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Raise your hand if you feel like you’re living through a sales tax nightmare as we’re in the post-Black Friday and pre-Christmas window of chaos. (While I can’t see your raised hand, I can certainly feel it.) Which only makes sense: You have to pay attention to a...
We’re living in a historical moment: Procrastinating might have just worked to your advantage. While it goes against everything within me (and everything I encourage you toward in my writings), I’m handing you procrastinators the win today. Congratulations. Just...
As you’re knee-deep in business holiday chaos right now, look no further than Santa for inspiration.Because if Mr. Claus can upgrade his delivery systems to handle millions of gifts in one night (at least that’s what Red One suggests), you can upgrade your Harris...
Black Friday may be for big corporations but small business Saturday might be for your Pasadena business. Are you taking advantage of it? I think in this environment of so much broken trust, a small business -- like yours perhaps? -- can steal market share by...
It’s nice to know that, in the midst of so much division, Americans can still rally together around something – even if it’s just boxing. Over 60 million households Netflix-streamed the boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson that took place over the...
Pause and take a collective exhale with me… The presidential election is behind us. Now that the chaos is over, we can focus on what’s ahead. I’d suggest taking a little sage advice from those t-shirts we had in 2010 – “Keep Calm, and Carry On.” With a new...
As I write this, election day is only hours away. I would tell you to remember to get out and vote, but, by the time you read this, you most likely have already checked that box (or, more accurately, colored in that circle). Stats are showing nearly half of those...
It seems like the government thinks they have an endless supply of dollar bills, the way they like to throw our tax dollars around.But believe it or not, the government has to use an annual budget, and they have agencies in place to make them stick to it...
Less than two weeks remain until the 2024 presidential election. While Elon Musk is making headlines with his million-dollar-a-day prize for swing-state voters (sign a petition, become a millionaire — interesting tactic and a possibly illegal one)... what you...
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When running a business, no one prepares you for how to handle hurricanes like Helene and Milton. They probably didn’t think to cover that chapter in business school. The IRS is stepping up to provide assistance to business owners throughout the Southeast who...
Despite being a nation that systematizes and plans, when the unexpected occurs, we still find ourselves reeling and trying to adjust. In the case of Helene and western North Carolina, it’s been a difficult battle. Who could have predicted that kind of flooding and...
I’m watching in disbelief, like you, as I see the photos of the hurricane devastation keep rolling in. It’s hard to believe so much infrastructure can be swept away that quickly. Our hearts are grieving for those who lost loved ones and homes and businesses from...
Fall is “officially” here (even if it still doesn’t quite feel like it), but that also means a lot less sunlight for the next few months. At least there are mugs of steaming cider and pumpkin-flavored pastries to look forward to.Here’s something that you may not...
Cue the pumpkin stands, trick-or-treating supplies, mannequins with sweaters, and the way-too-perfect apple-picking photos in your social media feed.The calendar flipped to September and suddenly it's fall ... y'all. (Saw that one on a scrolling bank sign yesterday,...
The next generation might not know what Benjamin Franklin was talking about when he said “A penny saved is a penny earned.”That and so many other cliches we take for granted related to money. Lucky penny…pennies on the dollar…penny for your thoughts…see a penny pick...
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# Strategic Business Planning to Level Up Your Harris County Business
by  | Jan 23, 2025 |  | 
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What are your goals for your Pasadena business this year? I’m going to assume filing your taxes on time is already on your list. For the financial well-being of your business, that needs to be one of your top priorities right now.
And the IRS has just announced: Tax season starts on . Which makes *right now* the most crucial time to strategically optimize your tax return. Schedule your appointment with us as soon as you can, so we can make sure you’re maximizing all potential tax savings opportunities.
My advice? Schedule your appointment now, while my calendar still has plenty of open slots: **281-998-7499**
(Exception: If you’ve been affected by the recent devastating wildfires in California, you have until  to file *and* pay your 2024 taxes. Sincerely, our thoughts and prayers are with you right now.)
Now, back to my original question: What are your goals for your business this year? (I promise I won’t meddle this time.)
The opportunity this first month of the year affords is special*.* I know it’s cliche, but please indulge me for a moment. This is a unique time to reflect, to dream, and to start again. And if you make the most of it, I think you’ll be surprised where you’re standing this time next year.
2025 is still fresh. So I want to challenge you: This year, go *beyond* your typical annual goal-setting. Really take advantage of this time to generate new vision for your business with *strategic* planning.
**Strategic Business Planning to Level Up Your Harris County Business**
*“The loftier the building, the deeper the foundation that must be laid.” – Thomas A. Kempis*
You’ve (hopefully) set goals for your Pasadena business for the new year. But how do you know if those goals are the right ones? (And more importantly, that you’re not wasting precious time and resources chasing a goal that won’t turn out to be profitable?)
The way to avoid this is strategic business planning. On the barebones level, strategic business planning is defining your objectives and strategizing the most economical and efficient way to achieve them.
This might sound rudimentary to you, but  **of businesses actually aren’t doing this**– and they’re treading water (or slowly drowning) as a result.
Without a strategic plan, **you’ll be busy – but you won’t be productive.** I don’t know about you, but I’d rather stay on the productive side of that equation.
**The SWOT method**
There are lots of strategic business planning methods out there to choose from. I want to focus on the SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis framework because it relies solely on actual data to plan your best path forward. What can I say, I’m a numbers person.
Successful strategic planning for your business *has to* start with clear objectives – and that’s what the SWOT method is all about.
*Step 1: Ask questions.*
Start by asking questions for each category. This is a great opportunity for a whiteboard session with your team, splitting the board into four labeled quadrants and writing the questions within them.
Some questions you might ask could be…
*– Strengths:* What are we succeeding at? What is our competitive advantage? What do we receive positive customer feedback about?
*– Weaknesses:* What products are performing the worst? What is slowing us down? (Be honest here – this is NOT the time for sugar-coating).
*– Opportunities:* What marketplace trends are currently rising? What demographics could we consider targeting?
*– Threats:* What are competitors doing? How many competitors do we face? What new or upcoming regulations could set us back?
*Step 2: Gather data.*
Now find the answers to all those questions. Turn to sources like employee/customer feedback, financial and sales reports, market trends and competitor research, and any other available data. (This is where it becomes *really* important that you’ve been keeping careful records all year.)
*Step 3: Identify (and refine) objectives.*
You now can identify your strategic objectives: Taking advantage of the opportunities that are aligned with your strengths, and mitigating threats by working on your weaker areas.
Say, for example, you own a small e-commerce store selling sustainable apparel. From your SWOT analysis, you identify that:
– Your greatest strength is your eco-friendly products.
– Your primary weakness is your high shipping costs (and high prices in general).
– Your most profitable untapped opportunity is using social media for organic marketing.
– Your biggest threat is that cheap, fast fashion is wooing over your price-sensitive customers.
Bingo – you’ve found your growth-driving objectives for 2025: *Launching social media marketing and lowering shipping costs.*
Keep in mind: The SWOT analysis is only the first piece of the puzzle. After you find your objectives, you need to break each of them down into actionable steps with measurable benchmarks (something I talked about recently with Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), if you’ll recall. Consider this note the prologue to that one).
Random goals won’t help your business grow in 2025. They have to be backed by strategy – driven by detailed internal and external data (*especially* financial data). And if that financial data looks like Greek to you, not to worry. My team and I would be happy to help break it down in real-people speak.
**281-998-7499**
To a productive 2025,
**Sandra Tapia**
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