What Will Your Business Look Like in 5 years?

Do you remember all those predictions for the future? Some of the wilder ones included flying cars, colonies on Mars and personal robots to cater to your every need. What about your prediction for your business? Where will you be next year, or in 5 years?

While the future is always a little murky, it’s important to create long-term goals for yourself and your business. The best business plans are more than just documents you create and stick in a drawer somewhere. They’re more than just simple vision statements. Instead they’re living roadmaps for reaching your goals.

Creating these documents is a critical first step before you actually go into business, and revising on a regular basis as your business evolves.

For more information on how to create these documents, there are plenty of templates available, including this one from Forbes. You can also find a comprehensive guide from the Small Business Administration. These resources go in depth about the various sections you may want to include. This document isn’t just for your use. You may also be showing it to prospective clients and financial institutions.

If the thought of writing a business plan is too daunting, start with the One Page Business Plan.

While you’re working on these documents, here are a few things to keep in mind:

Identify what you do best. It’s important to go beyond what skills you and your team bring to the table. Your competitors have these skills too. Think instead about what is special about you that would make a potential client come to your door rather than going to the competition.

Don’t be too stuck on what you do. While you don’t want to be shifting your business focus with every new trend, you do need to maintain some flexibility. You have to be responsive to the market and adjust as your customers’ needs and wants do.

Set realistic goals. Based on the resources you have or can reasonably expect to have, what are you actually able to do? You also want to think about what you’ll be able to accomplish in the next few years. For example, carving out a niche in the market may be feasible, but dominating the industry may not be in the cards for a while.

So what does the future hold for you and your business? While it’s likely you won’t be skimming to work in a Jetsons-style hovercraft, much of the rest is up to you. A five-year plan can help you start the journey the right way.