It’s the most wonderful time of year: that magical season when every freelancer’s mind turns to thoughts of receipt filing and year-end invoicing. But if you have a work lull approaching over the holidays, the end of the year is also a good time to look ahead.

Toronto freelancer writer, trainer and author Paul Lima says the end of the year is the ideal time to create a business vision that will help you determine what you want -- and need -- to do over the next twelve months and beyond.

If you're already writing exactly what you want for who you want and making the money you want to make, then congratulations. Lima says you likely don't need to spend time putting together a business vision. But novice writers, writers in career transition and those looking for new challenges will benefit from taking the time to seriously consider what they want to write and who they want to write it for.

“If you say you'll do anything for anybody, you're going to end up doing nothing for nobody," says Lima, "Or you’re going to be buffeted by the winds of what people ask you to do. Nothing wrong with doing something that a company or publication asks you to do, but where do you want to devote your energy primarily?”

If your current business strategy consists solely of the action item “work as hard as I can on as many projects as I’m offered,” it might be time to refine your career goals and write out a business vision. And writing it out, says Lima, is key.

“If you keep it in your head, it’s like an imaginary friend when you’re growing up," he says. "It doesn’t exist. If you want to make this concrete, you’ve got to write it down.”

Lima offers steps for how to create a business vision in his book, Everything You Wanted to Know About Freelance Writing.

 

Do you spend regular time defining and refining your freelance career goals? Have you ever created a business vision? Please share your thoughts and advice in the comments section below.