Why write a business plan

It’s that time of year again. Yes, you guessed it, the planning stage. Getting things in order. This is the time to pen New Year’s resolutions, probably only to ditch them by the 12th of January. Mine start with the ceremonial unlocking of the childproof kitchen cupboard, the dark place where my husband stores our cache of promises from the past five years. These impertinent little pieces of paper are released like a rabid animal on the 2nd of January to reflect on while enduring the obligatory second day of a New Year’s Eve hangover. 
So, this little diatribe could lead you to ask, what’s the point in planning? The point in fact, is how it can be used as a useful tool. Because, planning is the fastest way to achieve something. As long as the process of sitting down and working things out doesn’t lead to procrastination. Actions, as they say, speak louder than words. But I’m a writer, so I love words. Written down, they hold a certain power. They present a tangible promise. And that’s precisely why I’m a big advocate of business plans.
A friend recently asked me what my business plans consist of. The truth is, they’re more of a written pledge, not unlike a New Year’s resolution.
As an account manager I spent years writing business plans filled with figures, spreadsheet heavy and in some cases utterly meaningless. 
These days, as a freelancer, the numbers are important to me. I do take stock of where my business is. What it looks like, where my profit lies and where the slack is, so I can understand how to move things along in a direction that suits me and my clients. But in the main, my business plan is about words. It’s not a lengthy document. Just a few succinct sections, but in it I set out what I am to my clients, where I want to be, and how I intend to get there. 
I reflect on the pitfalls I’ve faced and the triumphs I’ve experienced, so I can repeat more of the good stuff, and learn from naivety and oversights. 
So, if you decide to look into your business plan for 2015, I suggest just three simple things: Be honest with yourself. Understand what you currently represent to your clients and who those clients are.
Use your learnings to focus on what you truly want to achieve for the next year. Who you want to work with, and on what terms. 
And finally, make the pledge sound like the best thing in the world to you. If you can’t stand the sight of your business plan and forget about it for a year, you’re likely to achieve nothing at all. Don’t let it be that guilt inspiring little piece of paper your husband locks away in the childproof kitchen cupboard.