1. It has to be formal -- Not so. The value of a strategic plan for your small business is in putting ideas on paper, creating action steps that will get you where you want to go and implementing those action steps.

2. I'm too small -- Not so. Even a one-person business can benefit from a strategic plan. A strategic plan can help you make decisions about time management and budget. Use your strategic plan to help you determine whether to attend an event or advertise in a publication. It's a check and balance tool.

3. A strategic plan is like a ball and chain -- Not so. It's your plan. Too many business owners feel like once it's on paper, it can't be changed. Wrong! It should be an active document that gets reviewed and updated at least monthly, if not weekly. You're business owner, you wrote it, you know what's happening in your market -- adjust as necessary.

There are many reasons to choose writing articles as your home business. Your written product may show others how to start up or expand a new home business, give instructions on how to produce arts and crafts, how to choose and prepare for a new career, how to improve your financial situation, enjoy life more, how to save money, how to solve personal crises, or how to attain success in relationships with others.

The best written material is thoroughly researched, factual, to point, authoritative and interesting to reader. Whether you are writing articles for someone else or for yourself, choose your subject matter wisely. A benefit of writing for yourself is that you can choose a subject that you already know something about. A benefit of producing written material for someone else is that you may learn something new. The key is to write in a manner that will catch and keep reader's interest.

Writing articles for your home business is an excellent way to established credibility and gain free exposure for your home business. By writing articles and freely distributing them, you can generate excellent free traffic to your website at no cost to you. Start writing today for your home business and experience power of article writing.

(Feel free to use this article online and in your email newsletters as long as you leave it intact and do not alter it in anyway. The by-line and resource box must remain in article.)

Ian Canaway is the owner of http://www.asuccesfullhomebusiness4u.com and you are invited to come and have a look round his new home business blog at http://ahomebusinessblog4u.blogspot.com; For home business tips, advice and product reviews.