Why Your Business Needs a One-Page Business Plan

By Mel Ingalls

There are two good reasons to write a business plan—and only two:

1. You need to raise money for your business
2. You want to record your thoughts about the business so that you can share them with your staff (to make sure everyone is on the same page) and have a gauge against which to measure your progress.

If you are looking to raise money, the plan requires discussion of all the aspects of your business, including products and/or services, distribution, finance, risk, the management team, what you are offering for the money, and what you will use the money for, just to name a few. This is a relatively formal document that often requires at least three years of projected financial statements and a list of the key assumptions that drive the projections. Undertaking the preparation of such a document requires a lot of time and thought, as well as good writing and analytical skills. The payoff for a well-written business plan can be enormous.

If, however, your purpose is to create a document that communicates your vision of the business and provides a roadmap to success, a formal business is probably overkill. In fact, such a document may be counterproductive as it tends to be longer than most people care to take the time to read and digest.

So I suggest a one-page business plan, a brief document that hits the highlights. It should contain:

• A Vision Statement
• SMART Goals
• Key Actions
• Key Policies and Aspects of Your Culture

The beauty of a one-page business plan is that it can be read and understood quickly, and it is easy to maintain as conditions in your business change and as you achieve your goals. I suggest you have everyone in your business read this document. Answer their questions about it, and revise the plan if it is not clear. Post it in a location where everyone who works in your business can see it and read it regularly. (Depending on the nature of the contents, you may want to post it where your customers and others do not have access, since this is a strategic document.)

Business plans are an essential part of building a successful business, regardless of the size of that business, and a one-page business plan is a great way to structure your thoughts in a practical and useful fashion.

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