A HEALTHY BUSINESSWhat’s the prescription for a healthy business? A

healthy business can be determined by purpose,

productivity and profit.

The Business Practitioner, Inc. has compiled this

report of 30 indicators to test the health of your

business.

The report is divided into three categories : strategic

planning, marketing and operations.

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Prescriptions for

The Business Practitioner, Inc. © 2011This report is the property of The Business Practitioner, Inc. and can not be duplicated or distributed without expresswritten permission from an authorized representative of The Business Practitioner, Inc.

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1 VISION & MISSION: The vision drives your company and the mission tells the story of

who you are, who you serve and how you do it. A healthy business has a clear vision and

mission that is not only incorporated throughout the organization but drives the development

of products and services.

STRATEGIC PLANNING INDICATORS

Who wants to build a HEALTHYbusiness?

Strategic planning is one of the first steps when it comes

to the health of your business. When you think of

planning think of how you will grow your business in a

healthy --- purposeful, productive and profitable --

manner. “Fail to plan, plan to fail” is a common adage.

Strategic planning involves the process of determining

the strategy and direction in which your company will

grow and how resources will be allocated to meet your

goals and objectives.

2 Business Plan with

Financial Projections: Your

business plan is that road map

that guides you, helping you to

identify the best path to travel,

where there might be pit stops,

and in what general direction you

plan on going. Getting really

clear on your numbers,

especially for the short-term, in

today’s economic environment is

absolutely essential.

3 Strategic Action Plan: Your

strategic plan is a snapshot of

your organization’s vision,

mission, core values, goals and

objectives. Strategic action

plans build team consensus and

clarity among board members

and key management. Create a

3 to 5 year plan, a yearly

operational plan and 90 day

action plans to stay on course.

4 SWOT Analysis: Taking

an analysis of your company,

organization or program is a

great way to examine both the

internal and external factors

that are affecting your

company. Review the

company’s strengths and

weaknesses along with

opportunities and threats that

might impact business growth.

5 Policy & Procedures: Consistency and clear management of day-to-day operations is important

in ensuring your vision is implemented by employees of your company. Carefully outlining rules,

responsibilities and guidelines within the company provide a structured mechanism for employees to

follow. Policies provide general strategies and guiding principles for how to handle situations as they

arise while procedures provide a specific course of action to be taken. A healthy business should rely

on well established “written” policies as opposed to “understood” rules and guidelines that might be

misunderstood or misinterpreted.

HEALTHY BUSINESS

Staff &Team Structure: An organizational chart that defines the

various roles within the company should be developed and available for

access. This is the best way for those coming into your company such

as a new hire or consultant to really understand the structure of your

company and how it’s run. Likewise, roles and responsibilities in the

form of job/position descriptions should be outlined. New businesses

should create an organizational chart even if they are starting with just

one person and they are serving in all capacities initially.

Be The Experts: When you

become the experts, others look to

you for the answers. Having the

expertise and the knowledge in

your particular industry makes you

and your company the “go-to”

company for whatever you have to

offer. Make “becoming the experts”

a part of your plan and develop

strategies that highlight your

expertise.

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7 Staff Education, Licenses, and Certifications:

How prepared is your personnel? Many industries require

various certifications, qualifications and licensing to ensure

those that are providing services are qualified for the job.

This is not an area in which you want to be noncompliant.

Make sure you hire people that have the necessary skills

and requirements needed for the job in which they will be

fulfilling.

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Put measures in place to ensure ethicaloperations: Wouldn’t it be great if all businesses

operated with integrity? Unfortunately, that is not

the case. A healthy business is one that

operates in honesty and good faith. As a

company grows it can become more difficult to

control the individual behavior of all those within

the company. Having clear policies and

procedures in place ensures that those that work

within the company understand the standards of

the company and how they are expected to

operate and carry out their duties.

9 Embrace learning and take advantageof opportunities for personal andprofessional enhancement: Skill building is a

necessary component for business growth.

Employees that take advantage of opportunities

to learn and practice new skills are able to better

manage and handle client needs and company

concerns. Build a healthy business by creating

healthy, knowledgeable employees. Plan

workshops, training, conferences, retreats and

work activities that build the mind, body and soul

of your staff.

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Utilize a Marketing Plan: A healthy business needs to

have an effective marketing strategy that outlines how the

company will position itself. The marketing plan covers everything

from your competitive advantage and outreach strategies to the

budget you will use to carry out your tactics. Don’t consider

planning a waste of time. Failure to execute is a more likely

scenario. Planning gives you the opportunity to think, brainstorm,

and document your ideas. A marketing plan is a key indicator in

determining the health of your business..

Develop a process for attracting and retaining clients:A healthy business must build and maintain relationships. Create

procedures for lead generation and identify strategies for

cultivating relationships.

Establish Your USP (Unique Selling Proposition): You

should know how you differ from your competitors. If you’re doing

everything just like the next guy, what’s the incentive to buy from

you instead? A healthy business is distinctive, which is why your

company appeals to a specific market.

