“Toronto-based events company Oxford Beach puts on more than 250 affairs a year, but a big chunk of its revenues come from one massive shindig: its “St. Party’s Day” event… Created two years ago by Oxford Beach founder Billy Hennessy, the event occurs on St. Paddy’s Day, and the last one attracted 8,000 celebrants to Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market, he says.

Between beer company sponsorship and sales of booze and food, the event generated revenues of more than $300,000, he says.That equals almost a third of the $1-million the 13-employee company expects to generate in 2012.

Mr. Hennessey believes there’s more where that came from, and he now wants to take the event to other cities, capitalizing on the St. Party’s Day name he says he has trademarked.” Read more…

Oxford Beach found Billy Hennessey. Tim Fraser for the Globe and Mail.

Photo courtesy of Alex Osterwalder

Simplicity is the key to using strategic planning sessions to create actionable items. It’s not overly difficult to create a strategic plan, but management and implementation can be another story. Time spent on strategic planning is wasted if the project isn’t managed and broken down into actionable steps. Keeping the plan on track means setting reasonable goals and realistic timelines.

Use Strategic Goals to Develop Programs and Projects
Analyzing your company’s strategic goals and direction will facilitate plan management by enabling you to identify which projects are short-term, which are ongoing, and what the requirements are for each. For example, a Vancouver-based company planning to open a Calgary branch decides to conduct a feasibility study within a three-month time limit. If the study provides with a favorable outcome, an ongoing internal communication strategy would be implemented to enable the Vancouver head office to maintain effective management.

Creation and Management of an Effective Implementation Plan
Once the action steps created by the strategic plan are defined, it is important to delegate effectively. The better defined the tasks, the easier it is for employees to complete projects and for company management to oversee the process. Careful strategic planning and management leads to clear tasks, clear goals, and a growing business.

Continuing with the previous example, the project manager in charge of tasking the feasibility study project must assess the demand for the company’s products and services in Calgary. Monitoring the business environment in surrounding cities would also be strategically prudent. Also important are metrics such as forecasting cash flow and revenue needs for the Calgary expansion.

The implementation plan should outline specific timelines and identify required resources – financial and human. Managing the process by delegating responsibility to specific employees encourages ownership and accountability throughout the implementation process.

Develop Alternative Implementation Scenarios
Because business changes at a rapid pace, implementation plans must stay flexible. Strategic management involves developing alternative implementation scenarios ahead of time to ensure that the company can efficiently adjust to and recover from unforeseen complications while keeping the strategic plan on track.

Returning to our example, if the early stage of the feasibility study project shows that Calgary is a lucrative market for expansion, the implementation team can immediately move into an office allocation project. On the other hand, if Calgary turns out to be a poor choice, the implementation team can quickly transition into investigating other cities.

Manage Strategic Plans with Regular Progression Meetings
Even the most brilliant implementation plan is useless without a project manager to monitor the results. Weekly or bi-monthly strategic planning meetings, along with yearly evaluations, give task managers the opportunity to report on successes and failures. Employees will have the chance to exchange ideas, provide feedback, and identify potential roadblocks. After the discussion, the project management team can reassess goals and tasks and delegate or re-assign as necessary.

Running a business is a complex process often requiring coordination of multiple teams in multiple locations working to achieve an overall goal. The first step to your goals is careful strategic planning. Strong management is then required to ensure that the company works in alignment to achieve success.

Photo courtesy of Horasis

A powerful strategic planning team is an asset to any business. Although an owner may be comfortable making the major decisions, having a planning team at your disposal exponentially increases the available pool of fresh ideas. There’s no substitute for an objective team who can explore diverse strategic opinions, then focus the ideas into a focussed plan aimed at a specific business goal.

Creating the Strategic Dream Team
When recruiting your team, choose people who share an overall strategic vision but will lend their own creativity and perspective. People with a vested interest in the company’s success and diverse skill sets make ideal candidates for a planning team with both integrity and vision.

Since the ability to see all sides of an issue is the foundation of an effective strategic team, don’t exclude those with opposing ideas. This does not mean including an employee who brings negativity to the table, it means exploring new avenues and opening the door to differing opinions. Invite key managers to keep them abreast of developments.

Choose the Right Leader for Strategic Success
The leader is the most important member of any strategic planning team. Not necessarily the business owner, the leader is the person best suited to aligning the team and delegating assignments to ensure steady progress towards goals. They must have the knowledge to monitor progress of a given project, recognize required action steps, and assign tasks to the appropriate team member.

The Team’s Commitment is Crucial
Maintaining commitment is the key to managing a strategic team. Start with a team who share the company’s vision and goals. Foster commitment by encouraging the exchange of ideas and providing rewards for efforts made – positive reinforcement is always more effective than pointing out failures. Regularly request input from team members to ensure that everyone feels engaged and is taking ownership of their part of the project.

