long term prospects meaning in business plan

Long-Term Business Planning

• Small Business
• Business Planning & Strategy
• Business Plans
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What Is a Dehydrated Business Plan?

What are the main purposes of a business plan, why is strategic planning important to a business.

• What Is a Short-Term Marketing Plan?
• Goals, Priorities & Planning

If you're starting a business you probably plan to stay in business for a long time. In order to accomplish this goal, you probably have at least an inkling of what you want your business to accomplish. You take these goals and attempt to make them come to fruition. If your successful, your business will thrive. Once you've met your original goals, you make new ones. Some of these new goals might be ones you want to meet immediately, while others will take longer. Those are your business' long-term business goals, and they're important.

Why Make a Plan?

If you were going on vacation, you would determine where you're going; how you were getting there; how long you were staying; and what you would do, once there. In other words, you would plan your vacation. So, if traveling to Tahiti requires some set-up and parameters, wouldn't starting and running a business also require these? A business takes time, energy and resources; the wise thing would be to sit down and determine the most effective ways of how to use your time, energy and resources – so that your business has the best chance for success.

Short-term Plan vs. Long-term Planning

You started your business because you wanted to fill a niche, meet a need or provide a service that's desperately needed – with the ultimate objective – to make money. To fulfill all of your business objectives, you have to set goals for your business, and a plan of action to reach each goal.

Most businesses have a combination of short-term plans and long-term plans. A short-term plan could include launching three products during a calendar year, making X-amount in profits in a certain period of time, or gaining 5,000 new social media followers in a month. A long-term plan based on those short-term plans is to expand your business from one facility to two or more within three years.

Short-term plans are more immediate objections, while long-term plans are for a longer period of time: a year is generally the minimum. Thus, your long-term plans can include goals such as five-year income projections, expansion plans, hiring goals or other bigger goals that take more than a month or two to meet. The plans should be kept separate but reviewed on a regular basis so progress can be tracked and adjustments can be made if necessary.

Why You Need a Business Plan

Revisiting the vacation scenario from above, let's say you decide to drive to your vacation destination. You've never been there before so you punch your destination into your GPS tool and use it to navigate to your destination. Once you've arrived, you can also use that same tool to find interesting places to visit and places to eat.

Think of a business plan as a business' GPS. You can use the strategic business plan to guide your business from one objective to the next, find the best course of action for your business and recognize and correct issues as they arise. This is where you'll include the short and long term plans you have for the business, as well as other pertinent information such as key personnel, the business' mission statement, competitor information and market research and development ideas. Financial projects are also a vital part of a business plan.

Benefits of a Long Term Strategy

Having a long term plan for your business shows that you are in it for the long haul. Knowing where you want to be in three, five or even ten years can help you choose the short-term plans of an organization. Long-term business goals don't have to be large goals. The goal to never miss a client deadline could be a long-term goal. Most of a business' short-term plans lead toward long-term plans, so when making immediate business plans, keeping a longer-term objective in mind isn't a bad idea. A long term plan gives you something to aim for as well as a built-in measuring tool to review the progress of your short-term plans.

• Small Biz Technology: 6 Short-Term Goals for Long-Term Success
• Forbes: 11 Ways To Establish, And Then Reach, Your Long-Term Goals
• Entrepreneur: 5 Ways to Think Long-Term in a Short-Term Market
• The action plans for year one of each of the long-term projects become part of the annual plan for the upcoming year. In that plan, the steps are broken out in more detail and budgets are created for each one, to be included in the total company budget.
• Although the long-term planning in a small business may not be as formal as that in a large corporation, the process is just as valuable in making sure the owner looks beyond the day-to-day problems he must deal with and thinks about where he wants to take his company in the future.
• Review and revise the long-term plan each year as the business environment changes. Opportunities may emerge that are potentially more profitable than the ones you selected to pursue in the previous year’s long-term plan.

K.A. Francis has been a freelance and small business owner for 20 years. She has been writing about personal finance and budgeting since 2008. She taught Accounting, Management, Marketing and Business Law at WV Business College and Belmont College and holds a BA and an MAED in Education and Training.

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Small Business UK

Advice and Ideas for UK Small Businesses and SMEs

Business planning: Short, medium and long-term objectives

When writing a business plan what is meant by 'short-term objective', 'medium-term objective' and 'long-term objective'?

The difference between short, medium, and long-term objectives is the time frame of each, and the implication this has on the nature of the objectives.

Short-term objectives are generally those relating to that financial year, in a time frame from now to the end of the year (ie up to a year away).

An example might be to raise turnover by 8 per cent and profit by 9 per cent by the end of the financial year.

Medium-term objectives are generally those that relate to a period from 18 months to three years or sometimes five years (whichever is appropriate for the organisation and people setting the objectives).

These objectives will therefore be broader, can be reviewed and may need to be amended with time. An example might be to relocate to brand new premises of 20,000 sq ft by March 2021.

Of course, the medium-term will become short-term with the passage of time and should be reviewed and updated with this in mind.

Longer-term objectives are generally more aspirational and so tend to relate to a period of five years plus. Often for owners and/or managers, these can tie closely in with personal goals and work-life balance . An example might be to sell the business for £5 million before the owner/manager turns 60.

Alex Ingham, managing director – MI Supplies

Alex Ingham, managing director of workwear and clothing site MI Supplies, put together a three-year growth plan called Project 2020 to get the company in gear.

Focusing on our website, we are extending the MI brand to overseas markets with sites designed specifically for the German and French territories in 2018.

We already have a very strong website in comparison to our competitors. Where we feel we can stand out, however, is by having multi-lingual sites across the UK and Europe.

Our first one for Germany is launching in just a few weeks’ time. We feel we have a great offer for the German market, where the majority of sites do not have the same breadth of brand and styles as we can provide.

We are working closely with our internal web team, very closely with our supplier base and have a team of people from our web platform company, Visualsoft, all working towards the same goal.

MI Supplies is also currently looking at each courier option for each EU country.

The reason for implementing Project 2020 was to spread our risk; not being dependent on one region, one country or one economy. Very often when one country in Europe has a downturn or recession, there are other countries that have an upturn. This is, we feel, a good plan to ensure we counter any downturns in certain countries.

We are looking at pushing our online turnover to £10 million per annum by the end of 2020 with the goal of hitting four million website visitors for our multi-site offering across Europe.

Simon Freer, owner – SAF Professional Cleaning Services Ltd

Working with a business coach can be the starting point for many business owners when it comes to objective setting. That was the experience of Simon Freer, owner of Surrey-based contract cleaning company, SAF Professional Cleaning Services Ltd .

I was operating as a sole trader when I first started a coaching programme with the Engineering Growth Club to set clear and measurable business objectives.

I found it challenging at first because we spent time looking at the business in detail across five dimensions – sales marketing, finance, talent and process – so we could drill down on what the business vision and purpose was: our USPs and what we wanted to achieve in the short, medium and longer term.

This is what I did this for each dimension, setting objectives in every area. These varied from sourcing the right talent, to establishing operational processes, to improving conversion rates for marketing and sales.

Having always been very reactive and basically being busy all the time but in an unstructured, non-goal orientated way, it was painful to be setting measurable goals, but adopting this as a discipline has transformed my business.

In the past 18 months, I’ve gone from being a sole trader on small contracts, to incorporating and then winning some very big contract customers. I now have a team of people working for me in the back office and I’ve doubled my turnover – all as a result of having clear, focused objectives which I reviewed and became accountable for.

Writing a business plan

However, it is imperative when setting business goals, whether they are short-term or long-term, that they follow the principle of SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound, if they are to be truly effective.

A business plan is a great tool to help you methodically plot your business goals and objectives,

Simon Freer followed the ‘strategy on a page’ model rather than writing a chunky business plan,

‘This places everything that’s essential within a business plan on a single page and it’s much more like a living document that you can tweak and change on an ongoing basis,’ he says.

  ‘There’s no point having an extensive business plan that’s out of date by the time it’s finished and never reviewed again. Far better to have a condensed version that’s linked to your objectives. You will refer to it constantly and it always keeps you on track.’

Read the article here on how to write a business proposal

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Keeping Sight of Your Company’s Long-Term Vision

• Ron Ashkenas
• Peter D. Moore

There will always be short-term distractions. Here’s how to stay focused.

Crafting a powerful vision is often considered the sine qua non of great leadership, but it’s only the first step. How can leaders translate that vision into reality — a process that can take years — while the rapidly changing context distracts with the need for daily adaptation? The authors, both advisors to large firms which have undergone significant transformations, suggest three approaches: 1) Structuring strategic planning processes around the vision, rather than letting it be an afterthought; 2) Focusing experimentation on questions relevant to the long-term vision; and 3) Investing in training programs to help staff embrace the skills and mindset needed to executive on the vision.

One of the most visible and essential elements of your job as a leader is to create an exciting, unified vision of the longer-term future for your company or unit. (We discuss this imperative in more detail in Ron’s book The Harvard Business Review Leader’s Handbook and in earlier articles .) This is difficult enough, but even once a vision is in place, many leaders fail to execute on it over the many years that it may require. For example, a 2018 study by McKinsey found that only 16% of companies that were committed to a multi-year process of digital transformation reported sustainable performance improvement.

Based on many years of consulting work on large-scale change at dozens of firms across many industries, we are convinced that what holds most leaders back is that they don’t translate the vision into a structured plan that they keep in focus over time. Of course leaders know how to set goals, create measurable KPIs, use dashboards, and hold people accountable in the short-term. When change efforts require years, however, tracking often gets fuzzy, falling away in the face of rapidly changing business and economic conditions that force constant adaptation to produce day-to-day results.

