Starting your small business with a one page business plan is a simple first step to small business success.

Rome wasn’t built in a day.  Why should you expect that you can write your business plan in one day either?  You shouldn’t!

That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t start planning today.  Try chunking your business plan into 5 sections.

1. Your Vision

   Close your eyes and envision your business 3 years from now.  What does it look like?  Where is it located?   Do you have employees?  How much revenue (sales) does your future business generate?

2. Customer Fulfillment

   I like to think of customer fulfillment as what many business people call “Business Operations”.  If it isn’t lead generation (marketing) or lead conversion (sales) then it goes here.  How will your business operate in such a way as to fulfill your customers expectations?  Customer Fulfillment is where you will most likely spend most of your time as a new business owner.  You will be conducting the day-to-day operation of the business

3. Lead Conversions

   How are you going to turn the leads that you generate into paying customers?  In many cases describing this activity is quite simple.  If you’re selling a service, maybe your conversion strategy is talking to the prospective lead on the telephone and setting up the first appointment.  If you have a brick and mortar store maybe your lead conversion strategy is inviting the prospective lead into your store where you can have a face to face conversation that will convert them into a customer.  Remember you want customers, not sales.  Don’t ever confuse the two.

4. Lead Generation

   How are you going to get new leads to convert into paying customers?  Maybe you send a postcard to everyone in your neighborhood inviting them to come into your business or contact you by phone?  Maybe you visit all the local businesses in your neighborhood and see which ones might be in need of your services?  Coming up with strategies to generate leads doesn’t need to be difficult or complex.  Think of simple, easy to execute ideas to start.

5. Financial Plan

   What are your revenue goals for the next three years?  Write down how you much revenue you want your business to generate each year.  Year 1, year 2 and year 3.  Again, no need to get fancy here, this is a one page document.  You will have plenty of time later to fill in more details.

Sample one page business plan:

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Bob and Mary’s Dishwashing Service (BMDS)

The Vision

Bob and Mary are a husband and wife team who specialize in washing their customers dishes.

Business Goal:

Over the next 3 years BMDS will expand from their current customer base of three (3) customers to 36 customers.
Business Goal:  Average monthly revenue per customer $85.00

Client Fulfillment:

Bob and Mary will visit the clients home twice a week, on a predetermined schedule, and wash their clients dishes.

Lead Conversion

Mary will call client leads and conduct a brief needs assessment in order to determine if the client has need of and can benefit from their in home kitchen cleaning and dishwashing services.

Lead Generation

1. Bob and Mary are posting weekly CraigsList ads letting potential clients know about their services.
2. Mary will attend local the local neighborhood association to network and get new client leads.
3. Bob will canvas the local neighborhood, using door hangers to advertise services and then conduct follow-up visit going door-to-door to meet potential customers to generate leads.

Financial Plan

Revenue Goal – Year 1:  $12,240 = 12 customers * $85.00 * 12 months (12 * 85 * 12 = $12,240)
Revenue Goal – Year 2   $24,480 = 24 customers * $85.00 * 12 months (12 * 85 * 24 = $24,480)
Revenue Goal – Year 3:  $36,720 = 36 customers * $85.00 * 12 months (12 * 85 * 36 = $36,720)

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Now, is there more detail that can be added to the BMDS small business plan?  You bet, but this is a start.

You see clearly defined goals and a simple plan to achieve those goals.  That is the core of the business plan:

• Measurable goals
• A timeline to reach the goal
• A plan that that can be executed in order to achieve the goals.

Let me challenge you to take this first step in documenting your small business plan.

Want some personalized help?  Take advantage GoLocalNW’s free consultation by calling (503) 427-9779 today.