The key to a successful small business, especially in the startup phase, is to keep things simple and costs low. Costs don’t just mean your monetary costs, but also your time.
Many would-be small-business owners fall into the trap of trying to create the world’s biggest and most robust business plan. You’re only going to need that if you’re seeking investment or financing, and even if you will be seeking either of those things down the road, I always recommend small-business owners start out with by testing their ideas first before investing lots of time and money.
Related: Why You Must Really Know Yourself Before Starting a Business
So to get started, create your own simple, one-page business plan that is a high-level overview of the small business you’re about to start.
- Define your vision. What will be the end result of your business?
- Define your mission. Different to a vision, your mission should explain the reason your company exists.
- Define your objectives. What are you going to do — what are your goals — that will lead to the accomplishment of your mission and your vision?
- Outline your basic strategies. How are you going to achieve the objectives you just bulleted?
- Write a simple action plan. Bullet out the smaller task-oriented actions required to achieve the stated objectives.
That’s it. It might be longer than one page, but it will surely be more organized and shorter than a full business plan, which could take weeks to write. If you need more information on the one-page business plan, or want to write out a full-blown finance-centered business plan, you can check out the book I co-wrote with my brother that has a robust explanation of both, Small Business, Big Vision: Lessons on How to Dominate Your Market From Self-Made Entrepreneurs Who did it Right.