Take a large technology firm we worked with. Its senior leaders laid out a five-year aspiration to shift from hardware to software and services. In the first two years after the vision was announced, however, the senior team spent most of its time on activities associated with getting results from hardware products so that the current business wouldn’t suffer. Meanwhile the transformation of the core, while often mentioned in strategic updates and stakeholder reviews, still has not been fully realized.

In contrast, in 2013, Adobe Systems, with revenues of $4 billion, embarked on a major transition from a license sales model to a cloud-based subscription model. The company’s revenue shrank 8% in the first year and was flat in the second year. Skeptics’ and naysayers’ voices rang loud and clear. Bolstered by the resolve of CEO Shantanu Narayen, however, the senior team stayed true to their longer-term strategic intent. Adobe’s recurring revenues reached $6 billion in 2016 and $14 billion today; 80% of those revenues now come from subscriptions and associated sources.

What did Narayen and the Adobe team do right? How do you execute on a vision over time while coping with unanticipated distractions and the pressure to produce short-term results?

There are three approaches that we have seen leaders use successfully to deal with these challenges and realize a multi-year vision — either singly or in combination:

• Plan based on the vision. Drive a structured yearly planning process that connects the long-term vision to short-term action
• Focus your experimentation. Encourage projects that iterate towards the vision.
• Train your people. Develop training and education that makes the vision come alive over time

Let’s look at each of these more closely.

Vision-Based Planning Process

Most companies engage in a yearly planning process to define corporate objectives and budgets and then cascade these into goals for the business unit, department, and so forth. The starting point of this exercise is often financial, based on questions such as what numbers do we need to satisfy investors ? and how much improvement is possible over last year’s performance ? But this approach forces short-term thinking . While the longer-term vision might be cited during the process, it isn’t the driver for strategy, resource allocation, or individual action.

Instead, begin your planning process with the longer-term vision. That’s what Jack Welch did as CEO of GE when he insisted that his leaders begin their planning process with “dreaming” sessions. His team would identify longer-term possibilities for what their businesses could become, and then shape their yearly plans with those opportunities in mind.

Similarly, for over 20 years Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has been using a planning method that begins with his steady overall vision for the firm and its software-as-a-service approach. He calls his method the V2MOM — vision, values, methods, obstacles, and measures. At the beginning of each year, Benioff drafts a one-pager for the entire company which, as the acronym suggests, first articulates the firm’s overall vision and then spells out his thoughts about the key steps needed to move towards it. (The vision stays largely steady from year to year while the implementation priorities and methods change.) He then gives the document to each of his direct reports and asks them to work with their teams to create a V2MOM document for their own groups. The leadership team then goes through all the V2MOMs to achieve full enterprise-wide alignment and commitment to their strategic intent for the next 12 months. Doing this ensures that every unit of the company understands and has agreed to the balance between short term goals and the longer-term vision in their daily work.

Focused Experimentation

Of course, not everyone is a founder or CEO who can drive vision-realization from the top. Leaders at other levels can also drive deliberately toward a large-scale goal over time, particularly if they hone experimentation that is already happening in the company specifically to iterate towards that vision.

More often than not, visions don’t become reality in straight lines; and we don’t always know what it will take to get there. That’s where experimentation comes in — shaping small tests to find out what will work and what will not on the path towards the vision, while also building support for it along the way. But without a focused approach, this experimentation may not lead to the ultimate goal you are trying to reach.

Take the story of Gary Scholten, an executive who led a successful effort to transform the Principal Financial Group, a global investment management firm, into a digital-first enterprise over the course of 11 years, despite all the distractions and change that came from the tenures of three different CEOs.

Scholten began advocating for a digital-first approach in 2011, when he was the company’s corporate chief information officer. Even as the company made impressive initial advances toward that vision, each business unit responded differently, so those achievements were uneven. For example, the international business embraced mobile more quickly than its US counterpart because many of their customers had better access to cell phones than to computers.

Several years later, now as head of corporate strategy as well as CIO, Scholten formed a digital strategy committee to oversee these efforts (the group included the corporate CMO, the business unit CIOs, and their senior business leaders). Together they identified dozens of digital experiments already underway at various levels of the company. Assessing each one, they identified six where the company should double down and invest proactively because of a clear sense that they would lead to faster growth or better efficiency or scalability than competitors. These included retirement enrollment tools to help employees save at a higher rate, robo advice embedded into life events, and AI based investment research tools. By the end of 2020, when Scholten retired, these investments (and others that were added subsequently in a similar process) had an internal rate of return exceeding 20%, with two-thirds of the benefits coming from top-line growth — and the firm had indeed shifted much of its business to digital platforms.

Training and Education

The third approach is to invest in an educational process that gives people in the organization a deep understanding of what the vision actually means and how it could transform their work.

An example of this approach is illustrated by the work of Dr. Mieko Nishimizu, a former vice president for the South Asia region at the World Bank. When Nishimizu took on the role in the late 1990’s, the World Bank addressed economic development and poverty-reduction largely through a top-down approach of expert technical analysis, policy adjustment, and lending. Her vision, however, was for local communities and societies to take ownership of their own economic destinies and for institutions like the World Bank to function as more as partners, catalysts, and providers of resources to help them do that.

This vision required a profound shift in what the Bank did and in how its staff worked with local individuals. For years, World Bank staff would parachute into countries from Washington and tell governments what to do. Now they would need to learn how to listen not just to officials, but to those who experienced poverty and then work with them, side by side, to develop solutions.

To help them make the shift, Nishimizu created what came to be called the “village immersion program” in which members of her team would live the lives of the poor, in their villages, for two weeks. Her goal was not only for her staff members to understand the new role of the organization intellectually, but to help them develop an emotional understanding that would eventually lead to changes in behavior. Eventually, Nishimizu made this program mandatory for certain categories of staff in her region, and over the course of several years, over 200 staff members participated.

While this program was evolving, Nishimizu did continue to meet the yearly requirements for already-established projects and lending, but gradually, with the altered sensitivities of her staff, she changed the nature of the region’s projects — and the image of the World Bank.

Of course, none of these approaches is easy, and they all require adjustments along the way. Benioff still works with his team to deal with tradeoffs between long term vision and short term-results. Scholten was able to successfully encourage digital experiments, but they didn’t coalesce into the full vision until he figured out that the company would need to double down on a few, company-wide investments. Similarly, Nishimizu made progress in changing the World Bank’s approach to poverty reduction not only by giving senior leaders an opportunity to experience village life, but also by gradually leveraging the new-found understanding to reshape the nature of the Bank’s projects.

Turning a vision into a new reality doesn’t happen overnight. But if you have persistence and stay true to your vision, it may be the most important contribution you’ll ever make as a leader.

• Ron Ashkenas is a coauthor of the Harvard Business Review Leader’s Handbook  and a Partner Emeritus at Schaffer Consulting . His previous books include The Boundaryless Organization , The GE Work-Out , and Simply Effective .
• Peter D. Moore is a business strategy and technology advisor specializing in helping companies compete in the age of digital disruption.

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11 Tips for Creating a Long-Term Strategic Plan

Strategic planning is a management tool that guides your business to better performance and long-term success.

Working with a plan will focus your efforts, unify your team in a single direction, and help guide you through tough business decisions. A strategic plan requires you to define your goals, and in defining them, enables you to achieve them—a huge competitive advantage.

In this article, we’ll discuss 11 essentials for creating a thorough and effective strategic plan. Each tip is a critical stepping stone in leading your business toward your goals.

1. Define your company vision

You should be able to define your company vision in 100 words. Develop this statement and make it publically available to both employees and customers.

This statement should answer the key questions that drive your business: Where is your company headed? What do you want your company to be? If you don’t know the answer to these questions off the top of your head, then you have some thinking to do! If you have the answers in your head, but not on paper—get writing.

If you have them written down, congrats! You’ve completed the first and most critical step in creating a long-term strategic plan.

2. Define your personal vision

While your personal vision is just as important to your strategic plan, it does not need to be shared with your team and customers.

Your personal vision should incorporate what you want your business to bring to your life—whether that’s enormous growth, early retirement, or simply more time to spend with family and friends.

Aligning your personal vision with your company vision is key to achieving your personal and professional goals. Just as with your company vision, have your personal vision written down in a 100-word statement. Know that statement inside and out and keep it at the forefront of your decision making.

3. Know your business

Conduct a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis. By knowing where your business is now, you can make more informed predictions for how it can grow.

Questions such as “Why is this business important?” and “What does this business do best?” are a great place to start. A SWOT analysis can also help you plan for making improvements.

Questions such as “What needs improvement?” and “What more could the business be doing?” can help guide your strategic plan in a way that closes gaps and opens up opportunities.

For more on completing a SWOT analysis, see our SWOT analysis guide.

4. Establish short-term goals

Short-term goals should include everything you (realistically) want to achieve over the next 36 months.

Goals should be “S.M.A.R.T.” (specific, measurable, actionable, reasonable, and timely).

An example of S.M.A.R.T. goals include “building out a new product or service within the next year” or “increasing net profit by 2 percent in ten months.” If you’ve already conducted a SWOT analysis, you should have an idea of what your business can reasonably achieve over a specified period of time.

