Strategic Planning: List of Informative Web Sites

 

Keywords have become the currency of the digital economy. They transmute into cash when you attract the right prospective customers to your Web site. In Internet searches, the right key words will also deliver the right data – saving you time and money while increasing revenue.

If you’re like most businesspeople, you have your favorite Web sites, which are often trade or profession-specific. You probably get great newsletters, too.

As Biz Coach, I enjoy hearing from many of the best strategists in the world and daily receive information from scores of sources on best-practices management and other topics. And some of my best feedback and questions come from readers who stumble across this column after searching for specific topics.

No one is able to accurately predict what the future holds for your business. But you can influence it, of course, by acting on the best information available. Your best bet for a crystal ball depends on whether you have a good awareness of human nature and developing trends throughout the nation and the globe.

If you need capital, here is some helpful information: “What No One Tells You about Raising Investment Capital.”

For information on mounting a business comeback, see “Step-by-Step Solutions for a Company Turnaround.”

What does the future hold generally for the economy and your business? Not to be a broken record, but in order to design a strategic plan to maximize your resources, you’ll want to complete a SWOT analysis to determine your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. But you’ll probably need answers from external sources.

For more on how to conduct a SWOT Analysis, visit: “Boeing, Airbus Rivalry: Lessons in Strategic Planning.”  

Once you conduct your SWOT you can start your strategic planning.

Here’s a potpourri of Web sites that provide some enlightening answers:

National Bureau of Economic Research. The private, nonprofit organization is a wealth of economic data that has been providing information regarding the workings of the economy since 1920. The organization does not predict recessions but is regarded as the authority on the nation’s economic health. You can sign up for daily updates on economic indicators at www.nber.org.

Federal Reserve outlook. Current information works best if you also have a sense of history. You can access the government’s current and historical data, including the last four decades at www.federalreserve.gov.

Data from 100 federal agencies. At www.fedstats.gov, you’ll be able to see the latest statistics from 100 government agencies concerning the big picture economy and your specific industry – topics range from agriculture to transportation. You can also see demographic data for every city.

Retail sales. Retail sales data is available at www.chainstoreage.com. This is helpful information as you finalize your product orders and plan your advertising dollars.

Housing. You can get wide-ranging clues from the National Association of Home Builders, www.nahb.com. Admittedly, it is designed to influence policy, but the site also has far-reaching data ranging from the housing industry to consumer-oriented home and remodeling information.

Airline and travel. Face time is important for selling to customers. But it is not fun if your flights are delayed or cancelled. There are at least four helpful travel sites: www.dot.gov, www.thetravelinsider.com, www.flightaware.com and www.flightstats.com.

Small business loans. The Small Business Administration, of course, provides loans to qualified small businesses.

Naturally, it is no secret that federal agencies can be a desirable target for small businesses. Federal agencies indeed are huge opportunities. But the Small Business Administration, www.sba.gov, confirms that federal agencies do not meet their quotas in contracting with small firms. For each agency, the quota is to award 23 percent of contracts to small business.

Here are the requirements: 5 percent to disadvantaged businesses; 5 percent to female-owned businesses; 3 percent to service-disabled veterans; and 3 percent to small firms in defined enterprise zones.

Newsletters of consulting firms. While many successful consulting firms charge for helpful studies in the form of newsletters, a substantial number are complementary, such as some from McKinsey & Company, www.mckinsey.com.

From the Coach’s Corner, Internet security and identity theft are huge threats. One of my favorite consultants in Internet security is Dr. Stan Stahl at www.citadel-information.com.

For up-to-date information on global security risks, here is his blog site: www.citadelonsecurity.blogspot.com.