Business Planning – January 2025

Whether it’s as simple as writing down goals in a document or completing a full, comprehensive market analysis, the importance of business planning cannot be overstated. Business planning is a roadmap everyone in the business can follow to ensure future decision making and growth is agreeable with the business, its values and its employees. The benefits of business planning extend far beyond just helping guide day-to-day decisions. It can also help secure funding from investors, allocate resources effectively, attract talent, expose weaknesses and even exceed competitors.

The New Year calls for a fresh start. Take advantage of these Omaha experts who make business planning easy, sustainable and tailored to companies’ unique needs.

Developing a business plan allows a business to clearly define its mission, vision, goals and strategies. It provides clarity and focus and gives guidance for those who need to make important business decisions. Pando PEO (pandopeo.com) can help by being the HR Department of businesses’ dreams.

Sticking to a business plan builds trust and is a great way to measure progress, and Pando PEO manages a business’s full lifecycle of employees, from on-boarding, to payroll, to government compliance. Leave the paperwork to Pando!

It is crucial to first define one’s business and understand its industry. From there, one can establish a mission and goals. For example, Pando is a service-based company focused on elevating the success of SMB owners and their employees. Then, businesses can identify their target audiences/ideal clients and value proposition.

Follow Pando’s tips for maintaining a successful business plan:

1. Review the plan on a quarterly basis and adjust accordingly. Things change, it’s important to keep up with industry trends. Businesses must be flexible and willing to adapt as needed.
2. Continuously improve business systems, processes and tools. Leverage technology to become as effective and efficient as possible.

“A business plan outlines the goals of a business, the strategies for achieving those goals and the resources required to execute. It serves as a roadmap to success, and Pando can help navigate you to success!” says Jonathan Sinkiewicz, Director of Business Development.

From country clubs to caterers, from healthcare to home builders, Pando securely scales for organizations of any size while maintaining a personal relationship between a business and its employees.

“A business plan is essentially a roadmap that outlines a business’s goals, which includes a detailed strategy that needs to be executed in order to achieve those goals,” says Tyler Albers, Vice President at Cornhusker Bank (cornhusker.bank). “It typically includes a projected financial analysis, management team breakdown and a clear understanding of the market in which the subject business will be attempting to sell its products.”

A well thought out business plan can serve as a crucial resource for businesses to look back on, especially relative to anticipating future challenges or helping to plan for major events. Cornhusker Bank helps businesses create the best plans by providing every solution for a business’s lifelong success.

“We try to ask as many questions as possible at the onset of the process to help clients think of scenarios that could affect the financial performance of their company,” adds Albers. “For example, “How will revenue be generated, or what is the pricing strategy? How realistic are their financial projections? What do they look like under adverse market conditions? Is there an exit strategy?”

Cornhusker Bank discusses these topics with its clients because it is more than just a financial institution; it’s a neighbor. As a member of the Lincoln community for more than 100 years, Cornhusker Bank understands the Lincoln/Omaha Metropolis and how important trusted relationships are. No matter what its needs are, Cornhusker Bank’s local ownership and decision makers are there to react and deliver quality solutions its clients can count on. Being committed to client success and satisfaction is not just a goal–it’s how Cornhusker Bank lives.

Cornhusker Bank’s 360 service model is focused on surrounding its clients with the best experience possible and strives to continuously enhance clients’ experiences each and every day to live up to being “the bank of choice” for its customers.

Business planning might sound complicated, but it doesn’t have to be! It’s simply a document that helps current or future business owners consider all the aspects of operating a business.

Developing a business plan is important; however, sticking to it may not be. One may have to pivot at any point during planning because of the competitive landscape, technological changes or other external factors that cannot be controlled. Ungridlocked (ungridlocked.com) can help maintain the flexibility needed to create and maintain a business plan.

One might also learn things as one goes and adapt in ways that make more sense. In other words, create a business plan, and hold it loosely, as business and technology is changing faster than most can keep up with.

“Give your first pass through AI,” says Cam Vacek, Owner of Ungridlocked. “From there, make any editing touches, and iterate as necessary.”

Vacek also suggests following the Who Not How method saying, “This concept is based on the book. I’ve learned that as I meet more people who are smarter than me, they give me advice that I originally did not consider, and I implement their suggestions. We both don’t have to learn from the same mistake!”

Business advertising and yearly planning can be frustrating. To better prepare for 2025, turn to Short Elliott Hendrickson Inc. (SEH®) (sehinc.com), which helps government, industrial and commercial clients find answers to complex problems.