5. Outline strategies

Strategies are the steps you’ll take to meet your short-term goals. If the short term goal is “build out a new product or service,” the strategies might be:

• Researching competitor offerings
• Getting in touch with vendors and suppliers
• Formulating a development plan
• Outlining a marketing and sales plan for the new offering

6. Create an action plan

An action plan is an essential part of the business planning and strategy development process. The best analysis, in-depth market research, and creative strategizing are pointless unless they lead to action.

An action plan needs to be a working document; it must be easy to change and update. But, must also be specific about what you’re doing, when you will do it, who will be accountable, what resources will be needed, and how that action will be measured.

Action plans put a process to your strategies. Using the previous example, an action plan might be: “CMO develops competitor research packet for new offerings by 9/1. Review packet with the executive team by 9/15.”

When The Alternative Board, Bradford West  Director Andrew Hartley was responsible for designing and delivering a three year, $10m environmental business support program, a full and detailed action plan was required for funding.

“That action plan allowed me to 1.) manage and measure the evolving program, 2.) ensure resources and staff were where they needed to be, and 3.) track whether the design of the program was working and delivering the level of results we were contracted to deliver,” says Hartley.

“Even I was surprised about how helpful that action plan was,” he says. “I cannot image approaching any significant project or business without one.”

7. Foster strategic communication

To align your team, you must communicate strategically. Results-driven communication focuses conversations and cuts out excessive meetings. Every communication should be rooted in a specific goal.

Include the how, where, when, and most importantly why every time you deliver instructions, feedback, updates, and so on.

8. Review and modify regularly

Check in regularly to make sure you’re progressing toward your goals. A weekly review of your goals, strategies, and action plans can help you see if you need to make any modifications.

Schedule time in your calendar for this. Weekly check-ins allow you to reassess your plan in light of any progress, setbacks, or changes.

9. Hold yourself accountable

Having a business coach or mentor is great for this. If you have a hard time sticking to your plans, you’ll have an equally hard time meeting your goals.

According to The Alternative Board’s September 2015 Business Pulse Survey, the number one reason business owners choose to work with mentors is accountability.

“Having a close—but not too close—space for advice and accountability is really valuable,” says TAB Member Scott Lininger, CEO of Bitsbox. “Someone who is too close to your business (such as board members) often have a perspective that’s too similar to your own. Over time, your coach comes to know your team, your product, and your business, and they help you work through all kinds of challenges in a way that’s unique.”

“All too often I find that leaders accept underperformance against their strategic plan too easily,” adds Hartley. “A coach can rekindle the resolve and ambition of the leader, resulting in a recovery of lost margins, sales, or output.”

According to Hartley, a coach can build accountability by questioning what’s working, making sure everything’s on track, pointing out areas of underperformance, and asking what corrective action needs to be pursued.

10. Be adaptable

Remember: You can’t plan for everything. Just as challenges will arrive, so too will opportunities, and you must be ready at a moment’s notice to amend your plan. Weekly reviews will help enormously with this.

“A strategic plan will likely need to be changed very soon after approval because nobody can accurately predict anything but the very near term future,” says Jim Morris, owner and President of The Alternative Board, Tennessee Valley. “You stay adaptable by monitoring the plan every day. The wise leader will be constantly looking for opportunities to exceed the strategic plan by being opportunistic, creative, and by exploiting weaknesses in the competitive market.”

By doing this, Morris was able to exceed forecast results of every strategic plan he ever approved. “The times when I needed to be flexible were when we met strategic plan goals ahead of time and had to rewrite the plan to keep it current and relevant.”

It’s important to be adaptable because nothing stays the same. “It’s more important to be agile and take advantage of opportunities that weren’t foreseen and make adjustments,” says Morris. “This and a continuous improvement mindset is the best way to exceed plan goals.”

11. Create a strategic planning team

As a business owner, you should never feel like you have to do everything alone.

A strategic planning team can help with every phase of the process, from creating a company vision to adapting your strategy week-to-week. Compose your team of key management staff and employees—some visionaries and some executors.

If you think you’re “too busy” for start strategic planning, then you need strategic planning more than you know. Having a focused plan allows you to focus your energies, so you’re working on your business, rather than in it. As a business owner, it is your responsibility to steer the ship, not put out day-to-day fires.

Yes, creating a strategic plan is challenging, and it’s certainly time-consuming, but it will make all the difference in achieving your long term goals. You’ll avoid making bad decisions and expending more effort than you need.

Try these 11 tips to get started, and then be flexible in your ongoing approach. You’ll be amazed at how much more streamlined your business processes will become when you are working with a long-term strategic plan.

Jodie Shaw is The Alternative Board (TAB)’s Chief Marketing Officer. She brings over 20 years of B2B marketing and 10 years in franchising to the role. Prior to to her work with TAB, Jodie served as the CEO and Global Chief Marketing Officer of an international business coaching franchise, serving more than 50 countries.

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The meaning of prospect – definition and examples

We can use the word prospect as either a verb or a noun. It has several meanings. In most cases, the term is associated with something positive that we expect to happen in the near-, medium-, or long-term future.

Prospect – verb or noun

1. A prospect may be the likelihood or possibility of something occurring in the future, as in: “ The prospect of becoming friends again gives me hope.”

2. A consumer who I think could well become a paying customer is a prospect. Some people (not all) use the term hot lead with the same meaning.

3. A candidate for a job is a prospect. If I say: “I’ll be interviewing two more prospects on Friday for the position,” I mean two more job applicants or candidates.

4. The term may also refer to the likelihood of medium- or long-term success, as in: “That job has excellent career prospects.” It means that the possibility of promotion and nice things happening over the long-term are good.

1. During the California Gold Rush from 1848 to 1855, many people were prospecting. In this context, the term means searching for gold. A mining company may be prospecting for silver, bauxite, or any mineral.

2. In business, prospecting means looking for leads and then trying to turn them into likely customers, i.e., prospects.

Sales and marketing

A person or company that fits certain criteria that a business has outlined based on its product offering is a prospect.

Imagine you sell racing bicycles. A young man calls you saying that he is professional cyclist who makes a living wining prizes. He would like to try some of your bikes. You arrange an appointment for 2pm tomorrow. In your notes, you will definitely describe him as a prospect.

Thebalancemb.com makes the following comment regarding the term from a salesperson’s point of view:

“Companies deem potential customers as prospects once they’ve been qualified as possessing predetermined characteristics.”

“In most cases, a prospect fits your target market, has the means to buy your products or services, and is authorized to make buying decisions.”

Must a prospect express interest in buying?

Some sales managers say that the person must have indicated in some way that they were interested in possibly making a purchase. Otherwise, they are simply hot leads, but not prospects. Other say that as long as they meet certain criteria, expressing an interest to buy is not necessary.

Prospect vs. lead

Some people use the two terms interchangeably. They shouldn’t, because their meanings are different. The main difference between the two is the level of engagement and the direction of the communication flow.

With leads, communication goes in one direction; from the seller to the target consumer.

In this case, there is two-way communication.

I might send thousands of emails to a target audience in the hope of getting some leads. Some of them respond with their names, and other details I requested in the email. They are now not just names in a list. They are leads.

As soon as I start communicating with these leads and they answer back, perhaps asking for details about the product or service, they have become prospects. Our communication is now two-way – from me to them and from them to me.

Companies’ usage of the terms vary

These definitions are not set in stone. One company may have several types of leads, such as cold leads, warm leads, hot leads, and then prospects. Others may have fewer categories.

A salesperson’s conversion rate will be much better when dealing with a prospect than a lead. Conversion rate, in this context , means sales per presentations/conversations. If I present to 100 leads and make 10 sales, my conversion rate is 1-in-10 or 10%. My conversion rate with prospects will be higher; it might be 25%, 30%, or even higher.

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What Is a Prospect?

Definition & Examples of a Prospect

Mindy Lilyquist is an experienced marketing professional. She is the founder and creative director of Epiphany Marketing Management, serving small businesses since 2007.

What Are Prospects?

How prospects work, prospects vs. leads, organizing your prospects.

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A prospect is a potential customer who has been qualified as fitting certain criteria outlined by a company based on its business offerings. Determining if a contact is a sales prospect is the first step in the selling process. Once you've determined that the person meets the criteria, they're a prospect and can move into the next phase of the selling process.

Learn more about prospects to tune up your selling process and improve your customer relationship management.

Companies deem potential customers as prospects once they've been qualified as possessing predetermined characteristics. In most cases, a prospect fits your target market , has the means to buy your products or services, and is authorized to make buying decisions. Prospects don't have to have indicated an interest in buying; they just need to meet the mentioned criteria.

For example, if you sell virtual support services to small businesses, a prospect would be a small business manager who can afford your services and make the decision to hire you. If your contact doesn't have permission to make a buying decision, they're not your prospect.

• Alternate definition : In sports, a prospect is a scouted athlete who has yet to achieve rookie status as outlined by their respective professional leagues.

Prospecting  is the act of finding leads and turning them into prospects. Leads come from various places; you can buy lists, skim the phone book, search the internet, or talk to people while you're waiting in line at the store. In most cases, whatever form you use, your goal is to determine if the person could become a prospect.

You determine this by qualifying them on one criterion, usually your target market. For instance, you can buy lists based on demographics and interests; you can narrow a phone book or internet search on your target market's location; and while you're standing in line, you can strike up a conversation that would get you information about whether or not the lead was in your target market. 

Once you've determined that the lead could be a prospect, you then work to qualify them under the other criteria, which can be done in various ways, including a phone call, in-person meeting, online form, or email. Your goal is to determine if the lead is a good candidate for what you offer and has the money and ability to buy. 

