How Entrepreneurs Plan Strategically (Research Paper Sample)

Strategic Planning
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Introduction
Strategic planning is the comprehensive determining process on what a business should become and how to best achieve those objectives. It appraises the business’ full potential and links its objectives, explicitly, to the resources and actions that are required to achieve them. Also, a good strategy plus the business goals improves a business competitive advantage thereby separating it from the competitors. It also defines the scope of operations as well as the relationship with the customers, employees and the stakeholders. This analysis focuses on how the entrepreneurs plan strategically and how they achieve success through it as well as the factors they consider when making the strategies.
The purpose of strategic planning is for the entrepreneur to set overall business goals and develop a strategy on how to achieve them. Therefore, the entrepreneur needs to strategize from time-to-time asking himself where his business is headed and what he should prioritize more as time goes by (Hendley, 2015). Also, the larger the business, the more sophisticated strategy formulation will get. The entrepreneur needs to strategically plan to sustain business growth as well as helping him muster the resources and the leadership he needs to keep his business growing. Also, effective strategy development will require the entrepreneur to shift his focus from his day-to-day business concerns and consider his broader and long-term options.
Also, the entrepreneur needs to have deeper understanding about his business if he is to develop a good strategy. He needs to know how it operates internally, its profitability drivers, and also how his business compares with the competitors before making any decision on strategic planning. He should also ask himself where he wants his business to be in the future which is very crucial to strategic planning as it forms the foundation for his final plan as well as motivating the needed change (Dolence, 2013). He also needs to evaluate the changes that he will need to make if he is to deliver his strategic objectives as well as the best ways to implement those changes. However, the entrepreneur should balance his business vision against practical realities of his current position as a strategic plan needs to be realistic and achievable.
Strategic planning process needs to be managed carefully hence the need for the entrepreneur to assign the resources and responsibilities to the right people but also should be on top of the process. That being said, he needs people with analytical skills as successful strategic planning depends upon them. And when it comes to making decision that he can make on his own, he should take the opinions of his staff members on board. There are some factors that the entrepreneur should consider before developing a strategy (Robinson & Pearce, 2014). O