Recently I met a new business owner. He, like many solopreneurs and free agents, had been working for an employer while building his own business on the side. After his employer laid him off, he was free to succeed on his own. I asked him how business was and he said “I’m looking forward to working in my new business full time.”

I asked him if he had a business plan and goals. He said he did.  I then asked him if he had written them down. He pointed to is head and said “it’s all up here.”

That’s not unusual. Most solopreneurs and free agents “carry” their business plans and goals in their heads, never bothering to write them down. But I often wonder how that is working for them. It’s a widely known fact that when you write down your goals, you tend to succeed at reaching them.

Imagine if, as a solopreneur and business owner, you wrote down your goals for your business. You’d effectively be developing a road map or plan to follow, making adjustments as your business evolved. What would be the result? The odds are that business success would be the end result.

And how did my conversation with the new business owner end? I shared with him what I’ve just shared with you. He looked at me, shrugged, and moved on to the next networking opportunity.