Many home business owners end up wasting time on the sales process because they don't qualify leads before trying to sell to them or spend too much time on unqualified leads.

Like many industries or occupations, the business sales field has many words unique to its own language and use. Terms will often be used interchangeably, even though they don't mean the same thing. This is the case with the business sales terms "prospect" and "lead."

A prospect is often confused as a lead, but there's a fundamental difference. A lead is an unqualified contact; any potential client or customer you meet who hasn't been qualified as a prospect is a lead. In the sales process, you gather leads first, qualify them into prospects, and then move them through your sales funnel or process.

Sales prospects are a business's greatest asset and a future revenue stream. These are contacts that you've talked with and meet the criteria of your best potential customers. The best way to track your prospects and communications with them is with a customer relationship management  (CRM) database. There are many great inexpensive and free CRM tools available.

Prospect tracking allows you to keep information about your prospects, including notes on all your conversations. Noting a customer's questions and concerns is helpful for addressing them in the future if need be. You can also keep track of where they are in your sales process. For instance, a lead can become a prospect, and a prospect can become a sale, and hopefully, a repeat buyer.

Key Takeaways

• A prospect is a potential customer who has been qualified as fitting certain criteria.
• Prospects fit your target market, have the means to buy your product or services, and are authorized to make buying decisions.
• A lead is an unqualified contact, while a prospect has been vetted to fit the defined criteria.
• Prospect tracking is important for the sales process.

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Example sentences long-term prospect

Trig carries an enticing dividend yield of 5.5 per cent and remains a strong long - term prospect .

At 152½p, up 4½p, they sell on about nine times' earnings and look a good long - term prospect .

In 2013, perhaps for the first time in a long time, you start to see passion as a long - term prospect .

A good long - term prospect , but no reason to chase now.

A good long - term prospect , then.

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10 Examples of Long-Term Business Goals to Set Now

Identify, set, and achieve long-term business goals for success.

Today I want to share examples of long-term business goals with you. Because thinking long-term about your business is key to its success.

One of my former bosses had a good saying. And I think it applies to long-term goals for a business.

My boss used to tell us this. “In the long run, we are only limited by our thoughts. Don’t hold back. Think big!”

So, let’s dive in and think big about our businesses…

Disclosure: At no cost to you, I may get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

Examples Of Long-Term Business Goals

First of all, here you will find today’s examples of long-term business goals list for your consideration:

• Expand into a new geographic market
• Market through a new channel
• Penetrate a new demographic
• Broaden product and service offerings
• Acquire a competitor
• Expand personnel and facilities
• Migrate to a new technology platform
• Put financing sources in place
• Increase earnings
• Improve profit margins

Next, let’s make sure we are completely aligned on today’s topic.  Identifying, setting, and achieving these 10 examples of long-term goals for a business.

Long-Term Business Goals Definition

First of all, a goal is an outcome you want to achieve. That a person envisions, plans for, and commits to achieve.

Furthermore, goals can relate to many aspects of our lives. For example, self-development, career, health, fitness, and personal finance outcomes .

But today, we are talking about goals related to your business.

More specifically, we are talking about long-term goals for a small business . Or, larger businesses too.

Typically, long-term goals take more planning. And more time to achieve. Normally, it takes 5 years or more to accomplish a long-term goal.

Furthermore, long-term goals are more strategic. And they require a vision of what your business will look like in the distant future.

While ensuring its long-term success, growth, and profitability. As you make the journey.

Finally, business goals can be non-financial . Or, they can be tied to a specific financial outcome.

Long-Term Goals For A Business Versus Other Types Of Goals

Businesses also have short-term goals and medium-term goals. Let’s compare and contrast…

Short-Term Business Goals

Short-term business goals are to be accomplished within 1 year.

Their focus is on solving today’s problems. Or, activities in the near term. That creates a foundation for long-term success.

Examples of short-term business goals include:

• Increase on-time delivery from 95% to 99%
• Reduce overhead costs by 3%
• Prepare a business plan

Medium-Term Business Goals

Medium-term goals should be set and completed within a 1-5 year time horizon.

These goals are intended to move your business forward in a meaningful way. But, are too involved to complete within a year.

Examples of good medium-term goals for business include:

• Increase market share by 5%
• Develop and bring to market a product line extension
• Increase shareholder value by $1 million

Next, before we touch on the examples. A little more talk about long-term goals for a business…

The Big Picture View Of Long-Term Business Goals

Today’s examples of long-term business goals are more strategic. Versus short and medium-term goals.

They are not about solving today’s problems. Or, about improving your business on the margins in the next few years.

They are for taking big steps forward. And transforming your business into something bigger and better in the future. Versus what it is today.

These goals take more than 2-3 years to accomplish without causing business instability.

They require careful thought about the direction you wish your business to take. Then planning, resources, and careful execution.

For more on these strategic topics…

consider this excellent course on business strategy and leadership .

But for now, I think about long-term goals for a business in one of three categories:

1. Extending market reach. Specifically, growing business revenue in different and dramatic ways.

2. Ensuring the ability to scale. Having success with growth means being able to handle it. In other words, scaling operations to service the new markets and customers you are reaching.

3 . Balancing growth and profits. Substantial business growth is good. It certainly beats the alternative.

But rapid growth is hard to execute. And it must be done profitably.

Thus, all 10 of today’s examples of long-term business goals fall into one of these categories.

Now, let’s go through each of the 10 goals on our list. All of them can be good investments to make in your business .

1. Expand Into A New Geographic Market

Plan for and expand into new geographic markets. For example, if you operate in Utah. Expand into the high business growth state of Colorado .

If your business services the Western portion of the country. Extend it throughout the United States.

Finally, consider foreign expansion. But, understand that these are big steps. Require careful thought and planning.

Up next in the long-term goals examples for business: channel strategy…

2. Go To Market Through A New Channel

Identify all the possible channels through which your products and services can be sold. Then delivered to your customers.

Utilize one or more marketing channels that have not yet been tapped.

For example, consider a targeted social media strategy. That drives traffic to an online store on your website.

3. Penetrate A New Demographic

Your current products and services are likely popular with a certain demographic.

So, evaluate your marketing plan. To tap into demand from a different segment of the population .

4. Broaden Product And Service Offerings

Enhance and broaden your product lines. Innovate and develop new products and services.

But, be sure they fit within your company’s mission. And customer service value proposition.

So, don’t stray too far. From your business’s core strengths.

Okay.  It’s time for the 5th in our series of long-term goals for business examples: mergers and acquisitions…

5. Acquire A Competitor

Acquiring a competitor can be the quickest way to extend your business’s market reach. And this brings us to the “buy or build” dilemma.

You have to decide if it’s more effective to extend your market reach on your own. In other words, building out those capabilities internally.

Or doing so. by buying a competitor. Specifically, a competitor that has accomplished what your business has not. This is the reasoning behind strategic acquisitions.

When it comes to the buy or build decisions. There is no right or wrong answer.

Each situation will be different. And every business will be different. Including yours.

Okay. So the first 5 examples of long-term business goals relate to extending your business’s market reach.

Accomplish any one or more of these goals. And your business will experience revenue growth. Sometimes, rapid revenue growth.

And rapid growth requires the ability to scale. This leads us to the next few long-term goals for business…

6. Expand Personnel And Facilities

Ensure you have the team in place to handle the influx of business. Including the quantity and quality of staff. Also, management personnel.

Develop and put a personnel plan in place. Including an employee professional development and onboarding program.

Then make sure you have the appropriate facilities. That solves for the right locations, footprint, and space.

This includes production, warehouse, distribution, and office space. Depending on your specific business needs.

Also, consider business outsourcing . Another buy or build decision. As part of scaling up to meet demand.

7. Migrate To A New Technology Platform

Don’t forget about technology. Because most successful businesses run on an enterprise-wide system.

If your business does not have the appropriate technology in place. Or, its capacity is limited.

Then make improving your technology infrastructure a long-term business goal.

8. Put Financing Sources In Place

If you have one, your CFO should be in charge of this goal.

Because growth by extending market reach. And putting the people, facilities, and technology in place to service it. Requires one very important thing.

What’s that? It is cash.

Because it takes money to make money. And investing in growth doesn’t come for free.

Where your cash comes from . Be it debt financing, equity financing, or internally generated funds. Don’t let access to capital derail your long-term business plans.

Okay now. Our final 2 examples of long-term business goals fall in the third category.

Specifically, balancing growth versus business profit goals . Since growth without profit, or at the very least, profit potential. Is no fun when operating a business.

9. Increase Earnings

So, set a long-term earnings goal. And first, put it into dollar terms.

For example, increase pre-tax income from $250,000 to $750,000. That’s a big jump in profit. And why it’s a long-term goal for a business.

But, make sure you have accurate financial information. To do so, consider outsourcing your financial management. Assuming you aren’t up to doing it yourself.

Now, it’s time for our last example of long-term goals in business. Then I will wrap up…

10. Maintain or Improve Profit Margins

Then, make sure your business’s profit margin is stable or even increasing. When I say profit margin, I’m talking about pre-tax income divided by revenue.

Continuing the example from above. Let’s say you did $250,000 in pre-tax profit on $1 million in revenue. So, your profit margin is 25%

Your long-term goal should be to at least maintain that margin. Therefore the new income target of $750,000. Should be generated from no more than $3,000,000 in revenue.

