Welcome to our first edition of Business Expedition Monthly, an easy guide to navigating the complex intersection of business strategy and financial success. Each month, on the first Wednesday, I'll share insights drawn from my 20+ years of experience helping entrepreneurs at all stages transform challenges into opportunities. You can also find these articles in our LinkedIn newsletter. 

Dear Business Leaders,

As we approach 2025, now is the perfect time to take a step back and reflect on your business’s trajectory. Running a small to mid-sized business often means juggling daily tasks—many unprecedented—while trying to steer toward long-term goals. But without a clear plan, even the most ambitious visions can lose momentum.

Think of it this way: A well-structured plan bridges the gap between where you are today and where you want to be in the future. It provides focus, engages your team, and ensures your precious resources are allocated wisely.

In this newsletter, we’ll walk you through a step-by-step process to:

1. Create a compelling 10-year vision for your business.

2. Translate that vision into a detailed 3-year plan.

3. Develop actionable 1-year, quarterly, and monthly goals.

4. Collaborate with both your CPA (Certified Public Accountant) and CFO (Chief Financial Officer) to stay financially compliant and strategic.

5. Track progress, adapt to challenges, and keep your business moving forward.

So let’s dive in and create a roadmap for your successful 2025 and beyond!

Dream Big – Crafting Your 10-Year Vision

Every great business starts with a vision, and your 10-year plan is the foundation for everything else. This step is all about thinking big and imagining the future without being constrained by current realities.

Why 10 years, you may ask? Ten years gives you enough distance to think boldly without worrying about immediate barriers. It’s not about detailing every single step—it’s about painting a picture of what success looks like for your business.

Questions to Guide Your Vision:

• Your Team: What does your team look like? How many employees do you have, and what’s your company culture like?

• Your Location: Are you still in your current office, have you expanded, or have you gone fully remote?

• Your Role: Are you hands-on, or a strategic leader focusing on growth?

• Your Ideal Customer: Who are they? What problems are you solving for them?

• Marketing Strategy: How are your customers finding you? Are they advocates for your brand?

• Your Reputation: What are your customers and employees saying about your company?

• Financials: What revenue and profit margins are you targeting?

Tip: Don’t worry about how you’ll achieve this vision yet. The goal is to dream big and get inspired. Your “BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal)”, or bee-hag as Jim Collins and Jerry Porras coined in their famous business success book that I still reference to this day: Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies. Write your BHAG down—this will be your guiding star.

Bridging the Gap – The 3-Year PlanOnce you have your 10-year vision, the next step is to zoom in and ask: What needs to happen in the next three years to stay on track?

Why focus on three years? Three years is close enough to feel tangible but far enough to allow for significant progress. This is where you begin to add detail and start outlining the actions needed to move you closer to your vision.

Key Components of Your 3-Year Plan:

1. Define Your Goals:

• What products or services will you offer?

• What revenue and profit targets will you aim for?

• How many customers will you serve?

2. Plan Resources:

• What investments will you need to make in people, tools, or infrastructure?

• Will you need to hire, train, or reorganize your team?

3. Identify Challenges:

• What obstacles might arise, and how will you prepare to overcome them?

• Are there any gaps in your operations, finances, or market positioning?

Actionable Step: List the major milestones you want to achieve in the next three years and break them into high-level goals. These will become the foundation for your 1-year and quarterly plans.

Getting Specific – Your 1-Year Plan

With your three-year goals in place, it’s time to zero in on 2025. This is where the detailed planning begins.

So why one year? The next 12 months are close enough that your actions today will have a direct impact on results. Your one-year plan should be actionable, measurable, and tied directly to your three-year goals.

How to Build Your 1-Year Plan:

1. Set Clear Goals:

• Define revenue, profit, and customer targets for 2025.

• Identify key projects or initiatives that must be completed this year.

2. Break Down Quarterly Objectives:

• Divide your annual goals into four quarterly milestones. This ensures consistent progress throughout the year.

