As a business coach, I spend a lot of time talking to my clients about developing their business plan, reviewing their business plan, pivoting from what is written in their business plan.
However, the majority of women entrepreneurs (male entrepreneurs too) balk at the idea that a business plan is critical to the success of their business. And, right now, it is time to take that business plan out of that bottom draw of yours and start planning for 2014! 
Your business plan is your roadmap to the future. You can't get there if you don't know where you are going. Yes, I know that you have heard this all before, but I know dozens of entrepreneurs who thought writing a business plan was a complete waste of time, and today they are still fledging around in business. The only way any entrepreneur can achieve success is to outline her goals so that she knows what she is working toward.
The outline of your business plan is simple:
An executive summary that states the what, why, and how of the business.
The business description that lays out exactly who your customers are and why the business is a solution to a problem.
The market and competitive analysis for your industry stating who your competitors are and how you differentiate your business in the marketplace.
The marketing plan that lays out how you will reach your target market - advertising and/or promotion - and your pricing strategy.
The management team (their skills and talents) that is necessary to execute all the details in the business plan for the present and future.
The operating plan for the business every day, every week, every month and every year for the first three years.
And, most important and too often left out, the financial plan stating the breakdown of expenses necessary to start and operate the business and the income required to cover the costs and leave a profit. Yes, your financial plan must be estimated at the beginning and this is why it is so important to continue to review your financial data. Too many businesses get so busy doing business that they don't realize until it is too late that the more business they do the deeper in debt the business goes.
How does this happen? Here is an example of a woman entrepreneur who didn't take the time to write a business plan. As a talented hair stylist, Jane Doe decided to open up a high-end beauty salon. She found a beautiful location in an affluent location and went about designing an upscale salon business. The landlord was willing to take a chance on a business newcomer only because she was willing to sign a five-year lease with a substantial bump in rent each year. The salon opened and Jane brought in 9 other hair stylists all willing to work on a shared price arrangement as they brought some clientele with them. Because Jane also serviced clients, she hired a salon manager and a shampoo girl, both who were paid salaries as full-time employees.
Jane priced her services so that she could cover the two full-time employees, rent, utiltiies, product, advertising and all other business expenses as well as pay the independent stylists their fair share for their work. Her pricing was at the top of the market for what even an upscale market would bear. After the first eleven months in business, Jane called me as her she was barely getting by. After I reviewed all her financial data and spent time understanding the business, I realized she had put herself in a terrible situation. Can you guess where she had gone wrong?
First, Jane had assumed that by hiring hair stylists with a following they would bring in the customers automatically. Even with a following they were not busy enough and therefore the percentage she was paying them for the work they did was much higher than she would have paid for a full-time employee. She also did not charge the stylists for the products they used. MOney was literally going down the drain. And, because it was an upscale hair salon most of the customers paid by American Express and added their tips to the balance. Jane had not considered the expense of using the American Express card or the cost of giving the stylists their tips without deducting the cost of using the card.
These are just a few of the problems we found as we uncovered where all her income was going. Can you see why a business plan written at the start would have prevented these mistakes which almost put her out of business?
So, if you have it, take your business plan out of that bottom draw NOW. Compare how you thought your business would operate to how it is actually operating. Every entrepreneur makes mistakes along the way, but if you don't learn from your mistakes and TAKE ACTION you won't have a business.
2014 is around the corner and many businesses will continue to struggle, particularly if the entrepreneur doesn't understand that to pivot in business is the only way to survive. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result -- well you know -- INSANE!
Happy New Year. 