Your profit goals should be part of your financial planning . And, included in pro-forma financial statements.

Make sure the financials encompass all of the economics. Of whatever goals you choose to set.

Finally, I always recommend that business owners keep their personal finances. Separate from their business finances.

I use Personal Capital to track all of my spending and investments. And keep them separate from my business.

Best of all, Personal Capital is free to sign up and use. You can learn more about Personal Capital here .

Next, a few words about setting business goals. Here’s the best way to go about it…

How To Set Long-Term Business Goals

Business long-term goals should be set using SMART . A SMART goal includes the following 5 attributes…

Specific. Make your goals as detailed as possible. Outlining exactly what you want to accomplish.

Measurable. Determine how you will measure success. Both the interim steps and the completion of the goal.

Achievable. Stretch yourself and your organization. But don’t waste time with goals that can’t be achieved.

Realistic. A goal may be achievable. But it may not be realistic. Determine this by looking at your constraints.

For example, a goal may be achievable. But if it requires an amount of capital that you are unable to obtain. Then it’s not realistic.

In this case, access to capital is the constraint. Other constraints include the ability to attract employees and overall market conditions.

Time-bound. Set a deadline for when the goal will be accomplished. A long-term business goal should be out at least 4-5 years from now.

Finally, be sure to align your goals from short to long term . As a result, they will complement each other.

Since the complexity of long-term goals leads to long time horizons. Achieving these goals is challenging.

So, set yourself up for success…

How To Achieve Long-Term Business Goals

Students of goal-setting use three more steps. After setting goals using the SMART system.

Specifically, businesses that achieve these examples of long-term goals for business do 3 more things.

Specifically, they plan, act, and monitor (PAM) to successfully achieve goals .

Plan. Long-run goals require a plan. Those step-by-step actions, deliverables, and accountability that must be completed on the path to success.

Action. This should speak for itself. But it’s important. Get the planning done. Then, act. Furthermore, involve your employees in goal-setting processes.

Because people tend to delay working on long-term goals in a business. Thus, time management is critical for success.

Monitor. Finally, it’s important to monitor progress against the plan. Every 3-6 months.

Work through the SMART and PAM goal systems. Document as you go. Commit to all your goals and plans in writing.

Research shows that a written goal. Has a much higher success rate. Versus a goal that is not.

Then appoint a person who has the overall task to see the goal through to the end. And give them the resources required to be successful.

Lack of focus and lack of accountability diminishes the chances of success. When pursuing your organization’s goals over a long period.

Okay. Let’s wrap today’s article up with a summary…

Summary: Examples Of Long-Term Business Goals

10 Examples Of Long-Term Business Goals include:

In my opinion, any of these 10 objectives are good examples of long-term goals for a new business. Or, a mature business that has been operating for a while.

They are perfect complements to this…

course I really like about business strategy

…it’s full of great lessons on how to take your business to the next level.

Categories Of Long-Term Business Goals

These business goal examples fall into 1 of the 3 broad categories:

• Extending market reach
• Ensuring the ability to scale
• Balancing growth and profit

In the case of the first two categories. A business owner will be confronted with the options to buy, build, or outsource.

Finally, all goals should be set with an eye on the third category. That is balancing growth and profit.

Setting Long-Term Business Goals

Make SMART goals for your company . They should be:

Achieve Your Long-Term Business Goals

Achieve your goals with PAM:

Document your goals and your plan. By committing to them in writing. Then get to work on your long-term goals for a business.

More Reading About Setting And Achieving Goals

• Level up your money game with these articles
• Move your business to this low-tax state
• Avoid these financial problems

Author Bio, Disclosure, & Disclaimer: Please join me (Tom) as I try to achieve my goals, find my next place to live, and make the most of my money. However, I am not a licensed investment adviser, financial counselor, real estate agent, or tax professional. Instead, I’m a 50-something-year-old, early retired CPA, finance professional, and business school teacher with 40+ years of DIY dividend investing experience. I’m here only to share my thoughts about essential topics for success. As a result, nothing published on this site should be considered individual investment, financial, tax, or real estate advice. This site’s only purpose is general information & entertainment. Thus, neither I nor Dividends Diversify can be held liable for losses suffered by any party because of the information published on this website. Finally, all written content is the property of Dividends Diversify LLC. Unauthorized publication elsewhere is strictly prohibited.

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Business Plan

By Entrepreneur Staff

Business Plan Definition:

A written document describing the nature of the business, the sales and marketing strategy, and the financial background, and containing a projected profit and loss statement

A business plan is also a road map that provides directions so a business can plan its future and helps it avoid bumps in the road. The time you spend making your business plan thorough and accurate, and keeping it up-to-date, is an investment that pays big dividends in the long term.

Your business plan should conform to generally accepted guidelines regarding form and content. Each section should include specific elements and address relevant questions that the people who read your plan will most likely ask. Generally, a business plan has the following components:

Title Page and Contents A business plan should be presented in a binder with a cover listing the name of the business, the name(s) of the principal(s), address, phone number, e-mail and website addresses, and the date. You don't have to spend a lot of money on a fancy binder or cover. Your readers want a plan that looks professional, is easy to read and is well-put-together.

Include the same information on the title page. If you have a logo, you can use it, too. A table of contents follows the executive summary or statement of purpose, so that readers can quickly find the information or financial data they need.

Executive Summary The executive summary, or statement of purpose, succinctly encapsulates your reason for writing the business plan. It tells the reader what you want and why, right up front. Are you looking for a $10,000 loan to remodel and refurbish your factory? A loan of $25,000 to expand your product line or buy new equipment? How will you repay your loan, and over what term? Would you like to find a partner to whom you'd sell 25 percent of the business? What's in it for him or her? The questions that pertain to your situation should be addressed here clearly and succinctly.

The summary or statement should be no more than half a page in length and should touch on the following key elements:

• Business concept describes the business, its product, the market it serves and the business' competitive advantage.
• Financial features include financial highlights, such as sales and profits.
• Financial requirements state how much capital is needed for startup or expansion, how it will be used and what collateral is available.
• Current business position furnishes relevant information about the company, its legal form of operation, when it was founded, the principal owners and key personnel.
• Major achievements points out anything noteworthy, such as patents, prototypes, important contracts regarding product development, or results from test marketing that have been conducted.

Description of the Business The business description usually begins with a short explanation of the industry. When describing the industry, discuss what's going on now as well as the outlook for the future. Do the necessary research so you can provide information on all the various markets within the industry, including references to new products or developments that could benefit or hinder your business. Base your observations on reliable data and be sure to footnote and cite your sources of information when necessary. Remember that bankers and investors want to know hard facts--they won't risk money on assumptions or conjecture.

When describing your business, say which sector it falls into (wholesale, retail, food service, manufacturing, hospitality and so on), and whether the business is new or established. Then say whether the business is a sole proprietorship, partnership, C or Sub chapter S corporation. Next, list the business' principals and state what they bring to the business. Continue with information on who the business' customers are, how big the market is, and how the product or service is distributed and marketed.

Description of the Product or Service The business description can be a few paragraphs to a few pages in length, depending on the complexity of your plan. If your plan isn't too complicated, keep your business description short, describing the industry in one paragraph, the product in another, and the business and its success factors in two or three more paragraphs.

When you describe your product or service, make sure your reader has a clear idea of what you're talking about. Explain how people use your product or service and talk about what makes your product or service different from others available in the market. Be specific about what sets your business apart from those of your competitors.

Then explain how your business will gain a competitive edge and why your business will be profitable. Describe the factors you think will make it successful. If your business plan will be used as a financing proposal, explain why the additional equity or debt will make your business more profitable. Give hard facts, such as "new equipment will create an income stream of $10,000 per year" and briefly describe how.

Other information to address here is a description of the experience of the other key people in the business. Whoever reads your business plan will want to know what suppliers or experts you've spoken to about your business and their response to your idea. They may even ask you to clarify your choice of location or reasons for selling this particular product.

Market Analysis A thorough market analysis will help you define your prospects as well as help you establish pricing, distribution, and promotional strategies that will allow your company to be successful vis-à-vis your competition, both in the short and long term.

Begin your market analysis by defining the market in terms of size, demographics, structure, growth prospects, trends, and sales potential. Next, determine how often your product or service will be purchased by your target market. Then figure out the potential annual purchase. Then figure out what percentage of this annual sum you either have or can attain. Keep in mind that no one gets 100 percent market share, and that a something as small as 25 percent is considered a dominant share. Your market share will be a benchmark that tells you how well you're doing in light of your market-planning projections.

You'll also have to describe your positioning strategy. How you differentiate your product or service from that of your competitors and then determine which market niche to fill is called "positioning." Positioning helps establish your product or service's identity within the eyes of the purchaser. A positioning statement for a business plan doesn't have to be long or elaborate, but it does need to point out who your target market is, how you'll reach them, what they're really buying from you, who your competitors are, and what your USP (unique selling proposition) is.

How you price your product or service is perhaps your most important marketing decision. It's also one of the most difficult to make for most small business owners, because there are no instant formulas. Many methods of establishing prices are available to you, but these are among the most common.

• Cost-plus pricing is used mainly by manufacturers to assure that all costs, both fixed and variable, are covered and the desired profit percentage is attained.
• Demand pricing is used by companies that sell their products through a variety of sources at differing prices based on demand.
• Competitive pricing is used by companies that are entering a market where there's already an established price and it's difficult to differentiate one product from another.
• Markup pricing is used mainly by retailers and is calculated by adding your desired profit to the cost of the product.

