How to Make One-page Business Plan for Your Idea

Wondering how to create business plan for your awesome small business ideas?

Follow these 15 steps to create actionable one-page business plan that simplifies takeoff of your business from mere idea to actual company in few weeks.

After reading this, you should be able to make your own business plan template. So, let’s get to know what business plan is and is not, why newbie small business owners are so crazy about business plan template, how you can make you own unique business and some examples of  good business plan.

What did I promise you? How to make a business plan template. It will be a one-page business plan and it will rock!

What is a Business Plan?

A business plan is a formal statement of business goals, reasons they are attainable, and plans for reaching them.  It may also contain background information about the organization or team attempting to reach those goals.

That’s what Wiki called it.

What Is  Business Plan Template?

Business Plan Template is an off-the-shelf guide meant to help different business owners understand how to start a business, generate money and make the business sustainable over a period of time.

Being a ready-made document, small business owners are expected to customize a business plan template into a proper business plan for their business.

What is Business Plan Outline?

At the heart of your business plan should be your Unique Value Proposition (USP). When you are clear on what will make your business unique, how to make a business plan will be a bit easier.

Besides, I found these military principles of strategy mind-blowing and I want to share with you. I love the discipline and mission-driven approach the military use to handle things.

Having said this, kindly permit me to compare a business plan with military strategy and these are seven military principles of strategy that your business plan should contain:

• Objective
• Offensive
• Concentration
• Economy
• Flexibility
• Surprise
• Momentum

Whichever approach you use to make your business plan, or any business plan template you decide to use for your business, check it to be sure that it aligns with these military principles of strategy.

How to Make a Business Plan Template for Small Business?

Step 1: Define Mission Statement for your small business. SImply put, what impact do you want to make on your customer’s life or business?

Step 2: Outline your values as a business. What will your small business stand for, as an entity?

Step 3: State clearly Unique Value Proposition for your small business. This is what will stand you out in the market. Among all available options, why should customers do business with you?

Step 4: As briefly as possible, describe your primary target audience – ideal customer for your small business. This is when it becomes clear to you what your market size looks like. Do you have a buyer persona?

Step 5: Come up with a marketing strategy. Marketing strategy for your small business should comprise your area of specialization, product differentiation, segmentation and concentration. How will you sell more of what you sell?

Step 6: Layout your marketing mix. Map out how things will play out among these success factors of a small business -product, price, place, people, promotion, packaging, and positioning. How will you combine all these factors for a successful small business?

Step 7: Study your market, study your competition. Competition should not dictate how you run your small business, but you cannot close your eyes at them as if they do not exist. Who are your direct or indirect competitors and how is your offer superior or inferior to theirs?

Step 8: Do a detailed budget of how much will get your small business started and running  for at least 5 months. Do you need to pay some due, deposit some funds or buy certain technology to get started, how much?

Step 9: Estimate your projected income till you break even. How much do you need to earn or how many units of service/product must you sell to keep your small business afloat before you start making profit?

Step 10: Consider sources of funds for early stage of your small business and be blunt with yourself with this. In most cases, people get funds from family, friends, bootstrap or crowdsource funds until the small business can successfully scale, how would you handle this?

[bctt tweet=”Consider sources of funds for early stage of your #smallbusiness and be blunt with yourself with this. ” username=”obadeyemi”]

Step 11: Plan your distribution channel and workflow. Unless you want to buy your all your products by yourself, you should be clear on how to get them to the market at this point in time. Would you link up directly with retailers or make wholesalers to get the products off you and handle distribution, while you focus more on making great products?

Step 12: Pen down the skills required to get out your dreams. This is where you plan your startup workforce. Be careful of random hires or cheap labour. Can you sell your dream small business to conspirators who will join you to realize them or you need some help?

Step 13: Make a clear financial plan that comprises monthly projected income, running costs (expenses and salaries inclusive) and profit line. Assuming you are investor, after reading financial plan for your small, will you invest in it?

Step 14: Set out action points for implement your business plan. What will you do now, today, tomorrow, next week, next month to get your small business running?

Step 15: Check and then check again by going through every little details of your business plan to be sure you have fully dotted your i’s and crossed your t’s.