Valerie explains why planning for your long-term business growth is important, what’s included in a strategic plan, and how to start. She’ll walk you through planning elements, considerations, and tools that can be used to collect input during the planning process. These short videos will also address defining your firm’s mission, vision, and values and using them to inform strategic decisions.

Sessions Include:
> What is a Strategic Plan?
> The Discovery Process
> Mission / Vision / Values
> Sharpening Your Vision
> Putting Your Plan Together

Dena covers what should be included in a typical marketing plan and how you can develop one that fits the specific needs, size, and marketing budget of your design firm. She’ll also recommend which tactics firms should use to achieve specific goals with limited resources. Strategic use of social media will be covered, as will website and messaging best practices.

Session Include:
> Creating Your Firm’s Marketing Plan
> Best Practices: Messaging
> Best Practices: Websites
> Best Practices: Social Media
> Your Marketing Plan in Action

Rena will introduce you to basic financial management concepts and help you learn to set your firm’s financial goals—both annual and longer term. This includes how to develop a proforma with a profit plan and an annual budget. She’ll review revenue forecasting and key performance indicator (KPI) metrics used to effectively track operational performance. This session will help you make smart business decisions like when to hire and how to forecast for earning a profit.

Sessions Include:
> Financial Management Basics
> Key Performance Indicator: Profit - Loss Statement
> KPI: Balance Sheet and Cash Management
> How to Be More Profitable
> How to Price Services
> Annual Financial Planning
> Developing Your Five-Year ProForma

Valerie will review best practices in business development for small design firm owners, including how to structure your BD efforts. She explains the sales funnel, how and why to set goals and metrics, and (yes!) why you need a CRM (spoiler alert…you do).

Sessions Include:
> Intro to BD
> Understanding the Sales Funnel
> Setting Goals and Metrics
> How a CRM Can Support Your Efforts
> Developing Your Plan

The Operations sessions focus on efficiencies and systems, specifically how to manage your time to best execute billable and non-billable work. The team will discuss best practices in resource management, project management, and the relationship between fees and time. We’ll explore how using the right systems, processes, and technology directly relates to profitability. We will also discuss different administrative roles and responsibilities, as well as how and when these roles need to be filled.

Sessions Include:
> Operations Overview
> Financial Management: Best Practices
> Creating a Culture of Effectiveness in Project Management
> Team Structure

We’ll cover the key components of planning for sustainable growth, specifically the “people side” of scaling a design business—exploring how to support and develop your team and defining essential leadership roles. We’ll discuss the importance of planning and providing opportunities for career growth, and how growth ties into your strategic plan.

Sessions Include:
> Basics of Sustainable Growth
> Team Development
> Growing Leadership Roles