You'll also have to determine distribution, which includes the entire process of moving the product from the factory to the end user. Make sure to analyze your competitors' distribution channels before deciding whether to use the same type of channel or an alternative that may provide you with a strategic advantage.

Finally, your promotion strategy should include all the ways you communicate with your markets to make them aware of your products or services. To be successful, your promotion strategy should address advertising, packaging, public relations, sales promotions and personal sales.

Competitive Analysis The purpose of the competitive analysis is to determine:

• the strengths and weaknesses of the competitors within your market.
• strategies that will provide you with a distinct advantage.
• barriers that can be developed to prevent competition from entering your market.
• any weaknesses that can be exploited in the product development cycle.

The first step in a competitor analysis is to identify both direct and indirect competition for your business, both now and in the future. Once you've grouped your competitors, start analyzing their marketing strategies and identifying their vulnerable areas by examining their strengths and weaknesses. This will help you determine your distinct competitive advantage.

Whoever reads your business plan should be very clear on who your target market is, what your market niche is, exactly how you'll stand apart from your competitors, and why you'll be successful doing so.

Operations and Management The operations and management component of your plan is designed to describe how the business functions on a continuing basis. The operations plan highlights the logistics of the organization, such as the responsibilities of the management team, the tasks assigned to each division within the company, and capital and expense requirements related to the operations of the business.

Financial Components of Your Business Plan After defining the product, market and operations, the next area to turn your attention to are the three financial statements that form the backbone of your business plan: the income statement, cash flow statement, and balance sheet.

The income statement is a simple and straightforward report on the business' cash-generating ability. It is a scorecard on the financial performance of your business that reflects when sales are made and when expenses are incurred. It draws information from the various financial models developed earlier such as revenue, expenses, capital (in the form of depreciation), and cost of goods. By combining these elements, the income statement illustrates just how much your company makes or loses during the year by subtracting cost of goods and expenses from revenue to arrive at a net result, which is either a profit or loss. In addition to the income statements, include a note analyzing the results. The analysis should be very short, emphasizing the key points of the income statement. Your CPA can help you craft this.

The cash flow statement is one of the most critical information tools for your business, since it shows how much cash you'll need to meet obligations, when you'll require it and where it will come from. The result is the profit or loss at the end of each month and year. The cash flow statement carries both profits and losses over to the next month to also show the cumulative amount. Running a loss on your cash flow statement is a major red flag that indicates not having enough cash to meet expenses-something that demands immediate attention and action.

The cash flow statement should be prepared on a monthly basis during the first year, on a quarterly basis for the second year, and annually for the third year. The following 17 items are listed in the order they need to appear on your cash flow statement. As with the income statement, you'll need to analyze the cash flow statement in a short summary in the business plan. Once again, the analysis doesn't have to be long and should cover highlights only. Ask your CPA for help.

The last financial statement you'll need is a balance sheet. Unlike the previous financial statements, the balance sheet is generated annually for the business plan and is, more or less, a summary of all the preceding financial information broken down into three areas: assets, liabilities and equity.

Balance sheets are used to calculate the net worth of a business or individual by measuring assets against liabilities. If your business plan is for an existing business, the balance sheet from your last reporting period should be included. If the business plan is for a new business, try to project what your assets and liabilities will be over the course of the business plan to determine what equity you may accumulate in the business. To obtain financing for a new business, you'll need to include a personal financial statement or balance sheet.

In the business plan, you'll need to create an analysis for the balance sheet just as you need to do for the income and cash flow statements. The analysis of the balance sheet should be kept short and cover key points.

Supporting Documents In this section, include any other documents that are of interest to your reader, such as your resume; contracts with suppliers, customers, or clients, letters of reference, letters of intent, copy of your lease and any other legal documents, tax returns for the previous three years, and anything else relevant to your business plan.

Some people think you don't need a business plan unless you're trying to borrow money. Of course, it's true that you do need a good plan if you intend to approach a lender--whether a banker, a venture capitalist or any number of other sources--for startup capital. But a business plan is more than a pitch for financing; it's a guide to help you define and meet your business goals.

Just as you wouldn't start off on a cross-country drive without a road map, you should not embark on your new business without a business plan to guide you. A business plan won't automatically make you a success, but it will help you avoid some common causes of business failure, such as under-capitalization or lack of an adequate market.

As you research and prepare your business plan, you'll find weak spots in your business idea that you'll be able to repair. You'll also discover areas with potential you may not have thought about before--and ways to profit from them. Only by putting together a business plan can you decide whether your great idea is really worth your time and investment.

More from Business Plans

Financial projections.

Estimates of the future financial performance of a business

Financial Statement

A written report of the financial condition of a firm. Financial statements include the balance sheet, income statement, statement of changes in net worth and statement of cash flow.

Executive Summary

A nontechnical summary statement at the beginning of a business plan that's designed to encapsulate your reason for writing the plan

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Long-Term Growth (LTG): What it is, How it Works, Value Investing

James Chen, CMT is an expert trader, investment adviser, and global market strategist.

Katrina Ávila Munichiello is an experienced editor, writer, fact-checker, and proofreader with more than fourteen years of experience working with print and online publications.

What Is Long-Term Growth (LTG)?

• Long-term growth (LTG) is an investment strategy that aims to increase the value of a portfolio over a multi-year time frame.

Key Takeaways

• Although long-term is relative to an investors’ time horizons and individual style, generally long-term growth is meant to create above-market returns over a period of ten years or more. 
• LTG portfolios can be more aggressive and might have a ratio of 80% stocks to 20% bonds.

Understanding Long-Term Growth (LTG)

Although long-term is relative to an investors’ time horizons and individual style, generally LTG is meant to create above-market returns over a period of ten years or more.

Because of the longer time frame, LTG portfolios can be more aggressive, holding a larger percentage of stocks versus fixed-income products such as bonds. Whereas an intermediate-term balanced fund might have 60% stocks to 40% bonds, a LTG fund might have 80% stocks and 20% bonds.

LTG is meant to do exactly what it says—deliver portfolio growth over time. The catch is that the growth can be uneven. A LTG portfolio may underperform the market in the first years and then outperform later, or vice versa.

This is a problem for investors in a LTG fund. Even if a fund delivers good average growth over a decade, for example, the performance year to year will vary. Therefore, investors can have very different outcomes depending on when they buy into the fund and how long they hold. Timing investments is, of course, a problem facing every market participant and not just LTG fund investors.

Long-Term Growth (LTG) and Value Investing

The core advantage to LTG is that short-term price fluctuations are not of major concern. Similarly, many value investors focus on stocks with LTG potential, searching for companies that are relatively inexpensive with strong fundamentals . Then they simply wait until they increase in value as the market catches on to their fundamental strength before selling.

Individual investors often benefit from a LTG focus, and that may lead them toward value investing as a strategy. However, LTG simply refers to the longer period over which returns are sought, not a particular investment style such as value investing.

Long-term funds are just as likely to buy the market through various indexing products as they are to seek out undervalued stocks. Value investing, in particular, can be difficult for fund managers to stick to for the long term.

Although investors in LTG funds are told to expect a decent average return over multiple years, less patient investors are free to pull out unless the fund has a lock-up period —something that is usually found in hedge or private funds. If a typical LTG fund has too many mediocre years, then capital will start to leave as investors seek better market returns. This can force a fund to prematurely trim holdings before the market value catches up with the intrinsic value of the stocks.

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A Shutdown Is Looming. What Comes Next?

Many federal agencies have plans in place to weather a shutdown, but a disruption would still affect critical government services.

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By Zach Montague

Reporting from Washington

The White House has begun advising federal agencies to prepare for a government shutdown as Republican lawmakers have shown no signs of progress in negotiations to keep the government funded beyond this week.

The Senate on Wednesday continued debate on a bipartisan stopgap bill to fund the government through Nov. 17, but Speaker Kevin McCarthy was toiling to build support for a right-wing alternative that members of his own party have balked at supporting . That left little chance that Congress could agree on a funding bridge before the midnight deadline on Saturday.

The United States has experienced 21 gaps in government funding since 1976, leading to varying degrees of disruption. Under a worst-case scenario, the White House is wary of a repeat of 2018, the longest and most recent shutdown, which sidelined roughly 800,000 of the federal government’s 2.1 million employees for 34 days.

While much remains uncertain about how inevitable a shutdown may be or how long one may last, the broad contours of how it would play out are well-worn territory in Washington, and most agencies have readied plans for working through the tumult.

What exactly would be shut down?

A government shutdown amounts to a suspension of many government operations until Congress acts to restore funding.

For hundreds of thousands of federal employees, that means either being furloughed while the government is closed, or continuing to work without pay.

For the public, that typically means dealing with interruptions to a variety of government services and facing a range of inconveniences and disruptions to daily life.

In recent days, the White House has spotlighted several government programs that could cause more severe issues if suspended, in particular the nutrition and immunization assistance given out through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children. If funding lapses, the White House has said nearly seven million women and children could lose critical access to food, and the federal contingency fund to keep the program running could run dry within days.

“If we have a shutdown, WIC shuts down, and that means the nutrition assistance to those moms and young children shuts down,” Tom Vilsack, the agriculture secretary, told reporters on Monday.

Closures of national parks and museums are often one of the most visible impacts of a shutdown for the public, as well. In some cases, they can produce significant losses for the communities that depend on tourism.

