John is a typical contractor. He's up and out early in the morning and in late at night. While his wife keeps the books for the construction business she has a little business on the side, a health club for women. Together they have raised two boys; one is in the construction company while the other is in college with no plans to enter the profession of his father.

What makes John typical is that he is hardworking, liked by most of his workers and customers, stays busy most of the year, and seems to always be looking to expand his company but just hasn't found the right time or needed amount of resources. When John asked me to help him grow his business the first question I asked was, "Do you have a business plan?" John's answer was consistent with most contractors, "I've never had the time to develop one." Typical!

Taking your business to greater achievements without a business plan is akin to taking your family on a vacation to no where in particular and not realizing when you have arrived at your destination. OK, OK, maybe that is a bit dramatic. The only saving grace about the failed vacation trip is that you probably didn't flirt with financial disaster. Conversely, you are clearly raising the likelihood of such a financial catastrophe if you do not have a business plan for your company.

I have been working with contractors (like the fictitious John addressed above) for more than twenty years and it continues to amaze me how many contractors are working, some very successfully, on borrowed time. This statement should not intimidate you as much as it should motivate you to pull a plan together for your business that provides direction, believable action steps, and measurements to assist in the "map reading."

While there can be much to include in building a business plan, let me share with you the three primary sections. First, there is the direction that the company sets out to follow. The direction certainly embraces the vision of the contractor for his or her business. Questions such as, "Where are we going? What markets do we want to move into? and, How big do we want to become?" are all questions that should be honestly discussed and answered within this first section.