It's almost the beginning of a New Year and, undoubtedly, you want it to be your best year ever. But that won't happen, if you're not focused on making it happen. You are doing some planning, aren't you?

If not, I'd encourage you to take some time to really clarify your purpose and vision.

Clear purpose and vision are the keys to giving you and your team focus and direction. Unfortunately, these are all too often lacking from small businesses. A clear purpose describes "why" your business does what it does. Have you lost track of your purpose? Do you remember what led you to start or get into your business in the first place?

Here are three questions to ponder as you seek to re-ignite the purpose in your business:

• What do you really want out of life?
• What do you really not want in your life?
• What would you be willing to give up in order to live the life you want?

If you answer these questions honestly, you can build your business around the life you want to live. Talk about a purpose that will set you on fire!!

Now to create your vision. Think of the absolute best outcomes your clients can receive from your services and build your vision around being "the resource" that works to deliver on that promise.

Examine your values and principles and then determine what you want your business to be in the future. Find your favorite way to relax quietly and let your mind open to dwell on what's possible.

Imagine yourself in a private movie theater watching a movie of your future self in 10 years. As the movie ends, you notice the star of the show has joined you. Ask this person any question you want about how he/she got to the place of success you witnessed in the movie. Then focus on, what was your future self's purpose and vision?

This may seem silly at first. But if you open your mind to the possibility that the visioning process does work, you'll be amazed at the answers that will emerge.

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On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being low and 10 being high, having a good business strategy rates about a 15! No matter what kind of business you have - whether you sell products or services, as the saying goes, "If you fail to plan, then you're really planning to fail."

Without a defined strategy, you can find yourself putting in 60 to 80 hours a week all year long only to find that you break even, or worse, lose money.

On the other hand, successful business professionals focus their efforts and the efforts of their teams on a defined strategy, working fewer hours and making piles of money.

So what is "strategic business management?"  Very simply, it's the process of defining the goals and objectives for your business, creating an action plan to achieve them, and then following the plan.

How do you create a strategic plan for your business?

1. First, be sure you're clear on your vision for your company. If there were no barriers and nothing stopping you from taking your company as far as you could - what would that look like?
2. Next, be clear on your company's core operating values? What are your guiding principles? In other words, why are you in business and what defines how you do business?
3. Now create a three to five year plan. Your long-term plan is based on the broad objectives that will help you get from where you are now, to where you want to be.
4. Narrow your focus and develop the plan for this year. This should include specific objectives you plan to accomplish in the new year that will lead you closer to your long-term goals. Remember to be "SMART" when setting your annual goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistically High, and Time-bound). Include a list of the barriers that are stopping you from getting where you want to go. Figure out what resources you've already got, and what resources you need to get you past those barriers. Then create an action plan that clearly lays out how you will achieve your goals. Involve key employees with this part of the planning process.
5. Create a set of milestones or benchmarks. These are critical to measuring your progress.
6. Share the plan with your employees, and anyone else who will be involved in making it happen. Your annual strategy is the roadmap that ensures everyone ends up at the same destination - but to be effective, everyone needs the same map!
7. Put the plan into action. Now that you have the roadmap, it's time to begin the journey.
8. Check your progress. Just like any trip, you need to check the map every now and then to be sure you're still on the right road. If something isn't working, the sooner you figure it out and make the necessary adjustments, the sooner you'll be back on track.
9. Follow the same cycle next year. (Dream, Plan, Act, Check).

Creating a business strategy and following through will ensure that you enjoy the journey as much as getting to your final destination.