Gov. Katie Hobbs of Arizona, for instance, has vowed to draw on revenue from the Arizona Lottery to keep Grand Canyon National Park open. In 2021, the park drew more than 4.5 million visitors to the state, according to the National Park Service.

Even many workers in the private sector are often forced to adjust.

During the most recent shutdown, inspections of chemical factories, power plants and water treatment plants ground to a halt as the Environmental Protection Agency furloughed thousands of workers. The Food and Drug Administration also paused routine food safety inspections of seafood, fruits and vegetables, putting extra pressure on restaurants and grocers.

In addition, many government labs and research projects are frequently closed during prolonged shutdowns, hampering scientific work.

As the deadline to fund the government approaches, the White House has sought to stress the sheer variety of programs and services that would suffer while blaming House Republicans for the standoff.

“A government shutdown could impact everything from food safety to cancer research to Head Start programs for children,” President Biden said on Saturday .

What services would continue?

Many agencies whose employees carry out critical services do not suspend operations.

That includes a large number of federal prosecutors and investigators, postal workers and Transportation Security Administration employees.

Most of those employees will continue to work without pay until funding is restored. In rare cases, some may work in positions that are funded outside the annual appropriations process.

Benefits such as Medicare and Social Security also continue uninterrupted because they are authorized by Congress in separate laws that do not need to be renewed every year. Medical care of veterans also goes on unaffected.

But even in instances where federal workers may stay on the job, planning and operations supporting them can be suspended, making the work harder.

For instance, while air traffic controllers would largely continue to work, training for new staff members would cease, exacerbating shortages .

Who decides which workers are essential?

Having weathered multiple shutdowns already, most agencies have in place detailed contingency plans for determining which employees should keep working.

But those plans can vary widely.

According to its contingency plan , the Department of Health and Human Services plans to retain about 58 percent of its employees during a shutdown, while the Justice Department would direct closer to 85 percent of its employees to continue working.

The determinations for each agency are often based on workers’ roles and how precisely their jobs are deemed “necessary to protect life and property.”

Shutdowns have become so commonplace in Washington that the Office of Management and Budget publishes guidance for federal employees on what to expect when one is approaching.

Do members of Congress still get paid?

In Article I, Section 6 of the Constitution, compensation for members of Congress is differentiated from that of most federal workers.

“The senators and representatives shall receive a compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the Treasury of the United States,” that section reads.

In addition, the language of the 27th Amendment, which prohibits any law “varying the compensation for the services of the senators and representatives” until the next election, is often interpreted as a constitutional requirement that lawmakers be paid on time.

Salaries for members of Congress are funded by a permanent appropriations account that does not require renewal every year.

Like federal agencies, lawmakers also have some limited discretion to keep staff members working in cases where their role is directly tied to human health and safety. This typically applies only to staff members whose work is “required to support Congress with its constitutional responsibilities or those necessary to protect life and property,” according to the Congressional Research Service .

Will furloughed employees eventually be paid?

Furloughed employees will receive back pay once Congress passes and the president signs a new appropriations bill or a continuing resolution, a guarantee enshrined in 2019 when Congress passed the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act .

Employees who worked overtime or earned other premium pay can typically also claim those extra wages once the shutdown ends.

For contractors, including many cleaners, maintenance workers and cafeteria workers, however, the situation is more precarious.

Federal contractors are not guaranteed back pay under the 2019 law, even though some who are deemed essential might still be required to work. In some cases , contractors may be unable to return to their workplace while federal sites are closed.

In most situations in which contract workers are furloughed or unable to work during a shutdown, however, many are entitled to unemployment compensation.

Zach Montague is based in Washington. He covers breaking news and developments around the district. More about Zach Montague

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A government shutdown is nearing this weekend. What does it mean, who’s hit and what’s next?

FILE - A sign reading “Because of the Federal Government SHUTDOWN All National Parks are Closed” is posted on a barricade in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, Oct. 1, 2013. The federal government is heading toward a shutdown at month’s end that will disrupt many services, squeeze workers and roil politics. It comes as Republicans in the House, fueled by hard-right demands for deep cuts, force a confrontation over federal spending. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

FILE - The Capitol is seen in Washington, Sept. 20, 2021. The federal government is heading toward a shutdown at month’s end that will disrupt many services, squeeze workers and roil politics. It comes as Republicans in the House, fueled by hard-right demands for deep cuts, force a confrontation over federal spending. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

FILE - Doors at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building are locked and covered with blinds as a sign posted advises that the office will be closed during the partial government shutdown Jan. 16, 2019, in Seattle. The federal government is heading toward a shutdown at month’s end that will disrupt many services, squeeze workers and roil politics. It comes as Republicans in the House, fueled by hard-right demands for deep cuts, force a confrontation over federal spending. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government is just days away from a shutdown that will disrupt many services, squeeze workers and roil politics as Republicans in the House, fueled by hard-right demands, force a confrontation over federal spending.

While some government entities will be exempt — Social Security checks, for example, will still go out — other functions will be severely curtailed. Federal agencies will stop all actions deemed non-essential, and millions of federal employees, including members of the military, won’t receive paychecks.

A look at what’s ahead if the government shuts down on Sunday.

WHAT IS A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN?

A shutdown happens when Congress fails to pass some type of funding legislation that is signed into law by the president. Lawmakers are supposed to pass 12 different spending bills to fund agencies across the government, but the process is time-consuming. They often resort to passing a temporary extension, called a continuing resolution or CR, to allow the government to keep operating.

When no funding legislation is enacted, federal agencies have to stop all nonessential work and will not send paychecks as long as the shutdown lasts.

Although employees deemed essential to public safety such as air traffic controllers and law enforcement officers still have to report to work, other federal employees are furloughed. Under a 2019 law, those same workers are slated to receive backpay once the funding impasse is resolved.

WHEN WOULD A SHUTDOWN BEGIN AND HOW LONG WILL IT LAST?

Government funding expires Oct. 1, the start of the federal budget year. A shutdown will effectively begin at 12:01 a.m. Sunday if Congress is unable to pass a funding plan that the president signs into law.

It is impossible to predict how long a shutdown would last. The Democratic-held Senate and Republican-controlled House are working on vastly different plans to avert a shutdown, and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is struggling to win any support from hard-right conservatives to keep the government open.

Many are bracing for a stoppage that could last weeks.

WHO DOES A SHUTDOWN AFFECT?

Millions of federal workers face delayed paychecks when the government shuts down, including many of the roughly 2 million military personnel and more than 2 million civilian workers across the nation.

Nearly 60% of federal workers are stationed in the Department of Defense, Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security.

While all of the military’s active-duty troops and reservists would continue to work, more than half of the Department of Defense’s civilian workforce, which is roughly 440,000 people, would be furloughed.

Across federal agencies, workers are stationed in all 50 states and have direct interaction with taxpayers — from Transportation Security Administration agents who operate security at airports to Postal Service workers who deliver mail.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has said new training for air traffic controllers will be halted and another 1,000 controllers in the midst of training will be furloughed. Even a shutdown that lasts a few days will mean the department won’t hit its hiring and staffing targets for next year, he said.

“Imagine the pressure that a controller is already under every time they take their position at work, and then imagine the added stress of coming to that job from a household with a family that can no longer count on that paycheck,” Buttigieg said.

Beyond federal workers, a shutdown could have far-reaching effects on government services. People applying for government services like clinical trials, firearm permits and passports could see delays.

Some federal offices will also have to close or face shortened hours during a shutdown.

Businesses closely connected to the federal government, such as federal contractors or tourist services around national parks, could see disruptions and downturns. The travel sector could lose $140 million daily in a shutdown, according to the U.S. Travel Industry Association.

Lawmakers also warn that a shutdown could rattle financial markets. Goldman Sachs has estimated that a shutdown would reduce economic growth by 0.2% every week it lasted, but growth would then bounce back after the government reopens.

Others say the disruption in government services has far-reaching impacts because it shakes confidence in the government to fulfill its basic duties. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce warned, “A well-functioning economy requires a functioning government.”

WHAT ABOUT COURT CASES, THE WORK OF CONGRESS AND PRESIDENTIAL PAY?

The president and members of Congress will continue to work and get paid. However, any members of their staff who are not deemed essential will be furloughed.

The Supreme Court, which begins its new term Monday, would be unaffected by a short shutdown because it can draw on a pot of money provided by court fees, including charges for filing lawsuits and other documents, court spokeswoman Patricia McCabe said.

The rest of the federal judiciary also would operate normally for at least the first two weeks of October, said Peter Kaplan, a spokesman for the judiciary.

Even in a longer shutdown, the entire judiciary would not shut down, and decisions about what activities would continue would be made by each court around the country. The justices and all federal judges would continue to be paid because of the constitutional prohibition on reducing judges’ pay during their tenure, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Notably, funding for the three special counsels appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland would not be affected by a government shutdown because they are paid for through a permanent, indefinite appropriation, an area that’s been exempted from shutdowns in the past.

That means the two federal cases against Donald Trump , the former president, as well as the case against Hunter Biden , the son of President Joe Biden , would not be interrupted. Trump has demanded that Republicans defund the prosecutions against him as a condition of funding the government, declaring it their “last chance” to act.

HAS THIS HAPPENED BEFORE?

Prior to the 1980s, lapses in government funding did not result in government operations significantly shuttering. But then-U.S. Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti, in a series of legal opinions in 1980 and 1981, argued that government agencies cannot legally operate during a funding gap.

Federal officials have since operated under an understanding they can make exemptions for functions that are “essential” for public safety and constitutional duties.

