How to Write a One Page Business Plan

You probably have a great idea for your business, and you've come to realize that you need a business plan. If you know anything about business plan writing then you know you don't only have to write out the purpose and your vision but your marketing plan as well. You also have to keep any accounting records and bookkeeping that is connected to your business which is not a factor for most businesses that are just starting. You still need a business plan but how are you going to write one without all of those financial records that you have yet to grow? It is still possible to create a business plan without all of those things and in this post I'm going to show you how.

In this method of writing a one page business plan, you find out 5 things, which is your Vision, Mission, Objectives, Strategies, and Action Plan. This type of one page business plan is my favorite, because it is an easy way to jot goals, and follow through with them. I also use this business plan to also follow goals for the year in my personal life. I usually make a vision board to coincide with the written plan just to make it more visual. Below I have the way you write down a plan like this with the description in each box! 

Here is the basic template:

Vision: This is your vision for yourself .Where do you see your business in the span of a year?

Mission: What is the purpose for writing this plan and why is it important you fill this purpose?

Objectives: List the things must you do to be successful in completing your mission?

Strategies: What is your strategy for each objective? This part of the plan that shows how you will do each objective.

Action Plan: Write in detail what you must do to achieve each strategy for every objective, and put a date on it if you would like.

The Great thing about having a One Page business Plan is that it doesn't have to over extend beyond your means. When I write a One Page Business Plan I only think about the near future or short-term goals that can be achieved within 1 year. My Business Plan is "Doable" as I call it, because it is made up of SMART goals which are Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic and Timely!So let's begin! 

1. Focus on 1 Year Only (Vision)

Start by asking yourself where you want to see your business within a year. Let me give you a good example of a well written Vision statement...eh-hem! Okay..."Over the course of a year legitimize and launch my online business by creating an online presence and getting all legal documents for start up." *applause here* 👏👏👏👏. Okay! Okay! I cheated, that is my Vision Statement from a while ago.

2. State What You Are Doing This For (Mission)

The second thing you're going to write is your Mission. Ask yourself, "What is the purpose of this business plan? The only appropriate mission for the vision statement above would be to "Create an online presence and get legal documentation for business start up." That's almost a no brainer, because all you are doing is repeating yourself! Keeping it short and sweet takes away the guess work if you have to do an emergency elevator pitch to a potential investor!

3. Make A Bulletlist of Goals Plain (Objectives)

Your Objectives should be a simple bullet list of things that you need to do to get your mission accomplished. A good bullet list for the objective above would be to possibly get your business registered with the secretary of state, apply for an EIN for your business, build a website, create social media pages for your business. These are all things that you CAN do, within the time frame of a year whether you have to make a simple online transaction using your bank card or save money over the course of months to get to that particular objective. That's where Strategies come in. 

In a vision board I draw pictures of my objectives or cut out images from a magazine so I can visually capture my goals for my business!

The Blue Circle is around the image I used for 1 of my objectives! I choose to record prophesies spoken over me in church and I include prophesy dates on my vision board, because some of them come with instructions. Some people get excited about the words spoken but omit the instruction given to accomplish the goal.

4. Break Down Goals into Small Steps (Strategies)

Strategies are simply the "How" of every objective. How will you carry out every objective? This isn't to rain on your parade, but to make you think critically about your strategies. In order to do everything on your bullet list you have to tell how you are going to do it. In the Objectives Section I talked about possibly saving money over the course of time to be able to execute a goal. That's well within your right to do, you don't have to have everything at once. Remember to give yourself breathing room in your plan, because that's a part of making your goal realistic. Remember this is your plan and no one is rushing you. 

When I am vision boarding, I usually make a small bullet list of my strategies under the images of my objectives. It serves as a check list so I can see my progress over time and not make the mistake of discrediting myself or losing focus if one of my goals has to be done in multiple steps. 

The Check list or bullet list of items serves as my Strategies on my vision board!

5. Pin Down a Date and Execute!

The Action Plan is my favorite part! Do you know why? This is where you hit the ground running. This is how you're going to do what you have to do because this is when your faith meets your works. The Action plan tells WHEN you will do the things in your strategy. So, no more procrastinating! Pin down a Date and Follow Through! If exact dates intimidate you then maybe you should just give yourself a time frame to do it in. For an example, if you want to apply for a loan, what month would that be in? Finally when you confirm your appointment  for the month you picked you can then pin down an exact date!

After I get an exact date, I might put them next to that strategy on my vision board, so I won't forget. After completing an entire objective I usually reward myself with a sticker 😍. This might seem juvenile but there's honestly nothing like getting a sticker. It worked on us as kids for a reason! When we become adults sometimes we get too serious and get away from the simple things that kept us motivated to stay focused such as having a goal and reward system. 

A JOURNEY shouldn't be mistaken for a RACE! You don't have to run on a journey, you can just take one step at a time, and be in the moment as you take in the experience. Try scrap booking your journey to building your business so you can remember the moments or just take tons of pictures and put them in an album!

Thanks for taking the time to read! Tell me in the comments below what you found helpful, and don't forget to subscribe so you can be notified about the latest updates and see new posts similar to this one! Thanks for Reading New Creatures!