Business Sustainability Plan - Paper Example

Introduction

The business sustainability and survivability are essential components of the business that considerably influences its success (Barber, Metcalfe, & Porteous, 2016). Fundamentally, owning a business involves the utilization of the good times to plan for the bad times that business may come across. This is based on the fact that companies occasionally experience a downturn at given points of operation. In their studies...reported that the majority of the small business do not survive beyond five years because of both the challenges and factors that may emanate from either within the business or externally. Proper planning of the environmental, political, and the business factors is therefore crucial in ensuring that business is not only well-placed to survive, but also survive the slumping demand as well as the low consumer confidence whenever they take place (Barber, Metcalfe, & Porteous, 2016). A closer look at the Just a Pinch Cafe would reveal that the business is highly susceptible to numerous factors that include the catastrophic business interruption incidents such as fire, and floods, significant economic downturn, shifts in the consumer demand, loss of key employee, technological breakdown, revenue loss as well as the legal issues (Barber, Metcalfe, & Porteous, 2016).

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In the view of the entrepreneur, the Just a pinch cafe will still struggle to expand even in the best times because of these factors. For a company like this, spurts of high growth rarely take place and in a manner that cannot be predicted. According to Burns (2016), crumbling economy does not necessarily lead to the failure of the small firms and their eventual burial in the rubble. With proper planning, they can overcome such factors.

Key Elements of Sustainability and Survivability

Profitability

The profitability is a key to self-efficiency. Just a Pinch Cafe will have to turn a profit to survive on a long-term basis. Notably, the market always provides few firms a free pass to grow and develop without mak8ing money because of their potentiality to dominate the market. Just a Pinch Cafe focuses not only on making the customers a priority but also its products. This helps to establish a stronger customer base as well as the profitability.

Engaged Employees

Having engaged employees is a prerequisite for the establishment of a long-lasting organization. It is one of the primary missions of the Just a Pinch Cafe, in addition to having a team that believes in the company as much as the entrepreneur does. The business intends to invest its leadership in the mission to set an example for the rest of the team.

Leaders Working in the Business

Majority of the company's focus only on the design and establishment of the best product and services. This promotes hypes, rapid success as well as the failure from having a sustainable base that supports the subsequent growth of the business. Just a Pinch Cafe intends to focus both on its end products and services and the company itself. Through this way, it will be able to establish a stronger foundation of financial management, capable operating system, proper employee recruitment and the building of the appropriate corporate culture.

While these elements are not unique to the Just a Pinch Cafe, factors such as catastrophic business interruption incidents, significant economic downturns, shifts in consumer demand, the loss of a key individual, a computer system crash, a loss of financing, significant legal issues may tremendously affect its success. The following are the actions plans for the priority factors that may affect the firm's operation.

Challenges/ Factors Action Steps

Catastrophic business interruption Conduct a risk assessment to help assess which kind of risks the business is highly susceptible to. These include the less frequent ones but that are nonetheless devastating distances that strike without issuing any warning.

Adopt a business interruption insurance against catastrophic calamities such as fire, floods, and natural disasters.

Ensure that the policy covers the calamities that the business is most risked at.

Major Economic downturns Planning, reviewing and monitoring the business will help provide information needed to make changes for financial viability.

Making customers a priority in regard to providing them with what they want. This helps to retain customers especially when the economic downturn occurs.

Adapting the business products and services to be more suited to current needs of the customers.

Apply various techniques such as the inventory optimization, forecasting and demand planning, logistics, and transportation management. This strategies will help respond to this challenge in a more appropriate manner.

Business diversification to help minimize any potential damage or loss in an event of the downturn.

Reviewing marketing strategies to come up with new ideas to increase the sale of products and services.

Managing an up-do-date human resource staff will enhance appropriate staffing costs, thus allowing the entrepreneur to accurately cost his products or services.

Shifts in Consumer Demand Have a responsive supply chain, accessibility to real-time data and accurate forecasting to enhance a supply chain efficiency.

Use a global approach to sales and operations planning as opposed to a decentralised process.

Apply various techniques such as the inventory optimization, forecasting and demand planning, logistics, and transportation management. This strategies will help respond to this challenge in a more appropriate manner.

Application of an enterprise-wide architecture technique will help to provide a wider vision about the business in regard to whole supply chain and the consumer-centric market.

Loss of a key individual Apply strategies that will enhance and promote the retention of key employees as well as those demonstrating vital skills and abilities necessary for business success.

Creating the right work culture that matches the skills that employees have is crucial.

Hiring the right employees, training and provision of guidance to employees will help nurture and motivate the employees to stick to the company.

Performance of appraisal and other rewards help motivate employees.

Revenue Loss Adapting the business products and services to be more suited to current needs of the customers.

Business diversification to help minimize any potential damage or loss in an event of the downturn.

Reviewing marketing strategies to come up with new ideas to increase the sale of products and services.

Unfavorable legal issues Ensuring that the business complies with the government regulations and legislations. These include the regulations concerning taxation, incentives, permit for operation and the right expansion.

Planning, reviewing and monitoring the business will help provide information needed to make changes for financial viability.

Creating the right work culture that matches the skills that employees have is crucial in line with the government's regulations and requirements.

References

Atkinson, J., & Storey, D. J. (2016). Employment, the small firm and the labour market. Routledge.

Burns, P. (2016). Entrepreneurship and small business. Palgrave Macmillan Limited.

Barber, J., Metcalfe, S., & Porteous, M. (2016). Barriers to growth in small firms. Routledge.