You need a business plan!
When starting a business, one of the first pieces of business advice you may get is: create a business plan! That’s not hard to do with all the resources available nowadays.
You can get help from free templates to paid software and the only problem that remains is: which one? Don’t you worry, I got your back so keep reading.
Why have a business plan
There is a good reason for having a plan and knowing where you want to go with your business. This quote is a great reminder:
If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there. -Lewis Carroll (Alice in Wonderland)
Other great reasons to have a business plan include:
- Test the idea
- Define your goals & keep track
- Secure funding & attract investors
- Make your business manageable & effective
- Grow your business
A business plan is a great tool
As you can see, a business plan is a valuable tool for any business, whether you’re just starting out or already have been running your business for a while. Your plan will help determine if you’re on track for success, or if you need to tweak the plan to adjust to circumstances and unavoidable changes. Yes, I think we can all agree that a business plan is essential if you’re serious about the success of your business.
The One-Page business plan
Most of these plans however, require painstaking details with forecasts for the next 5 years, extensive market research, etc. causing a lot of overwhelm when I tried to create mine.
Imagine my surprise when I first heard about the one-page business plan. Really? So, I don’t need a 50-page plan (yet)? Again, many templates are available, but I like the simplified version I found in the book “The $100 Startup.”
According to Chris Guillebeau, “you don’t need an MBA, a business plan or even employees. All you need is a product or service that springs from what you love to do anyway, people willing to pay, and a way to get paid.”
That makes a lot of sense, because no matter how detailed or beautiful your business plan may be, it won’t serve its purpose if you don’t get paid for your product or service!
Simplify with your One-pager
I read this book several times, bookmarked it, got his other book (Side Hustle), heard him lecture, listened to his podcast and I totally like his style. Chris has an uncanny way of giving his 5-cents, making you rethink your ‘plan’ by looking at it from another angle.
Download the template at the $100 Startup website, answer a few questions and you’ll have a lot of clarity about where you’re going with your business (idea).
Get his book on Amazon to see many examples, and you will get why the idea of a simple business plan works. (If you buy through my links, I may earn a commission, no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support!)
