It’s September already! Pull out your business plan and take a look at your mission, your vision and your goals for 2014. How’s it going?

What? No plan? No problem. Just consider how last year went and that’s what will probably happen this year. Only a little worse. Or maybe a little better.

Dusty, old plan? Let’s update it. If you want a quantum leap, or at least a major change of momentum, putting a plan together may help you think in dramatically different ways. Those thoughts of what you would rather have, what you really, really want, are what’s required to revolutionize your business. Without a plan, you might be at the mercy of someone else’s plan. And there may not be a starring role for you.

Writing down what you want, from your business and your life, is a business plan. Easy enough? It doesn’t have to be a chore. Business planning can be fun, creative and brilliant. It can be liberating and flexible and a powerful way to manifest your dreams.

One of the tricky things about a plan is launching your intentions in the uncharted waters of the future. Still, it is worth making a plan, and updating that plan, because it is a powerfully positive tool for reaching your goals.

Also, does everyone have the same plan at your company? Written, unwritten … people play games. There is a purpose, a point, to their behaviors. Are you playing the same game? It gets especially complicated when it’s a family business.

So grab your plan and a pencil (or your iPad, or laptop) … and start writing. Start with your mission. Answer this question, “Why are you in business?” in under 12 words. Work it over a few times until you really care about your mission. Get inspired!

Consider your target market. Who really cares about what you do? Who would be willing to pay you for it?

Next, review your goals. Write down your five juiciest goals. Include a financial goal and be specific in dollar and due date. Be specific. “More money” is not a goal. “Sales at $100,000 per month for quarter four, 2014” is a goal.

Update your organizational chart. Take your pencil and cross through the name of the person who needs to go … now. Next, look for someone who is not quite ready for a promotion but shows willingness and has “fizz.” Promote him now. Take a risk.

Confront the money, Honey. A budget helps you set financial goals and create a sound selling price. Want to make it really easy? Double or triple your prices. Getting really profitable, collecting sales now, can fix your business.

Review your marketing plan and sales processes. How much are you willing to spend on marketing? Allocate the dollars and focus on just a few main marketing vehicles. Then incorporate the launch dates into your calendar.

Update your top projects list. Assemble a list of five to 10 projects that will move you in the direction of your goals. Assign someone to those projects and set due dates and interim meetings to check progress.

Business planning is simply clarifying what you want and committing to a written course of action that will move you in that general direction.