Strategy
Developing a Strategy
How Will You Operate?
The planning phase for a new business must also take into account getting it ready for day-to-day business. Here is a checklist of things provided by the Canadian Bankers Association that you may want to consider.
Strategy Versus Execution
This article by well known Michael Porter, published on Fast Company's website, explains the importance of an enduring strategy that survives changing technology and management fads. To access the article, go to the issue archives in the Magazine section of the site and click on number 44.
The Definitive Guide to Understanding Business Cycles
Understand how to identify trends and which economic drivers affect your business performance so that you can minimize risks and maximize opportunities. RBC Royal Bank's website contains a guide to help you identify and account for the external factors that influence a company's survival and growth.
Plan for Growth: Being Competitor Focussed
Basic business competitive strategies and practical tips on how to succeed are discussed on the Royal Bank of Canada website.
Don't just Plan it - Do it!
This article by David Kane and Josée Santoni posted on the Ca-magazine website talks about the importance of a good business plan but executing it well is as critical in order to succeed.
Business Plans
Interactive Business Planner
This interactive business planning tool on the Canada Business Service Centre website assists owner-operators in preparing 3-year business plans.
Strategic and Business Plans
This site, by Business Development Bank of Canada, shows how strategic plans are not the same as business plans — they are dynamic and ever-changing. Under Business Tools, there is also a template for a business plan.
Steps to Competitiveness - Strategic Planning
This Strategis website offers a useful framework for strategic planning. It is particularly aimed at businesses in the service industries.
Plan Ware
This is an Irish-based website with software for all aspects of preparing a business plan, including templates for spreadsheets and business plans. It is free for the basic version; the sophisticated version comes at a price.
Information Management
Networked Knowledge
The Certified Management Accountants (CMA) of Canada present an article in their online magazine, on new ways of managing knowledge transfer that even the smallest SME can benefit from.
Knowledge Capital
This article published on the American Productivity & Quality Center website provides a thorough overview of how to create, maintain and grow a system to manage key knowledge in a business.
Alliances, Partnering, Mergers and Acquisitions
Know your Strategic Alliance Options
Tips from BDC on how to assess prospective partners and find the strategic alliance that best suits your business needs.
Steps to Competitiveness - Partnerships
This section of the Industry Canada Strategis website provides a good overview of alliances and partnerships for service companies.
Joint Venture Agreement Check List
The Canada Business website offers a comprehensive list of issues in creating a joint venture.
Forming Alliances
This site offers a solid foundation on what it takes to succeed and how to avoid the most common pitfalls in forming strategic alliances. Offered by Deloitte Touche.
Business Networks
A business network is a formal or informal group of three or more small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that cooperate and undertake projects or actions that will enhance their competitive edge.
Find out more about its formation, characteristics, utility and some relevant statistics.
How to Set up a Business Network
Information is provided to help you set up a Business Network: the models, the search for partners, the formation of the alliance, the set-up of the network and worksheets for business auto-evaluation.
To set up a Business Network, there are six points to consider and to follow. Worksheets are provided here to help you.
Start with the first point: Business Network Cooperation.
Selling your Business
Succession planning: what you need to know
Get the answers to today's top questions from BDC’s "Ask a Pro" forum.
Selling the Business
This article in the Business Owner's Toolkit of CCH website provides tips on how to find a buyer, value the business and structure the deal, as well as financing and closing the deal.
Valuing a Business
A brief guide on BusinessTown website talking about the main issues and techniques in valuing a business, for sale or purchase; includes multiple of earnings, book value, discounted cash flow and more.
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Managing for Business Success
