Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
1. Vision
Outline the vision you have for your business by answering these questions: What are you creating? What will your business look like in one year, three years, and five years?
2. Mission
What is your mission? Why are you starting this business, and what is the purpose?
3. Objectives
List your overall objectives by outlining your most important business goals, and answering:
Are your business goals considered SMART goals?
How will you measure success in achieving your goals (make this amount of money, have a certain amount sales, etc?
4. Strategies
Write down your business strategies by answering these questions:
How are you going to build your business?
What will you sell?
What is your unique selling proposition (i.e., what makes your business different from the competition)?
5. Start-up Capital
What is the total amount of start-up capital (money) you will need to launch your business?
6. Anticipated Expenses
What do you estimate your business’s ongoing monthly expenses will be immediately after launch, in three months, in six months, and in one year?
7. Desired Income
What do you anticipate your business’s ongoing monthly income will be immediately after launch, in three months, in six months, and in one year?
8. Action Plan
Create an action plan by answering:
What are the specific action items and tasks you need to complete now? What are your future milestones?
What will need to be accomplished by those milestones in order to meet your objectives?
Once you have completed each of these steps, you will have a working business plan that you can use immediately to start taking action in your business. If you decide to build upon this document to create a more traditional business plan, this business plan tutorial will help. You can also browse this list of 14 business planning tools to refine your plan even further.
