one-page business plan

How to Write a One-Page Business Plan

Want to start a business venture, you can easily create a onepage business plan that visually represents your business opportunity.

This is known as a business pitch but It’s the quickest way to get started on your business idea.

Writing a business plan doesn’t have to be boring or complicated and it certainly doesn’t have to be a lengthy one.

Most people think that writing a business plan must be hard, well I don’t think so.

A business plan no longer needs to be a long document that takes weeks to write and research.

it’s not something you create once and stored in some remote part of your hard drive. It’s not even something you print, bind professionally, and then stick on a shelf.

Instead, modern business planning is a simple process that helps you discover your ideal business strategy.

A business plan is meant to be used and revisits often. If you have been avoiding creating a business plan because you find that overwhelming, tedious and time consuming then…

I want to introduce you to the simple Eight Steps to writing a business plan on a single page.

Writing your business plan on a single page can be much less daunting and something you can easily use and modify as needed.

For modern business planning, I encourage you to embrace the concept of the one-page business plan — it has all the benefits of traditional business planning without the pain and hassle of creating a long business plan document.

it’s a much more efficient and faster way of writing a business plan you will use, and won’t take a lot of time or effort on your part as the traditional business plan.

So, don’t waste too much time starting a business plan and start with my eight-step plan to developing a business plan from scratch for your business.

Of course, this is not to say that you shouldn’t create a standard business plan. You should. But a one-page business plan does have some advantages that a standard plan doesn’t have.

[bctt tweet=”One-Page Business Plan provides clarity and sticks out valuable information” username=”inipatrick”]

Advantages of a One-Page Business Plan

  • It is easier to update.
  • It provides clarity and sticks out valuable information.
  • It’s an effective way to generate interest in a business concept.
  • It delivers a powerfully concise message, empowering you to grasp your audience’s attention and spur them to action.
  • It will assist you with your pitch.
  • It offers a more affordable approach to product testing and development.
  • It helps get your entire team on board with the company vision and goals.
  • With the plan having very specific goals you can create a straightforward strategy around each of them.
  • It forces you to condense your thoughts and explain yourself clearly.
  • It eliminates the need to find an excuse not to plan and grow.

Outline of a One-Page Business Plan

Therefore, to write the one-page business plan it will follow the same basic structure of a Standard Business Plan.

In order words, your one-page business plan can be seen as an abridged executive summary or a pitch. it should contain the following:

  • A description of the problem your customers have
  • Your solution (your product or service)
  • Business model (how you make money)
  • Target market (who is your customer and how many of them are there)
  • Competitive advantage (What is your differentiating factor)
  • Your unique value proposition (what differentiates your solution)
  • Financial Pricing
  • Marketing channels

Step 1: Describe The Problem You Are Proffering Solution To

The first step to a one-page business plan is to describe the solution your business is proffering based on the identified problem in the market.

Every business is solving a problem for its customers and filling a need in the market.

You should also include a one-sentence overview of your business that sums up the essence of what you are doing.

This can be a tagline but is often more effective if the sentence describes what your company actually does.

This is also known as your value proposition.

 

[bctt tweet=”Single page plan forces you to condense your thoughts and explain yourself clearly.” username=”inipatrick”]

Step 2: Develop A Simple Solution

Write a sentence or two on:

Here, you’ll want to lay off detailed descriptions and focus on differentiation. (That’s really a combination of “positioning” and “competitive evaluation.”)

The point here is not getting into deep technical detail—there’s no room for that—but to talk about what you’re bringing to market that nobody else is.

Step 3: Know Your Business Model

When starting your business, it’s important to know how you’re going to make money.

knowing your business model answers the question;

  • how do I make money?

There are many business models to choose from but it’s important to identify and select the one that will make the most sense for you and has the greatest return on investment.

For example, if you are an online instructor then it makes sense to utilize the membership subscription model as your primary business model.

Or if you are going to be blogging then it might make sense to use advertisement and Affiliate Marketing.

And if you are going to be podcasting then, it will make sense to get businesses to sponsor your show.

