Catching a potential investor’s eye can be as easy as creating a one page business plan. There are many ways to create a simple business plan to launch your new idea; however it needs to start with a realistic plan that puts everything into black and white. Using a simple business plan template makes carrying out and following your plan an easier task for both you and your potential investors.
Getting Started Creating a One Page Business Plan
To build your simple business plan, start by crafting notes about your company’s vision, mission, and strategies. This is referred to as brainstorming, which is an important component of developing an effective one page business plan. Your next goal is take those thoughts and turn them into a cohesive business plan that gets results.
One of the most important elements in a simple business plan is clarity. Without a clear idea of what you are creating and where you are going, your business idea may struggle to get off the ground. The goal in creating a simple business plan template involves crafting a plan that is unique to your business, realistic, and appealing to your lenders and investors, but in a streamlined way.
The process of creating a one page business plan involves the following 8 steps:
- State your mission. Summarize the basic mission of your business in one or two sentences. Each business plan should have one clear mission or purpose. To effectively summarize your company’s road map in a one-page business plan, you need to have a clear vision and mission of your company.
- Outline your main goals. Be as specific as possible. Make your goals measurable, achievable, and realistic. For instance, you may desire to increase your first quarter sales by 50 percent, but 10 percent is a more realistic goal. Set a specific timetable for achieving these goals. The clearer you are with your goals, the better the odds of success. Example: If you had an issue with disappointing first quarter sales last year, your mission statement might be: “Our goal is to increase first quarter sales by 10 percent over last year’s figures.” Notice that the goal simple, direct, and specific.
- State your strategies. Present your strategies to achieve your company goals in a simple, overview manner. Included in this section can be your product and services definition as well as your plan to market these products and services. Remember, we are creating a one-page plan, so this document isn’t the place to get overly detailed.
- Define your financing. Whether it is small business loans or angel investors, clearly list all ways you plan to finance your business. Determine what your overall budget is as well, so that it is clear what your total financial resources are to achieve these goals. Your annual budget should be based on the total amount of funding you currently have to allocate for your total spending for the year. Of course, your budget should be realistic.
- State your income projection. Estimate how much revenue your business expects to generate for the entire year. If your business has been around for longer than a year, use last year’s sales figures as a benchmark. Break earnings down by quarter, if possible. Write a brief explanation for each income projection. This should include details of what makes up your revenue streams, which you can obtain from financial statements and projections.
- Estimate costs and expenses. State the total of your projected expenses and costs. Like your revenue stream, include an explanation of each expense. Example: $1,000 on multi-media advertising, $1500 on revamping your website, $5,000 on updating equipment, etc.
- Determine future income. Be realistic. Make estimates based on the revenue you expect to generate and expenses you expect to incur once you implement the plans necessary to achieve your business goals.
- Develop your timeline. A one-page business plan should clearly show what your company expects to do in a short-period of time, such as one year or one to three years. To add some slight timeline details, detail the dates you set to implement strategies to meet goals and secure financing.
Final Thoughts on the One Page Business Plan
The goal in creating a one page business plan is to provide a snapshot of your goals, vision, strategies, and activities to keep your business mission on track—plus it will spur potential investors to want to get on board. This simple plan is meant to be a reference source for yourself and your investors. Your simple business plan template should be realistic in that it is something that can be achieved according to your designated timeline. A simple business plan should serve as inspiration for goals that are attainable.
Be sure to check out all the resources here at FindVenture.com to develop business plans that attract the right investors!
Photo Credit: David Castillo Dominici FreeDigitalPhotos.net
