• Strategic planning is a systematic process of envisioning the future, setting goals and formulating strategies or activities to reach those goals  
• A strategic plan is a useful tool when starting or further developing your business
• The purpose of a strategic plan is to guide your work and help you maintain focus on the vision and long-term goals of the business

Before making a strategic plan you have to reflect on what your vision of your business is. For instance you can ask yourself: 

• What is my dream for the business?
• What will my business look like in 5 to 10 years from now?
• What impact do I want my business to have for customers/clients or in my community/industry?

The vision should be:

• Tangible
• Engaging
• Challenging
• Achievable if you make the effort

You can formulate the vision as a statement in one or two sentences.

If you are more visually oriented, you can also create a vision board which is a collage of photos, words, phrases etc. that represent how you envision your business 5-10 years in time.

You need to find out which goals the business have to achieve in order to reach the vision.

If your goals are SMART it will make it easier for you to plan the activities needed for obtaining them. SMART goals are:

Specific (target a specific area for development/improvement)

Measurable (suggest an indicator of progress)

Achievable (motivating but realistic)

Relevant (in line with the vision)

Time-bound (have a time-frame)