Double Iron Consulting: Leveraging Strategic Planning

Strategy is a critical component of business development and growth. Strategies that combine strategic and succession planning will ensure sustainable processes and measurable targets are put in place to generate revenue and build a successful business over time. 

Admittedly, succession and strategic planning require expertise if it is to be done well. As such, businesses and their owners will need to consider the best professionals to work with.

Importance of Strategic Planning for Small Businesses, Start-ups

Businesses of all sizes and stages of development need strategic and succession planning to continue growing in their endeavors. However, it may even be truer that small businesses and start-ups simply cannot survive without it. 

This is due largely to the fact that small businesses and start-ups are in a vulnerable state of development. In other words, they are in a make-it-or-break-it phase of their business life cycle. Consequently, they must implement the processes and management features to help the business grow. 

Again, strategic planning and succession planning will need the proper support to be practical. This is where William Smith and the team at Double Iron Consulting can prove to be most helpful. 

Here is how William Smith and Double Iron Consulting are leveraging strategic planning on behalf of small businesses.

1. The Importance of Strategic Planning

A systemic or systematic approach to anything (strategic business planning included) ensures that progress is made for the better in an orderly way. 

That is, one thing follows the other while building on it. In the business world, strategic business planning (and implementation) ensures that one thing follows the other to secure sustainability and profitability. This systemic approach is critical to the life cycle and longevity of a small business or start-up.

2. Anticipating and Navigating Pitfalls

Unsurprisingly, the journey toward sustainability and success in business is filled with many setbacks. Thankfully, many of these setbacks are everyday experiences across businesses and industries. 

Consequently, the setbacks and pitfalls can be anticipated and prepared for in advance. Of course, it takes a certain level of expertise to do that step well. Double Iron Consulting has a team of consultants perfectly suited to exercising said expertise for the businesses they serve. 

3. Moving from Start-Up to Growth

Start-up is the first phase of the business life cycle. While it can be an exciting development phase, this is where many (perhaps most) businesses fail. At this stage, many ideas and discoveries exist as businesses seek new ways to sell and bring their products to market.

Businesses also try to develop a business model that generates a steady cash flow. However, the pre-revenue status of being in the start-up development state can also lead to high team member turnover due to workers moving up and out. 

The quicker a business can move from the start-up to the growth stage of its development cycle, the better. The start-up, as the name suggests, is where the foundations of the business are laid. Once that is done, a quick pivot to the growth stage is needed. 

The growth stage of the business life cycle is where the business will develop processes, build out its team, and have a pricing system. 

The combination of the above will ensure that the business can sustainably go to market. The internal processes and the higher-level employees helping to own and run them will help to maintain the business and nurture the client relationships needed for revenue generation. This stage is also delicate in a business’s life cycle.

Importantly, moving into and building out the growth phase of the business will take longer than the start-up phase and will require even more skill to navigate seamlessly. 

While some business owners may get away with navigating some aspects of the start-up phase if they have a good head for business, the growth phase is different for the same. The growth phase will require help implementing the ideas, products, and services outlined and designed in the start-up phase. 

4. Succession Planning, Leadership Development, and Business Maintenance

Both the start-up and the growth phases will need a strategy to work well; succession planning and leadership development, in particular, will be helpful when exiting the growth stage and moving toward business maturity and maintenance. 

Consistent growth year over year is a vital sign of a mature business. Employees should also be inching closer to a decade in their tenure. 

The maturity stage of the business development cycle is where sustainability comes in as a point of focus. This is where a strong cash flow, spin-offs, and other product development features come into play. A mature business is strong and growing incrementally and sustainably from strength to strength. 

Of course, a business can begin to level off at some point and even enter decline. Unfortunately, many businesses get to this decline stage before the owners or managers know this is happening. 

This is one of the many scenarios in business development where an expert consultant is beneficial. The last thing a business needs is to be in decline and not know it. On the contrary, however, a business recognizing exactly where it is in its development would be able to sell profitably before it is too late if it cannot make a developmental pivot on its own. 

Bridge the Gaps and Hire A Consultant

Through Double Iron Consulting, William Smith ensures that businesses make it successfully through the different stages of the business development life cycle, including selling when necessary. 

Succession planning is essential to this reality, and William Smith and his team are equipped and ready to do the job. Business owners would like to get in touch and start the conversation today.

About Double Iron Consulting 

Double Iron Consulting firm is a consulting service that focuses on small-medium-sized businesses and family businesses. The founder and CEO, William Smith, has many years of experience running his own family business, Royal Cup Coffee. 

Through his expertise gained at Royal Cup Coffee, Bill Smith transitioned his skills to give back and help others with succession planning, leadership development, strategic growth, and internal alignment. 

In 2020, Bill, the company’s board, and family leaders at Royal Cup Coffee together decided to transition the business to non-family leadership. Double Iron Consulting launched in 2021 to help businesses and owners define their goals and find the best ways to achieve them.