When I'm traveling to someplace new, I like to get directions beforehand. Sure there's something to be said for the proverbial "scenic routes" and "roads less traveled," but, as Yogi Berra noted, "You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there."

A business plan serves a similar purpose. It's like MapQuest, except that you choose both the destination and the route you want to take. And, like MapQuest, it needn't be overly detailed, drawn in pretty colors, or able to fit in your pocket; it just needs to give you a good sense of where you're going and how you intend to get there. If you're serious about starting or growing your business, M.A.P. out your route by following these three steps:

Make a Master Plan. One of the benefits of a written plan is that it forces you to think carefully and with focus about what you are providing, how, to whom and, significantly, why you want to do this. What is the vision in your mind's eye for who you can help and how they will benefit? To build a successful business, it helps to answer the following questions, among others (which you would do in your Master Plan):

-Who will buy your product/service?
-How will you distribute your product or deliver your services?
-What is the size, maturity, and competitive nature of your industry?
-Who is your competition and what makes your products/services better?
-What is the importance of location to your business?
-What is your current and/or anticipated organizational structure?
-Who are the principals of the business (i.e., age, education, industry experience)?
-What are your personnel needs over the next three years?
-Can you calculate the cost and profit of each product/service (this helps you know what to charge)?

Your answers needn't fill encyclopedia volumes, but it helps to have some thoughts jotted down so that you're clear in your own mind. With this information under your belt, you can confidently walk into any networking meeting and explain why customers should be attracted to your product or service.

Add in Strategies and Tactics. Your Master Plan is great for giving you overall direction on how and where you want to go, but without a sense of how it will be implemented, it might as well sit on the shelf. The key, which I re-learned in my weekend work, is to break things down into manageable parts. Whether it's creating a list of tasks, a timeline, or a combination of the two (not everything HAS to be done at once!), all great achievements begin with a single step. So what are the steps you need to take to reach your goals? For mine, it meant re-examining my marketing: yes, the target market (you!) remained the same, but what's the best way to reach more of you? I spent time thinking about the Words to the Wise ezine, our website, developing speaking engagements, writing articles for other magazines, reaching out to individual colleagues who work with small businesses, etc., . . . and voila! - there's my outline of strategies for new marketing. Then I considered the tactics: what I could do, who I could reach, and when (deadline) I could take each concrete step to move each strategy forward. By doing so, I knew what was on my plate each week - and didn't overwhelm myself by unrealistically expecting everything to be "new and improved" by . . . tomorrow. It also gave me an opportunity to celebrate each small action that I took, instead of deeming success as only reaching the end result.

Play with it Periodically. Business plans - whether the overall Master Plan or the specific strategies and tactics - are never static. They are meant to change and grow over time as you experiment with different approaches. So have fun with it - and play! Revisit what you've planned from time to time - every six months or so is a good measure.

Each approach, whether successful or not, teaches you something new. Maybe you've learned that a particular networking group does not have the level of service providers that you want to meet. Maybe you learned that your customers would prefer the convenience of ordering your products online, and that you don't need a storefront presence on the swankest street in town. It's a wonderfully liberating feeling when you are able to shift your mindset from "I failed because this didn't work out" to "Well, I tried it, and it didn't provide me with the results I wanted, so I'm moving on." As Thomas Edison said about his light bulb experiments: "It's not that I failed 9,999 times; I simply found 9,999 ways that it could not be done."

Happy M.A.P.ping!