In the above video, Will Smith, star of such films as Independence Day, Men in Black and The Pursuit of Happyness, talks about taking life one step at a time, using the metaphor of building a wall one brick at a time.

Building your business is much the same thing. You may want to build the biggest, baddest, best business in the world … but you don’t do that all at once. You do it one customer or client at a time. You do it one product or service at a time. You do it one day at a time.

That said, you need to have an idea of where you’re headed so that when you’re finished you’ll actually have a wall rather than a set of randomly laid bricks.

That’s where a business and marketing plan comes into play. And that’s why this month, I’m going to be writing about how to develop a business plan that is meant to be used. One that will help you lay each brick not only in the best way a brick can be laid, but also in the best place that brick can be laid to move you toward the wall you want to build.