In this fast-paced business world, creating an efficient team to handle strategic planning initiatives is a must. When guided by a strong leader, your team of diverse, committed employees will be capable of producing astounding results.

Michael Desrochers has experienced unconventional success. While battling a serious addiction, he enrolled in a treatment program and was inspired by the role massage therapy played in the process. Deciding to take control of his life, he registered at the West Coast College of Massage Therapy and began on his path of helping people through healthy living… Now [his clinic] known as PainPRO Therapeutics Inc. Desrochers employs a team of 17 registered massage therapists and their annual revenue has reached approximately $1M. Read more…

Michael Desrochers of PainPRO Therapeutics Inc.

Photo courtesy of LoopZilla

Public relations (PR) is one of the most powerful marketing tools for small businesses. With consistent effort and a bit of practice, anyone can use PR to effectively boost their marketing campaigns. If you pique the media’s interest in your story, you can enjoy as much (or more) exposure as paying advertisers – but without the cost.

Large corporations often have big budgets earmarked for PR, but small businesses shouldn’t be intimidated. No matter the size and resources of your company, putting consistent effort into PR can be a cost-effective path to reaping great marketing results. Here’s a five-step method to get you started:

1. Set your goals
Establish how PR will fit into your marketing campaign. Which target audience do you want to engage? Which key messages, products, services, or company values will you promote?

2. Compile your media list
Determine the media sources that engage your target audience. This could be online (blogs, news sites), print (newspapers and magazines), radio, television, or a combination. To ensure the best return on your efforts it’s important to qualify your sources – do they have a large circulation? Are they respected and credible? Do your homework – find the contact information for the best person to talk to at each source. This information can be found on the websites of most media sources.

3. Craft a media pitch
Make it concise and interesting. Ensure that your company’s relation to the story is clear. The media are inundated with pitches. Yours will stand out if it clearly communicates an engaging message and the media source thinks that their audience will be interested in your story.

4. Start pitching
Send your pitch to everyone on the list. If your story is relevant and engaging, someone will get back to you. It’s also important to be persistent. People are busy and emails may slide under the radar so use your judgement. If you don’t hear back, a follow-up email or call may be in order.

5. Maintain relationships
Once you’ve made contact with a media source it’s vital to maintain the relationship. If you become known as an agreeable and reliable source of interesting stories, there’s a good chance that calls and emails will start coming in on their own.

Used correctly, public relations can be one of the most powerful and cost-effective items in your marketing toolbox. Start now!

It’s always a pleasure to reach out to new audiences. I’m used to being consulted by publications like Business in Vancouver or business writers from the Globe & Mail, but this month brought something slightly different. Jack Kohane, writer for Golf Canada Magazine, contacted me for his article “18 Mini-Meetings: The Art of Sealing a Deal on the Golf Course”. Appearing in the April 2012 issue, Kohane’s article gives insight into how golf can be the ultimate form of business networking. Because it reveals the player’s true character, golf is far more than just a game – it can be the catalyst in the sealing of a large deal, or it can be the limiter that puts a potential relationship on ice.

Other experts consulted by Kohane included Joan Cavanagh, CEO of The Boardroom Golf Institute; Boris Uvakov, Vice President of Kaneff Golf; Colin Sprake, founder of Make Your Mark Training & Consulting; and Danny Fritz, Vice President of IMG Canada.

Read Jack Kohane’s article, “18 Mini-Meetings: The Art of Sealing a Deal on the Golf Course”, and learn how four hours in the sun can be more productive than ten hours in the boardroom.

Matt Mickiewicz has valuable business advice. To say that he experienced success in a short time would be an understatement. At 27, he co-owns three multi-million-dollar internet companies: Sitepoint, 99designs, and Flippa. Mickiewicz’s history of success began in the late ‘90s when, as a high school student, he started creating websites as a hobby.There was a lack of readily available  information about internet design and Mickiewicz saw an opportunity to turn his knowledge into a business. Read more…

Business advice from a pro: Matt Mickiewicz, serial entrepreneur and co-founder of Sitepoint, 99designs and Flippa. Photo courtesy of Matt Mickiewicz.

The firm, founded by Pam Shainhouse who was inspired by her daughter’s battle with cancer, is the focus of this week’s Globe and Mail Challenge editorial series. 

For the second time, we have been invited to offer our advice as one of the experts. Read what our principal consultant, Sandy Huang, has to say to writer Bryan Borzykowski.

Allistyle partner and executive vice-president and spokesperson, and America's Next Top Model winner Whitney Thompson. Courtesy of Allistyle.