A business plan on one page: nine questions to answer before you start

Many good ideas stall in front of one heavy task: writing the business plan. The common picture is dozens of pages of tables and forecasts. But for a small guesthouse, a home workshop or a new service company, one clear page is often enough to see whether the idea stands up.

The U.S. Small Business Administration's guide describes two common formats. A traditional plan is detailed, takes more work up front and can run to dozens of pages; lenders and investors commonly ask for it. A lean startup plan summarizes only the most important points, is typically one page, and, according to the same guide, can take as little as an hour. If your business is relatively simple, you want to start quickly, or you plan to refine the plan regularly, the lean format is a good fit.

These nine questions are the nine lean plan sections from that guide. Take a sheet of paper, split it into nine boxes, and write a few short lines in each.

1. Who exactly is your customer?

Your business won't be for everybody, and it doesn't need to be. Name your target group precisely, for example "families visiting our town for a short holiday," not just "tourists."

2. What value do you bring that others don't?

One clear, compelling sentence about your unique value. If you can't say it in one sentence, your customers can't explain it to anyone else either.

3. How will customers hear about you?

List the main ways you'll talk to customers: social media, word of mouth, maps and local search, or a shop window. Most businesses use a mix of channels and improve them over time.

4. What does the customer relationship look like?

In person or online? Personal or automated? Walk through the customer experience from first contact to after the sale, and write down what happens at each step.

5. Where does the money come from?

Spell out how you'll actually earn: direct sales, membership fees, selling ad space or something else. If you have several revenue streams, list them all.

6. What are your biggest costs?

First decide whether you're focused on cutting cost or maximizing value, then list the most significant costs of that path. The same guide suggests sorting startup costs into one-time and monthly expenses so you know how much capital you need and when.

7. What are your key activities?

Write down what gives you an edge over competitors, such as selling directly to customers, or answering faster than anyone else in the neighborhood.

8. What resources do you rely on?

The most important assets you use to create value for customers: people, capital, special skills or a great location.

9. Who do you work with?

Name your key partners: suppliers, manufacturers, subcontractors and the complementary businesses you can't run without.

After you write it

Keep the page within reach and update it every few weeks with what you learn from customers. If you later seek a loan or an investor, this page becomes the base of a fuller plan; the SBA notes that some lenders and investors may ask for more than a lean plan.

Source

• Plan your business: Write your business plan, U.S. Small Business Administration

One simple page is a good start for a big idea. Have a lovely weekend.