Here are some business models that you can integrate into your business;

  • Software
  • Email/Newsletters
  • Teleseminars/Webinars
  • Coaching/consulting
  • Services
  • Affiliate marketing
  • Advertisement
  • Subscription/Membership
  • Applications or templates
  • Speaking engagement
  • E-commerce
  • Physical products
  • Books

Step 4: Identify Your Target Audience

Identifying and understanding the needs of your potential customers which includes their fears, frustrations, challenges, and desires is basically the first step to your business success as an entrepreneur.

You can only create and multiply your solution for maximum impact if you already know your target market.

This is why it is critical for you to define and segment your market for effectiveness.

Spending time and resources to create a solution before defining your target audience is probably the most inefficient way to create a sustainable business that will create tangible results.

Instead, it’s better to get input and feedback from your potential customers while developing your solution.

Carry out a little survey to identify the challenges faced by potential customers and also determine what makes your solution the best solution for them.

Without answering these questions, you might just keep digging until you properly identify your audience.

Arming yourself with this knowledge will give your solution the needed impact and stands it out from the competition.

Step 5: Identify Your Competitors

Knowing your competitors is another key parameter in developing your business plan.

There is no such thing as I don’t have competitors.

If you don’t know who your competitors are, then it will likely be an uphill battle for you to become relevant in your industry.

One of the most important first steps you can take is to identify your top five competitors.

Study their business, their product, services, pricing, sales funnel, etc.

Once you’ve identified your primary competitor(s) then it will be much easier to find a way to differentiate yourself from them.

As well as

  • Knowing how to price your product,
  • what solutions to develop, and
  • how to create your sales funnel.

There is no point in reinventing the wheel of something that is already working for your competitors.

All you need to do is create better products and services, offer something they are not offering such as a Better guarantee, lower prices, more value, etc.

This way you will be much more likely to create a business that has been proven to work.

Your job is to develop the best possible solution for your clients and prospects.

Step 6: Create Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

The reason why many start-ups entrepreneurs fail to gain any traction in a competitive marketplace is that they don’t have anything that differentiates them from their competition.

Too often they are simply copying what’s already in existence instead of uniquely positioning themselves to give themselves an upper hand on their competition.

You can create this unique positioning by creating what’s known as a unique selling proposition.

It’s the onset of the question “what do you do differently than your competition?”  Think in terms of what is not obtainable with your competitions that will differentiate your solution.

  • Is there something they are not offering that you can offer?
  • Can you deliver results faster than your competition?
  • Is your customer experience better than they’re in terms of quality and responsiveness?

Step 7: Know Your Pricing

As an entrepreneur, one of the greatest challenges is always how to price your solution.

A lot of times entrepreneurs will simply guess what is the ideal price point for their product and then price it accordingly.

However, instead of guessing why not first see what prices your competitors are using and then use that as a starting point.

Once you have your starting price the next step would be to test three different price points for each product

This way you can determine which price point is ideal and settle on the sweet spot.

It’s important to note that your pricing also depends on how well you position your product and build value on the sale pages.

If you don’t do a good job of building value and interest. Then, it won’t matter how low you price your product.

People simply won’t buy them but if you do a good job of conveying that value on your sales pages then you may even be able to price your products much higher than your competition.

Step 8: Choose A Marketing Channel

Knowing which platforms, you’re going to use to create awareness about your products and services is very important when launching your business.

There are many ways to market your product, so it’s important to pick the one that best suits your business.

Choosing the right marketing channel doesn’t have to be complicated, you simply need to find out where your audience congregates and use that as your starting point.

It’s usually a good idea to start marketing on one platform before moving on to the next.

For example, if your primary channel is social media then pick one; Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.

If you find that most of your customers are on Facebook then create a Facebook page and start using this platform as your primary marketing medium.

Ensure to have a solid one sentence about your marketing channel as you build your one-page business plan.

Hence, creating a business plan doesn’t have to be long and difficult.

If you follow the steps and write everything down on a single page you will have a business plan that will be easy to use.

Once you go through these steps you’ll find that you do not only have a solid business plan but something you can use again and again.

Conclusions

The intention of this post was to highlight the hidden value of writing a business plan on a single page with all the benefits of traditional business planning without the pain and hassle of creating a long business plan document

I hope you found that this was a valuable read.

What are your thoughts?

What values do you see in developing a one-page business plan?

Kindly use the comment box to leave your comment… I will be glad to read from you.

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