In December, we’re going to talk about business planning, in other words planning to grow or develop your business. You usually either consciously or subconsciously think about how your business is going to evolve in the next 12 months, and this inherent business planning takes place in January. It’s a good month to plan: a new year starts, we have our resolutions, more energy is around. I decided to write up on business planning in December, so when you’re back to work in early January you’ll have a few ideas to benefit from this productive period as much as you can.

As mentioned, for the majority of freelancers or small business owners (who are less likely to have a formal business plan), the process of business planning happens spontaneously and resembles more a thought exercise rather than a business tool.

For many years my business planning was just sitting down with a cup of coffee on the first or second of January in my office and jotting some ideas down on my whiteboard. They were rather rough ideas of what I wanted to achieve in the coming year: get more direct clients, complete a course related to marketing, etc.

While this thought exercise gave me the feeling of freedom and an illusory perception that I was doing something to plan my business’ development, it didn’t work too well. You may be struggling with similar results, especially now, in December, when looking back at all the things you wanted to achieve this year but somehow never managed to. A couple of years ago I was tired of this slow development and constantly failing my own expectations. I did some reading on getting things done and here’s a simple, three step formula that has helped me move much faster in my translation business.

1. Write business ideas down
2. Set SMART goals
3. Add SMART goals to your calendar

Read the full article in WantWords here: http://wantwords.co.uk/school/lesson-73-planning-business-development/

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