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!

One Mans Trash

About a week ago I was taking out my trash and you won't believe what I found! I found a limited addition Project Runway Brother SEWING MACHINE!!! I feel like Peg from PEG + CAT because I'm TOTALLY FREAKING OOOUUUTTT!!!! All jokes aside-my mind is blown-first of all because what nut would throw away a sewing machine? You know I picked it up right? Thank God it wasn't in the incinerator but on the side of the trash. I can't even imagine someone being that cruel and putting it in. Thankfully it was just on the side of the contraption! So I picked it up and put it in my linen closet.

The only reason I haven't used the machine is because it's missing parts. So, after a week of mulling it over I finally called the Brother company and looked up the model I found on their website as well. I found out that it was made in 2007-yeah I had no idea Project Runway has been around that long. Then when I looked it up on the site I realized that it was actually a discontinued model. The sales associate ran an estimate based on what parts I said were missing and she said it would run me about $125. Then before I got off the phone she also let me know that there is a sewing machine repair shop I could take it to in Atlanta called SewingMachine.com.

When I called there I let her know what the associate said over the phone. When I asked her whether it would be worth it to fix it or replace it, she let me know $125 was a really great deal. Especially for a sewing machine like this with so many different embroidery stitches. So I've decided to get this sewing machine fixed and later see if I can get a sewing serger. 

So here's the plan-yes I actually have a plan. I've been making tons of jewelry and products to sell anyway, and so I've actively been looking into Flea Markets where I can sell in my area and pass out a few of my business cards or text them (because I have digital ones). The Decatur area where I live is very artsy and all I need to do is find "the spot" where I can get a little exposure, and as an entrepreneur I value a tangible experience over an online one any day. I would love to connect with my customer on a more consistent basis and study my target market as well as understand each individuals needs. I love making custom designs for my clients so piecing something together that they can only dream up in their heads is something I'm especially good at. I don't design ball gowns or anything, but when it comes to beaded jewelry, I'm the one. 

I will be giving lessons both in person and online. In my post about How to Draw a Croqui I show you a basic pose, but I'm dreaming up a class that's a lot more detailed where I'll go deeper and deeper into subject. I would prefer doing it in person but I'll see what I can do about starting an online course. I've had my share of hardships in Fashion Illustration Classes in college. I just lucked out when I had the privilege of being taught 1-on-1 because my Fashion Illustration 3 class only had 2 students and the other bailed. My professor taught me everything and she allowed me to pull up a chair right beside her for a more personal experience in learning to draw. I no longer felt like I was alone trying to figure this thing out, and because of that I want to give you the same thing. As I said before I'd prefer a tangible experience, and to be at the side of the student to oversee their progress, but I'm willing to compromise with online courses. All I expect is for my students to apply themselves, because learning and gaining knowledge is one thing, but applying it is when it becomes wisdom and power. It says I'm educated ant experienced at the same freaking time!

"Knowledge isn't power, applied Knowledge is Power"- Eric Thomas

Applying yourself isn't easy. Most people think that just practice makes it perfect, but in this course I want to show you how to truly apply yourself by finding yourself in your own art. Every illustrator has a voice, and it comes out in their art style. So to me a student who is applying themselves well might do some unorthodox things to grasp it like draw their croqui's as anime characters or something. Whatever it is that's what you need to discover during these courses. I don't want my students to be hung up over trying to do it exactly like me. I want them to have their own signature looks and designs. 

Of course there is always relying on donations, self funding by trying AGAIN to look for a job (even though some obstacle always comes up), looking up grants, programs that teach entrepreneurship for free...etc. Look, I've done enough of that, so my first two options is what I'm banking on here. I'm into applying myself and creating my own path. I've had enough of begging for jobs, because most employers don't care that I have a family to take care of anyway, and I can tell because when I say that I have 3 kids they consider them "prior commitments" that might get in the way of me working. You better believe that when I get this sewing machine fixed-it is on like Donkey Kong! I already have my business plan written that will span over the next 5 years and I've already accomplished hitting certain milestones that I had plotted for the longest time. I know that having this sewing machine fixed would be a stepping stone in my plan, and getting the one I already have in storage would be a start as well. I've been plotting out exactly what patterns I want to create, sell, and design from. Finding creative ways to make money isn't hard for me, applying myself in the midst of hardship is, and I'm sure that EVERYONE can understand that. 

How to Write a One Page Business Plan

Lately I've been thinking about other simplified methods I used to run my business effectively. In my last post I discussed ways that I started my business for free or with little money, and I expressed how my simplified thinking saved me a lot. One thing I did not talk about is how my desperation lead me to the One Page Business Plan.

I was trying to reconstruct my business plan on Power Point about 4 years ago, and I pulled up a template that they had created already with all the necessary things in it. Honestly I didn't understand half of those terms and I had to research them anyway. When it became too difficult to understand I looked up simple ways to construct a business plan, and stumbled across a blog post on Entrepreneur Magazine about how to make a 1 page business plan and you can read about that here:

https://www.entrepreneurmag.co.za/advice/business-plans/how-to-guides-business-plans/keep-it-simple-how-to-write-a-one-page-business-plan/. 

