Starting a business
One-page business plan template
Most small businesses don't need a 40-page business plan. You need one page that answers the big questions, so you can make decisions and explain your business to anyone in two minutes. Fill in the blanks below. It takes an afternoon.
If a bank or investor asks for a full plan, this page becomes your outline.
How to use this template
Copy the ten sections into a document or notebook. Write one to three sentences for each, in plain words. If a section is hard to answer, that's useful: it's the part of your business you need to figure out next.
1. What we do
We ___ for ___ so they can ___.
Example: "We clean homes for busy families so they get their weekends back."
2. Who our customer is
Describe your best customer: who they are, where they are, and what they care about. Be specific. "Homeowners with a yard in three neighborhoods" beats "everyone."
3. The problem we solve
What bugs your customer about how things are now? What are they doing instead of hiring you?
4. Why us
Why would someone pick you over the next option? Experience, speed, quality, a specialty, how you treat people. Pick one or two, not ten.
5. What we sell and what it costs
List your main services or products and the price for each. Add what it costs you to deliver each one, so you know what you keep.
6. How customers will find us
List the three or four ways you'll reach customers: referrals, Google, social media, partners, signs. See how to get your first customers for ideas.
7. What we need to start
Equipment, licenses, insurance, a name and logo, a website, a vehicle. Put a rough cost next to each, and mark what's needed now and what can wait. The new business checklist covers the usual list.
8. Money: our numbers
- Startup costs: ___
- Monthly costs (insurance, phone, fuel, software, rent): ___
- How many customers or jobs a month to cover costs: ___
- Our goal for month 6: ___
9. Milestones for the next 90 days
Three to five things you'll get done, with dates. Example: "Name and LLC by week 2. Website and Google profile live by week 4. First 10 customers by week 8."
10. Risks and what we'll do about them
What could go wrong? Slow season, a big competitor, equipment breaking down. Write one line on how you'd handle each.
When you're done
Read it out loud. If it makes sense to a friend who knows nothing about your work, it's a good plan. Put it somewhere you'll see it, and update it every three months. Then turn section 6 into a weekly routine with a 90-day marketing plan.