A Simple Business Plan
March 19, 2008
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Many internet business owners believe they don’t need to write a business plan for their business. Nothing could be further from the truth.
You need to at least put together a simple business plan. I’m not talking about anything fancy where you put together dozens of pages to find investors or get a loan. You just need a simple easy to write plan that keeps you on track and keeps you accountable to your goals. They work.
Here’s a quick step-by-step system to put together a simple plan for your online business.
Step 1: Write Your Business Plan On One Page Only.
If you can’t define your business, your target customers, and your primary goals in one page; you’re simply not focused enough. I’ve used “The One Page Business Plan” book by Jim Horan multiple times with my coaching clients to help them put together their plan and schedule (which I then keep them accountable to). I don’t know if you can really call this a book though as it is more of a series of worksheets to help you put together your plan.
Step 2: Create Your Vision Statement.
Your vision statement should be very specific about what kind of business you’re building. Remember this is your vision of your company. It needs to be created so you can share it with your team members…and communicate it to any partners you work with.
Ask these questions:
What kind of business am I building?
Who is my perfect client (you’re not trying to sell to everybody, are you)?
Where are my customers already buying from?
What is my target income in the next 1 year and next 90 days?
Who is my competition?
Step 3: Define Your Mission.
Describe why you’re building your business. A short description of one sentence works best.
Also go a step further and ask yourself why your customers will buy your products and services? What problems do your products solve? What makes your company unique in the market?
An example of a mission statement could be:
“Earn More, Work Less, and Enjoy Life!”
Step 4: Write Down Your Goals And Objectives.
A good idea is to write down your goals with numbers so you can make a simple graph later on to see if you’re making progress or not. For example, You could have goals such as:
- Make a net profit of $100,000 this year
- Raise the number of active clients from 67 to 101 within 30 days
- Sell 20 each of my products a month starting in April.
Next year you can compare your results with the previous year with a simple graph and see if you’re progressing or not…
Step 5: Write Down The Strategy For Your Business.
What strategic steps are you going to take to reach your goals?
Are you going to focus on PPC?
Are you going to go after affiliates and joint venture partners?
Maybe free content such as blogs and articles will be your primary marketing technique?
What about new products? How often and how will they each be produced in your business?
There are many strategies for growing your business, but you simply don’t have time to focus on them all. And it’s possible some of the strategies that work for one company aren’t write for what you’re offering. As mentioned recently in the 7 Make Money Online Myths, there are many ways to build an internet business. You CAN’T focus on all of them at once. That’s a recipe for indecision and inaction.
Create your strategies and follow them.
Step 6: Create An Action Plan.
Write down the specific actions you need to take daily, weekly and monthly to achieve your strategies and goals listed above.
Each action plan will relate to a goal or strategy you’ve already written down.
We’re keeping this to one page so you can’t create a mile long to-do list. You will only have room to write the most important actions you have to take to get yourself to success. Focus on the priorities!
These six simple steps should help you to create a simple, but effective plan to steer your business to more success this year. As already mentioned I’d recommend you pick up “The One Page Business Plan” by Jim Horan to put together your simple plan (it even comes with a CD of the worksheets and scorecards to keep you on track). That is simply a link to Amazon’s page for the book, not an affiliate link.
Popularity: 30% [?]
Related Entries:- Design an Inspiring Vision
- Create a Simple Marketing Plan
- Create a 30 Day Promotional Calendar
- No Plan = No Goals
- How to Set Goals
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9 Responses to “A Simple Business Plan”
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Great article Terry–and it fits on one page!
How does this book compare with The E-Myth? I’ve followed the plans there for two businesses and had good results, but I’m curious if you see this as an alternative and what the differences are.
Hi Aaron,
I really don’t see this book as a “book.” It’s 98 pages (and that’s including the copyright page and all that). It’s a toolbox for helping you write your business plan. And the CD that comes with it allows you to print off all the worksheets for your own use as many times as you want.
So I wouldn’t compare it to the E-Myth. The E-Myth is about creating systems for your business. This toolkit is about helping you create a one page business plan. Took my wife and I about 3 to 4 hours to create one using it the first time.
I utilize The One Page Business Plan theory and tools frequently in my own business planning and with other clients. I agree with you that it is not a book, it is a toolbox filled with worksheets and examples to help clarify.
Just yesterday as I worked on my information marketing beginnings I was thinking about how I would start a plan of action and you have helped me put it in writing.
Thanks again.
Great post! I find many companies that make complain that their website isn’t doing anything for them and after asking a few questions I find they never took the time to simply jot down a plan. It is easy to know enough to make millions on the internet and unfortunately even easier to skip the step of laying out how you are going to accomplish it!
Terry - you are a lifesaver!
I get your RSS feed and emails and was about ready to dive into creating my epic 3 tier coaching program and was creating all these pages of notes - with no unifying business plan.
I just sat here in my coffee shop, read your article and did a pro-forma 1 page business plan and I was SHOCKED at how clear my work and details became instantly.
I’m going to share this on my blog and link back to your article here.
Thanks so much - from one old Indiana boy to another (oh yeah, a shout out to Rich Mullins…)
Rick Butts
Hi Terry
Until I very recently I was a sceptic about the need for business planning in this way. I mean, if it’s in my head then surely that’s enough?!
However, the first time I jotted it all down was the 1st time my business really came into focus.
I thought I knew where I wanted my business to go, but it was only when I actually wrote this down that the dots start to become connected in my mind.
Thanks for another great post!
Lee McIntyre
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