pension contributions can be beneficial
• Maximising capital allowances, particularly energy efficient plant and machinery
• Minimising disallowable expenditure and general provisions
• Considering the timing of income and expenditure and the impact this has on the business’s tax liability
• Having regular tax planning reviews with your tax advisers

Many business owners that set out their aim of increasing the size of their business suffer from an imbalance in their work/life balance. Too much business and not enough time for other things.

This is a frequent problem we come across and we have experience in helping business owners organise their business affairs which allows them to free up time so they can spend more quality time doing other important things in their lives.

Also we find, it enhances the entrepreneur’s enthusiasm and energy levels which in turn can also benefit the business as they come back more focussed and determined.

We would look at the following:

• Systems
• Controls
• Delegation
• Management team
• What the owners actually do compared to what they actually need to do

This can be a rewarding exercise and the benefits can be considerable. Remember life is not a rehearsal so it is important to ensure you properly enjoy the rewards of running your own business.