BRIEF BIO
Timilehin is a Nigerian National with a great deal of experience spanning the Financial services Industry. Some of her specialties include Business Strategy, Budgeting & Financial Planning, and Marketing/Communication. She has experience in industries spanning from Finance, Technology, Light Manufacturing, Education and HealthCare.
Tell us a bit about yourself
I am a recent General MBA Candidate from Lagos Business School in Nigeria. I completed my undergraduate studies at Redeemer University in Ogun state, Nigeria graduating with a second class upper in BSc Economics. My work experience includes business advisory across Technology, Construction, and light manufacturing companies.
What made you choose to choose your specialization in finance and strategy?
Through regular business advisory clinics while working as a Venture Capital Analyst, I stumbled upon several SMEs that had strategy related issues. The shocking thing was that many of these SMEs had minor strategy related issues (like market positioning) and these affected their overall performance in terms of revenue and bottom line greatly. This then made evident the need to specialise in Strategy which then captures the entirety of the business from marketing, finance , operations, to mention but a few.
Why did you choose to register as a consultant on Kleos Africa?
I chose to register as a strategy planning consultant on Kleos Africa for a couple of different reasons. I met the Founder of Kleos, Glory Enyinnaya at Lagos Business school, Nigeria and I knew I wanted to be a part of it. I also figured the platform will give me the opportunity to share my expertise and apply my knowledge to companies in a market to which I previously had limited access to.
What is a strategic plan?
A strategic plan is a document that establishes the direction of a target organization. This plan typically contains the organization’s mission & vision statement, core values, SWOT analysis, long term goals, yearly objectives and action plan.
Why are strategic plans important?
Strategic plans are essential not just for management personnel within an organisation. They give everyone a sense of purpose with a definitive mission and clear goal and objective to work toward. They give the organization a clear focus and direction in terms of revenue and bottom line, hence making company-related activities such as fundraising, marketing and business development, product development, and so on align with the overall goal.
What are the elements of a good strategic plan?
A good strategic plan must be extremely comprehensive. However the important elements would be as shown below:
- Mission, Vision & Aspirations – A mission statement is a clear statement of the company’s purpose and its reason for existing in the first place, while the Vision statement is more concise and paints a picture of the company’s future direction. A clear strategic plan helps make goals measurable and achievable while establishing the organization’s core values which will mirror the day to day and long range decision making process.
- SWOT Analysis – This is a breakdown of the company’s current situation from the perspective of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This analysis is key because it helps project the company’s unique selling points, competitive advantage. partnership opportunities, to mention but a few.
- Measurements & Action Plan – This helps to incorporate a means of tracking the company’s output and performance against regular scheduled targets. This is a strong feedback mechanism within any company for influencing the Company’ current strategy.
What advice do you have for an entrepreneur who is considering creating a strategic plan?
Dear Entrepreneur, a strategic plan is a rolling plan that is needed to drive your company in the right direction whilst creating a strong mission, vision statement, aspirations and core values. Your utmost goal will be to drive performance – financial and impact. This is only attainable when you and your team are clear on your strategy which then feeds into your day to day operations (i.e. your action plan). A clear goal is influenced by clear strategy which is measurable and attainable.
Like what you see thus far? Book Timilehin for your strategic plan on Kleos Africa today!