Communicate consistent messages that align with yourbrand.

Develop and maintain a strong online presence and social

media strategy.

Offer quality in-demand products/services at competitiveprices.

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Brand Awareness: Many small businesses feel they

can’t brand themselves. This is not true. Your brand

communicates who you are. What does your brand say about

you? Think about who you are targeting, then create your

message and collaterals based on that audience. Your brand

is represented through all that you do.

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Have a clear niche market. Understand their wantsand needs: There are many more choices, interests

and individual communities than there used to be. The

quicker you get really clear on your niche, who they are

and what they need specifically, the healthier your

business will become. Forget about “everybody” and try

to appeal to “someone” in particular.

Conductmarket research:Stay in touch with

market trends,

consumer needs, and

industry standards

through ongoing

qualitative and

quantitative research.

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Establish beneficial strategic and collaborativealliances: You must collaborate. This is truer now more

than ever and particularly for small business owners

that are likely to have fewer resources available to

them. Creating win-win strategic alliances and engaging

in collaborative work projects should be a part of almost

any marketing strategy.

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OPERATIONS

Healthy Insights and Solutions

21 Capital: Businesses operate off of cash. Having enough capital on hand to support

your business initiatives is important. Financial goals and objectives should always be

included when planning. Identify capital resources up front before you actually need them.

22 Business Structure:

Setting your business up

correctly is important to its

health. Consultation with

appropriate advisors (attorney

and CPA) should not be

neglected. Likewise, developing

the appropriate business teams

within your organization supports

growth.

24 Orient staff upon hire

and provide ongoing training:Your staff is just as important as

your customers when it comes to

creating a healthy business

environment. All staff should be

fully oriented upon their entry

into the company and should be

trained on a regular basis to

maintain compliance. A healthy

business supports healthy,

happy employees.

26 Technology & Security: Incorporating the right technology allows you to

automate processes, connect effectively with consumers and employees, and

maintain business security. Internal and external risks that can potentially delay

or halt business operations are common issues that threaten companies on a

daily basis. Businesses must prepare for unforeseen emergencies or

unwarranted attacks --- a natural disaster, theft, or computer virus ---- to deter

costly down time.

25 Maintain a budget that aligns

with your financial plan: It all comes

down to the money and the budget. To

effectively run your company and to

maintain its health, be sure to maintain a

short-term budget to include the

expenses necessary to carry out your

goals and objectives. Your budget should

line up with your long-term financial plan

for generating revenue and improving

operations.

Consistently engage in ongoing, recurring activities that

allow you to create business value and measure results

such as overall management, creating systems and

processes and developing new ways to generate

revenue.

23 Put appropriate legal

measures in place: It’s

impossible to anticipate the

various legal issues that could

come up when operating your

business so it’s important to

work with an attorney or legal

firm to ensure proper

management of agreements,

contracts, and other scenarios

that could impact your company.

Identify a good team of professional advisors:Every company should have a professional team of advisors consisting of

knowledgeable individuals that can offer ideas and clear direction for your company.

Company leaders should meet with advisors on a regular and consistent basis for

reporting.

Document processes that can be easily duplicated: How

well is your business positioned for hiring, turnover, and scaling

operations? Creating processes and systems aid in productivity and

profitability and allows for consistency throughout your company.

Every customer experience should be delivered the same.

Establish and maintain good personal and businesscredit: Establishing good business credit starts with establishing

good personal credit. Take the time to review your credit scores and

credit reports on a regular basis. If you have personal credit issues,

fix them. Try to eliminate as much debt as you can. Keep your credit

in good shape and create more opportunities for vendors and others

to want to work with you.

Strive to meet financialgoals: Do you have financial

goals for your company? Are

you meeting them? If you don’t

set clear cut financial goals it

will be hard to determine how

well you are doing based on

your projections. Take a look at

your financial goals and meet

with your financial officer and/or

accountant regularly to see how

well things are going.

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You can grow your business in a healthy direction. This report, compiled in conjunction and along

with the Business BMI (Business Measures and Indicators), a FREE business health assessment,

allows you to take a look at the status of your business. Visit our website and take the

assessment, then review the various health indicators we’ve outlined and begin to address them

one by one within your organization or company.

The Business Practitioner, Inc. provides strategic direction with measurable results. Our business

practitioners are poised and ready to help you meet your goals so your business can become

more purposeful, productive and profitable, a clear definition of a healthy company. We will help

you diagnose the issue and remedy the problem using our highly effective resources and tools.

We provide business consulting, training and coaching services.

You can find us online at www.thebusinesspractitioner.co or give us a

call at 770-210-0726.

www.thebusinesspractitioner.com

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CONTACT US:

The Business Practitioner

Phone: 770-210-0726

1-888-210-4539 (toll free)

www.thebusinesspractitioner.com

strategies@thebusinesspractitioner.com

The Business Practitioner, Inc. © 2011This report is the property of The Business Practitioner, Inc. and can not be

duplicated or distributed without express written permission from an authorized

representative of The Business Practitioner, Inc..