“A well-structured business plan serves as both a strategic guide and a performance measure, helping to clarify decision-making, align stakeholders and navigate challenges,” says Alex Smith, Community and Economic Development Manager at SEH. “Closely following a business plan ensures focus on objectives while maintaining flexibility to adapt to changing conditions. This focus is especially critical when pursuing funding assistance or forging public-private partnerships, where alignment with long-term goals plays a key role.”

As an employee-owned engineering, architectural, environmental and planning company, SEH is dedicated to aiding organizations and communities in strengthening their resilience against challenges, from natural disasters to vulnerabilities within existing infrastructure, and securing funding solutions to support strategic goals.

“I encourage clients to thoroughly analyze their market and opportunities, understand their unique value proposition and set realistic goals,” adds Smith. “Taking a tailored approach, I integrate funding strategies directly into the planning process. With experience working at the Economic Development Administration and deep knowledge of infrastructure programs, I help clients identify and secure funding that aligns with their plans and broader economic development goals.”
SEH’s expertise lies in resilience planning, collaborating closely with its clients to develop strategies that ensure structures can withstand all challenges, promoting stability and continuity.

“A well-crafted business plan is more than just a document–it’s a living framework that guides decision-making, fosters collaboration and drives success. By addressing key considerations like external factors, funding strategies and adaptability, businesses can position themselves for long-term growth. At SEH, we’re here to help clients navigate this process, leveraging our expertise to turn their vision into actionable results,” asserts Smith.

Venturing into 2025, SEH remains dedicated to leveraging its cutting-edge technologies to support its clients in not only meeting their goals, but surpassing their goals. SEH combines innovation with environmental design, making business planning an easy and sustainable aspect of its clients’ futures.

Speaking of sustainable aspects, ProsperSpark’s (prosperspark.com) approach to business planning ensures small and medium-sized businesses have access to the same tools and talent as big businesses. ProsperSpark simply believes in helping those that need it most, and business planning is a great introduction.

“It’s about making an impact that helps spark a positive change in someone’s business or even their life,” says Brandon Zobel, CEO and Owner. “Over the years, we have seen a lot of organizations utilize antiquated processes that cost them a ton of time and money. We want to help change that.”

Omaha-based productivity enhancement company ProsperSpark is leading the charge in helping small businesses strategize by offering custom solutions that streamline manual tasks and improve operational efficiency. Specializing in business automation, Excel optimization and cloud solutions, ProsperSpark provides small and medium-sized businesses with the tools they need to stay competitive in a fast-evolving marketplace.

“Local businesses are the backbone of our community, and our goal at ProsperSpark is to help them achieve their fullest potential,” continues Zobel. “From data entry automation to custom workflows, our tailored solutions allow businesses to save time, reduce costs and focus on growth.”

ProsperSpark helps small and medium-sized businesses save time and increase efficiency by providing customized, automated solutions and access to talent that they normally could not afford, which tailored to each local business, makes ProsperSpark clients’ business planning go off without a hitch.

With a similar commitment to efficient planning, Gnuse Law Office, P.C. (gnuselawoffice.com) strives to deliver prompt, professional and effective legal services at accessible prices and to exceed its clients’ business planning and personal expectations. Gnuse Law Office, P.C. builds trust by demonstrating genuine care for its clients, making business planning with Gnuse Law feel like second nature.

Gnuse Law’s business and corporate law expertise includes but is not limited to:

• Setting up business corporations, limited liability companies and non-profit entities
• Advice and services to help businesses keep current with their records
• Buying, selling and merger of businesses
• Business leases and other real estate matters
• Business loans and contracts (negotiating, creating, executing, implementing)
• Business forms that are easy to explain and use
• Employment law matters

Additionally, don’t let the looming tax season cause stress. Gnuse Law understands the nuances of federal, state and local tax codes and ensures its clients comply with regulations while helping businesses maximize deductions and credits. Gnuse Law offers comprehensive tax services for individuals and businesses, including tax preparation and filing, tax planning strategies, audit representation and business entity selection and implications.

“We take pride in serving any and all of your legal needs while always adhering to the highest ethical standards of the legal profession, Judeo-Christian values and the law itself,” says Rod Gnuse, Managing Partner.

Gnuse Law guides businesses through a wide range of legal matters and offers comprehensive legal services to protect its clients’ assets, resolve disputes and plan for the future. Gnuse Law’s experienced attorneys provide the trusted legal counsel everyone deserves.

Business planning is essential for businesses wishing to grow and become more than average. Developing a consistent and collaborative vision alongside these Omaha experts is just the guidance a business needs to soar!