There were 2 methods listed and I used the one that was easier for me to comprehend. If you can't understand your own plan then how is it easy to tell others or even carry out the plan? Remember my objective was to simplify it so I can understand. I knew that I was just starting out so I didn't need to make it complicated or "too cooperate" as I'd said, because I wasn't at that level yet. 

Anyway I went onto take their advice and I created my own template on Microsoft Word. As I said in my previous post, I am very good with Microsoft Word, and Power Point so constructing a template wasn't hard for me to do at all. This way I designed it to my liking instead of pulling up different templates that I just didn't like. I also downloaded a copy of my plan into google docs so that I could edit it on the go. If you don't have google docs go download it now in the google play store because it is a life saver. I don't know how many homework assignments I edited on the go while I was in college and had no access to a computer. 

I will leave an attached document of my template at the bottom of this post for anyone trying to do their own. It is an outline for someone trying to figure out what to write, so feel free to delete all of the stuff I put in there and insert your own plan.Your business plan should consist of your company name, it's vision, the mission, objectives, strategies, and an action plan. 

Your Company Name should go at the top of the template of course and you can include the year if you'd like. I don't include a year on my business plan because I've come to realize that accomplishing certain goals are sometimes meant for later, or that you may take longer than expected to do something in your plan. There are even some plans I've scratched all together because I just changed my mind. If you feel like you're getting something out of putting a time frame on it then that's up to you.

The First part of your Plan would be your Vision. I honestly don't have any qualms about keeping the vision statement short or long, but what I don't advocate are vague or broad statements. Your vision is what you see for the business in the future after you've completed the year, or whatever time you chose to create a new plan. If your vision is to be the best online retailer on the face of the earth then that should be written as your vision. As I said, it can be short or long but the basic concept is that it can be understood when it's read.

The Mission is the part of your business plan that tells what your business is for. Everything is here for a purpose, and you most certainly had an intention in starting the business. Somewhere you saw a need for change and you felt like you could provide that change, so in this part of your plan your statement should include what problem you are solving by introducing your product to the client. How will they benefit from doing business with you? That's what your mission is. 

The third part of your plan are your Objectives. What are some things you must do for your business to grow and see success? Do you have to grow clientele? Do you have to get an LLC? What are your goals. You can list as many of your goals as you would like. Don't worry about being too simplified here because this is where you would start your alphabetized list. I recommend at least 3 so that you won't get swamped in a ton of objectives and make yourself confused. Here is how your business plan should be looking so far.

Company Name/Year:

A) Write your objective here.

B) Write your objective here.

C) Write your objective here.

The fourth part of your plan is the Strategy. Your strategy explains the how of your objectives. How will you accomplish each objective? What will you do to make sure that it gets done? If your first objective is to grow clientele your strategy should show your method of how you will do that. Are you going to advertise? Will you have a contest to draw attention to your product? How are you going to accomplish each goal? Usually for my strategy I use a Numbered list under each objective.

Company Name/Year:

A. This is your objective

1. This is your first strategy

2. This is your second strategy

The Action Plan is the part where we really get to the nitty gritty of things. This is not only your how but several different ideas you have for how you will go about your strategy. Using the example objective listed above to build clientele, and your first strategy being advertising, then your bullet underneath this should include every method you know on advertising such as online marketing, in person marketing, etc. Some people recommend putting a date on it but things are always subject to change. As long as you know for sure that you will do it, and it can be done in real time that's all that really matters. By the time that you are done with each bullet then your business plan should look like this:

Company Name/Year:

A. This is your objective

1. This is your first strategy

• this is the first step of your action plan.
• this is the second step of your action plan

I don't consider myself to be any type of expert, but I do hope that the information that I've provided can somehow help someone who is just starting out like I did. Editing your business plan on the go with Google Docs will actually benefit you because you just never know when that wave of inspiration will hit you. I generally like to update my business plan every year, but I say to pay your business plan a monthly visit. It will keep you aware of your progress, and help you to stay focused.

This year I reviewed my old business plan from 2017 and I noticed that I had actually done everything I'd planned except some of those things I just changed my mind about. I hadn't done my routine visit in several months and I had actually become really discouraged about my business. I was being so hard on myself until I noticed that my objectives didn't even state anything that I was upset about. All the things I was feeling discouraged about were things that I needed to add to my updated business plan for 2018 and that's exactly what I did. 

Here is the link for my version of the One Page Business plan. It includes a breakdown of everything so you can create one of your own, and design it to your liking. I hope it helps!!! Thanks for reading.

One Page Business Plan Outline:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kbK_FtR9OXt4K-IjLBJGfKimId99l2DlZnEc_mFTww0/edit?usp=sharing