Planning is an important activity that could ensure that a business is going ahead to its objectives. When plans exist, managers can drive the business reducing the impact of uncertainty. Plans also help to motivate the staff because people can realize that there a path to the future is set and the company is well run.

• Planning is necessary to ensure that an ART&Crafts microenterprise follows a certain course and is heading towards its objectives, without being swept away by circumstances. Planning bridges the current situation and a better future situation and involves making decisions in advance, analyzing alternatives, pros and cons and choosing the best options. When planning we consider the conditions of the business and those of the environment, trying to achieve the best fit between the two and that helps us to be prepared to act.

• The highest planning is strategic planning, through which it is decided in which businesses and markets the ART&Crafts microenterprise will operate and long-term objectives are set taking into account that we are in a competitive environment where success does not only depend on our decisions but also on those of the other competitors. Strategic planning involves several phases:

• 1. Strategic analysis: internal (ART&Crafts microenterprise strengths and weaknesses, resources and potential) and external (threats and opportunities of the environment, uncertainty of the environment, characteristics of competition and the market)

• 2. Set strategic, commercial (in terms of market presence) and financial (return on investment) objectives

• 3. Analyze possible strategies or paths to achieve the objectives considering the results of the strategic analysis

• 4. Selection of the best possible strategy according to your expected results and feasibility

• 5. Development of functional and operational plans to implement the strategy and control its effectiveness

• In order to execute the strategic plan, productive, commercial, procurement and investment, financing, human resources management, etc. activities must be developed, so the planning of these functional and operational activities must be carried out, following the cycle following:

• 1. Commercial and sales plans, based on demand forecasts, we can forecast sales and revenues

• 2. Production plans, once sales are planned, is possible to set what, how much, how and when to produce

• 3. Procurement and investment plans, since to produce we will need materials, tools and equipment

• 4. Personnel plans, which contemplate what personnel we will need and with what qualification to develop our operations

• 5. Financing plans, since all the previous plans involve expenses and we must have the necessary financial resources to be able to carry them out.

• All these plans must also set the dates on which the activities will be carried out (temporary programming) and the revenue and expenditure streams that they will entail (budgeting).