Not all freelancers need a business plan. A freelance translator making a bit of extra cash with their language skills might not. But freelancers who want to grow their business and thrive need a plan.

What about you? Do you want to grow your business and find more clients next year? If you’re ready to make 2020 the best, most profitable year ever, then you are in the right spot.

I have to admit, I am a planner. It has served me very well in my business. For the last 5 years that I’ve had a simple business plan for the year, I’ve been able to earn over six figures from translation work.

We all dream big and make big plans for our business… but usually LIFE gets in the way and the dreams and goals are pushed aside as other things get priority.

So you need more than some dreams and ideas… you need a real plan to move you closer to your dream business.

A business plan can help to:

• Even out the feast and famine cycles
• Find better, or more clients
• Prioritize when you feel overwhelmed
• Find time for marketing every week
• Get your business to grow more

But your plan doesn’t need to be complicated, long or have a fancy format. A simple hand written list of key decisions can make a huge difference to your personal and business life and performance.

Here are three steps to plan your best year yet in 2020:

1. Review last (this) year

The first step is to review this current year up until now. What went well? What didn’t go so well? How many clients did you have? Which clients brought in the most income? What did you enjoy doing most in your business? These insights don’t just inform you about last year, they become your compass and fuel for the future.

If you missed my Facebook Live, and are not yet a subscriber to my newsletter, you might have missed my annual business review worksheet that you can use as a tool. It’s absolutely free and you can go here to get one: Download Annual Business Review Worksheet

2. Set goals for next year

After the review you’re ready to create your business goals for next year. Goals are the road map that move you toward you vision in bite size pieces.

To set goals, use the SMART method. This means that goals should be:

S — Specific
M — Measurable
A — Achievable
R — Relevant
T — Timely

When you create goals, they should be narrow, in writing, achievable, related to your vision, and have a deadline. Write your goals down. Give them a deadline. Hold yourself accountable. Make sure they’re realistic.

Here is an example of how your goal can transform from vague to specific.

Vague: “Next year I want more clients.”

Specific: “In January am going to use LinkedIn to start following other professionals and create interactions with 10 companies that I would like to work with. Then I will reach out to them and offer my services.

3. Set up systems to implement your best year ever

Once you’ve reflected on last year and you have your vision and your goals, you need to set up systems in order to reach your goals with concrete action steps.

This is where I can help. I’ve been creating annual plans for my freelance translation business for the past 5 years, and it has really paid off; in increased income, better clients and better job satisfaction.

Now I want to invite you to plan the next year with me, using the same worksheets and steps I go through myself every year.

Join me in an exclusive online 2 hour workshop – Live! – on December 11th – where I will walk you through the planning step by step, using three worksheets that you’ll be able to download and use again and again.

After the workshop you’ll:

• Be able to focus on things that really make a difference
• Be able to prioritize the activities in your business, per week, day and year
• Manage your time and resources more efficiently
• Know exactly what you need to do to find more clients, based on your situation, and when to do it
• Never postpone or skip your marketing again due to overwhelm

Sound good?

Click here to learn more about the workshop and/or to sign up and I’m looking forward to seeing you on December 11th at 8 am MST. (And yes, if you can’t make it live, I will send you the recording and worksheet).

You don’t need another day planner. You need a plan.