Since 1976, there have been 22 funding gaps, with 10 of them leading to workers being furloughed. But most of the significant shutdowns have taken place since Bill Clinton’s presidency, when then-Speaker Newt Gingrich and his conservative House majority demanded budget cuts.

The longest government shutdown happened between 2018 and 2019 when then-President Trump and congressional Democrats entered a standoff over his demand for funding for a border wall . The disruption lasted 35 days, through the holiday season, but was also only a partial government shutdown because Congress had passed some appropriations bills to fund parts of the government.

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO END A SHUTDOWN?

It’s the responsibility of Congress to fund the government. The House and Senate have to agree to fund the government in some way, and the president has to sign the legislation into law.

The two sides are deeply entrenched and nowhere near reaching a deal to avert a shutdown.

But if the shutdown lasts for weeks, pressure will build to end the impasse, particularly if active-duty military members miss pay dates on Oct. 13 or Nov. 1. If the wider public starts seeing disruptions in air travel or border security as workers go unpaid, it will further goad Congress to act.

Congress often relies on a so-called continuing resolution, or CR, to provide stopgap money to open government offices at current levels as budget talks are underway. Money for pressing national priorities, such as emergency assistance for victims of natural disasters, is often attached to a short-term bill.

But hardline Republicans say any temporary bill is a non-starter for them. They are pushing to keep the government shut down until Congress negotiates all 12 bills that fund the government, which is historically a laborious undertaking that isn’t resolved until December, at the earliest.

Trump, who is Biden’s top rival heading into the 2024 election, is urging on the Republican hardliners.

If they are successful, the shutdown could last weeks, perhaps even longer.

Associated Press writers Lolita Baldor, Mark Sherman, Fatima Hussein, Lindsay Whitehurst, Josh Boak, Kevin Freking and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.

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US government shutdown: What is it and who would be affected?

Sept 28 (Reuters) - U.S. government services would be disrupted and hundreds of thousands of federal workers would be furloughed without pay if Congress fails to provide funding for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1. Workers deemed essential would remain on the job, but without pay.

Here is a guide to what would stay open and what would shut down, according to agency shutdown plans :

The 2 million U.S. military personnel would remain at their posts, but roughly half of the Pentagon's 800,000 civilian employees would be furloughed.

Contracts awarded before the shutdown would continue, and the Pentagon could place new orders for supplies or services needed to protect national security. Other new contracts, including renewals or extensions, would not be awarded . Payments to defense contractors such as Boeing (BA.N) , Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) and RTX (RTX.N) , formerly known as Raytheon, could be delayed.

The Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration would continue maintaining nuclear weapons.

LAW ENFORCEMENT

Agents at the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and other federal law enforcement agencies would remain on the job , and prison staffers would continue to work.

The Secret Service and the Coast Guard would also continue operations, and most employees would continue to work.

Most of the Federal Trade Commission's consumer-protection workers would be furloughed, as would half of its antitrust employees.

SOCIAL SECURITY, MEDICARE AND OTHER BENEFITS

The Social Security Administration would continue to issue retirement and disability benefits, though the agency might have to delay its announcement of its annual increase in payments. read more

BORDERS AND HOMELAND SECURITY

Most Border Patrol and immigration enforcement agents would continue to work, as would most customs officers.

Local governments would not get new aid to shelter migrants.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency would suspend security reviews that help schools, local governments and other institutions defend against ransomware.

FEDERAL COURTS

Federal courts have enough money to stay open until at least Oct. 13 . Activities might be scaled back after that point. The Supreme Court would stay open as well.

Criminal prosecutions, including the two federal cases against former President Donald Trump , would continue. Most civil litigation would be postponed. The government's landmark Google antitrust lawsuit would continue.

Lawmakers continue to collect paychecks, even as other federal workers do not. Staffers do not get paid, though those deemed essential would be required to work.

TRANSPORTATION

Airport security screeners and air-traffic control workers would be required to work, according to recent contingency plans, though absenteeism could be a problem. Some airports had to suspend operations during a shutdown in 2019 when traffic controllers called in sick.

Training for 1,000 new air-traffic controllers would stop, leaving the system understaffed. The Transportation Security Administration would not be able to hire new airport security screeners ahead of the busy holiday travel season.

Some major infrastructure projects could face delays as environmental reviews and permitting would be disrupted, according to the White House.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

U.S. embassies and consulates would remain open. Passport and visa processing would continue as long as there were sufficient fees to cover operations. Nonessential official travel, speeches and other events would be curtailed.

Some foreign aid programs could run out of money as well.

NATIONAL PARKS AND NATURAL RESOURCES

It's not clear how national parks, national monuments and other sites would be affected. Many remained open during a 2018-2019 shutdown, through restrooms and information desks were closed and waste disposal was halted. They were closed during a 2013 shutdown.

Wildfire fighting efforts would continue, according to the Agriculture Department's 2020 contingency plan, though timber sales on national forest lands would be curtailed and fewer recreation permits would be issued.

The Smithsonian museums that line the National Mall would close, as would the National Zoo. That would bring a premature end to the Zoo's farewell celebration for its three giant pandas, which are due to return to China.

Scientific research would be disrupted as agencies like the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) would furlough most of their workers, according to recent contingency plans.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) would continue to support the International Space Station and track satellites, but 17,000 of its 18,300 employees would be furloughed.

Weather forecasts and fisheries regulation would continue, as would patent and trademark reviews. Tests of new drugs and medical devices would continue.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) would suspend consumer-protection activities, equipment reviews, and licensing of TV and radio stations. It would continue to distribute telecommunications subsidies and its broadband mapping effort.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would continue to monitor disease outbreaks, though other public health activities could suffer as more than half of the agency's workers would be furloughed.

The National Institutes of Health would furlough most of its staff and delay new clinical trials for medical treatments.

[1/5] A general view of the U.S. Capitol, where Congress will return Tuesday to deal with a series of spending bills before funding runs out and triggers a partial U.S. government shutdown, in Washington, U.S. September 25, 2023. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst Acquire Licensing Rights

Healthcare services for military veterans and Native Americans would continue.

Most inspections of hazardous waste sites and drinking water and chemical facilities would stop.

Food-safety inspections by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could be delayed.

FINANCIAL REGULATION

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would furlough roughly 90% of its 4,600 employees and suspend most activities, leaving only a skeleton staff to respond to emergencies.

Likewise, the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) would furlough almost all of its employees and cease oversight, enforcement and regulation, according to its 2021 plan.

The Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency would continue as normal, as they are funded by industry fees rather than congressional appropriations.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), an industry-financed brokerage oversight body, would continue to operate.

ECONOMIC DATA

The publication of major U.S. economic data, including employment and inflation reports of critical importance to policymakers and investors, would be suspended , according to the Biden administration.

The Social Security Administration would continue to issue retirement and disability benefits, and payments would continue under the Medicare and Medicaid healthcare programs.

Military veterans' benefits would also continue, according to a 2021 contingency plan.

Nutrition benefits provided to 7 million mothers through the Women, Infants and Children program would be cut within days, according to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Food aid through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) would go out as normal for October, but could be affected after that, he said.

TAX COLLECTION

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has not released a current contingency plan. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a watchdog group, says the agency would operate as normal and all 83,000 employees would continue to be paid because its funding would not expire.

DISASTER RESPONSE

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) would be at risk of running out of disaster-relief funds. The agency is already delaying payments to some long-term recovery projects in order to keep money on hand for more immediate relief during hurricane and wildfire season.

Pell Grants and student loans would continue to be paid, but could be disrupted as most Education Department employees would be furloughed, according to the agency's 2021 plan.

A protracted shutdown could "severely curtail" aid to schools, universities and other educational institutions, the department says. It also could delay funds that are due to be awarded later in the year.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would continue to operate locks, dams and flood control facilities. Most employees would not be furloughed.

According to the White House, 10,000 children from low-income families would lose access to the Head Start preschool program.

SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT

The Small Business Administration would not be able to issue any new loans, though loans for businesses hurt by natural disasters would continue.

AGRICULTURE

Meat and egg inspections would continue, but some lab services would be disrupted, making it harder to fight animal diseases. Crop insurance would not be affected, but some loan programs would be. Research, conservation and rural development programs would be shut down.

Workplace safety inspections would be limited, and investigations into unfair pay practices would be suspended, according to the White House.

The ability of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to mediate labor disputes would be curtailed because almost all of its 1,200 employees would be furloughed, according to a 2022 plan.

Monthly subsidies for public housing and low-income housing aid would be at risk. The Federal Housing Administration would continue to back insured mortgages, and Ginnie Mae would continue to back the secondary mortgage market. New homebuyers in rural areas would not be able to get loans from the Agriculture Department.

WHITE HOUSE

In the 2018-2019 shutdown, the White House furloughed 1,100 of 1,800 staff in the Executive Office of the President. Some offices, such as the National Security Council, continued at full strength, while others like the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) were scaled back sharply.

White House furloughs could make it harder for Republicans in the House of Representatives to get information for their impeachment investigation of Democratic President Joe Biden.

The U.S. Constitution specifies that the president continues to get paid.

MAIL DELIVERY

The U.S. Postal Service would be unaffected, as it does not depend on Congress for funding.

Reporting by Andy Sullivan, Pete Schroeder, Howard Schneider, Moira Warburton, Nate Raymond, Makini Brice, Steve Holland, Julia Harte, Diane Bartz, Andrew Chung and Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Scott Malone, Jonathan Oatis and Aurora Ellis

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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