Happy New Year. Now it's time to put into action all the foundation work you laid last year. It's time to execute.

Here's where you brainstorm some ideas for articles or your new job, set concrete goals for submissions of query letters or cover letters, and go glad-handing.

Pull out your list of your ideal markets or employers, and then launch some serious research. Read six months of back issues, dig up out annual reports, and get a solid idea of the kinds of work these organizations value. Then scratch down ideas. I like to use FreeMind mind-mapping software (http://freemind.sourceforge.net/). I can't imagine how, working as a freelance journalist for so many years I ever got by without it.

Once you've got some nice ideas, turn them into queries or cover letters and decide what a reasonable submission strategy is. Pull out your notes from Business Action Plan Part 2: Goals Statement, because you did some good work then that tells you how much you need to earn to survive with your new job.

And then work out a timetable, writing down what you want to accomplish. You might want to break it into a weekly or monthly format or a combo, but make sure you give yourself milestones so you can check your own progress and make revisions as necessary.

It's also a good idea to include work in some volunteer activities into your execution plan, especially if it means you'll pick up valuable skills you can apply to a new job or market. Plus, it feels great to be a do-gooder.

Your timetable for January might look like this:

January

Week 1: Rewrite resume
Week 2: Circulate resume to friends and colleagues for feedback. Pull together annual reports and articles
Week 3: Join networking sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook, and start to tell colleagues you're looking for a new job. Schedule face-to-face meetings with editors. Edit resume based on feedback.
Week 4: Begin with face-to-face meetings. Begin submitting resumes.

I'm among the many who have fallen for Getting Things Done, by David Allen. It's certainly worth reading just so you can learn how to plan ahead and structure a logical way to tick things off your list.

Follow these steps, and you'll be surprised at how quickly and effortlessly you'll be implementing your new business plan. Next week, we'll wrap up the series with some tips on money - how to manage your finances while you're dealing with your fledgling business.

If you haven't already, make sure to review the other elements in the NewsJobs.Net Business Action Plan:

1. Get Ready! A Six-Week Business Action Plan. Identifying your values statement
http://www.newsjobs.net/get-ready-six-week-business-action-plan

2. Business Action Plan Week 2: Goals Statement
http://www.newsjobs.net/business-action-plan-week-2-goals-statement

3. Business Action Plan Week 3: Year in Review
http://www.newsjobs.net/business-action-plan-week-3-year-review

4. Business Action Plan Week 4: Market Analysis
http://www.newsjobs.net/business-action-plan-week-4-market-analysis