3. Plan Monthly Sprints:

• Break your quarterly goals into monthly targets, considering seasonal factors like holidays or peak business times.

• Use these monthly goals to build a 12-month revenue and expense forecast.

Tip: Ensure each goal is ambitious yet achievable to motivate your team without overwhelming them.

Your Strategic Partners: Leveraging Your CFO and CPA

Strategic financial planning is essential for turning your goals into reality, but so is ensuring compliance and tax efficiency.

So why share your broader financial plan with your CPA (Certified Public Accountant)?

Your CPA and CFO (Chief Financial Officer) both bring crucial insights that help you stay on track financially. While they each serve different roles, they are both aligned with the same goals. When they understand where your business is going and how you plan to get there, together they can offer guidance to align your financial goals and tax strategies to to maximize your opportunities for growth.

Key Steps to Financial Collaboration:

1. Quarterly Meetings: Meet with your CPA and CFO every quarter to review your progress. These meetings help ensure compliance with any tax strategies and financial goals.

2. Taxable Landscape Review: Assess your taxable landscape—both for your business and personally. Determine whether you have enough reserves to cover additional tax needs or whether you can take strategic actions to reduce your tax liability.

3. Stay Compliant: Regular reviews ensure that you can remain compliant with tax laws and regulations—minimizing surprises at year-end.

Right-Sized CFO Solutions for Every Business:

Working with a CFO and business coach is a vital investment, but it’s feasible for everyone. Having seasoned experts guiding you in these areas is especially crucial for new entrepreneurs and business leaders—however, these individuals who need it most often don’t have as many resources as more experienced and seasoned business owners.

Fear not—there is a solution out there for every entrepreneur.

Like fractional CFO services for leaders who cannot yet hire a full-time CFO—one of the many solutions my knowledgeable team at Business Expedition Partners provides. We also offer various foundational and later-stage business coaching services that can be customized to any business leader’s needs.

Execution, Adaptation, and Team Alignment

A plan is only as good as its execution. To ensure your business’ success, the key is to track progress, adapt as needed, and keep your team aligned.

Tracking Progress:

• Variance Reports: Each month, compare actual revenue and expenses to your forecast. Analyze any differences to understand what’s working and what needs adjusting.

• Quarterly Reviews: Meet with your leadership team to review progress, address challenges, and fine-tune plans if necessary.

Adapt When Needed:

While consistency is important, sometimes goals need to pivot. If new opportunities or challenges arise, be flexible enough to adapt while staying true to your overall vision.

Avoid Scope Creep:

One common pitfall in goal-setting is expanding the scope of projects mid-stream. Stay disciplined and focused on completing your original objectives before exploring new ideas.

Unify Your Team:

Your team is your greatest asset in achieving your goals.

• Hold an annual strategic planning meeting to align everyone with the company’s direction.

• Share the “why” behind your goals and involve team members in the planning process to foster ownership and engagement.

• Provide the tools, resources, and support your team needs to succeed.

Tip: Review your progress with your leadership team weekly so everyone stays on track and aligned with the plan.

Conclusion: Your Roadmap to 2025

2025 is a fresh start—a chance to take bold (“big, hairy, audacious”) steps toward your long-term vision.

By building a clear roadmap, breaking goals into actionable steps, engaging your team, and collaborating with your CPA and CFO, you’re laying the groundwork for both immediate wins and long-term success.

Start today. The future is yours to create. Here’s to a successful 2025 and beyond!

Found these insights helpful? Subscribe to Business Expedition Monthly and share this new series with other growth-minded leaders. Each month, we'll explore new strategies for building, managing, and optimizing sustainable business success.

Ready to transform your tax planning from a yearly scramble into a competitive edge? Let's explore how an integrated approach can help your business thrive. Connect with us at https://bizxpartners.com/contact-us.

P.S. Don’t miss our January edition at the same time next month, where we'll ring in the New Year exploring how to turn financial reporting from annual obligations into powerful daily decision-making tools. Subscribe today to catch these insights right in your LinkedIn feed!