Business Plans

This is a sequence of blog posts that discusses how to quickly develop a simple business plan, based on Agile Business Strategies™. At the end of each post, click on Go To The Next Section to read the next section.

The goal for series of blog postings is to provide you with a very fast and simple way to write the first iteration of your plan. This is a basic and rough outline of the business concept. You should not waste time trying to estimate the net profit down to the exact penny. This is information you don’t yet know. For now, set aside a limited amount of time to write a very short business plan that outlines the most basic of facts. Just get the essentials in order. Think of this exercise as akin to developing a concept paper that frames the first pass at your business model. You might want to limit the number of pages to ten or less (less is better), just to keep the concept contained and your time limited.

Six Basic Business Plan Topics

A fast business plan briefly (and I mean briefly) addresses six topics. The following is a writing exercise, complete with simple writing assignments. You should complete this assignment in hours, not days. The point is to write a paragraph on each topic to help you think through the basic concepts of your business and get it down on paper. You don’t need to buy business plan writing software yet. Wait until you’ve convinced yourself that the idea is viable.

To begin, you can simply start writing notes in a notebook or typing your thoughts into a word processing program. You can layout the financial section in a spreadsheet if you prefer. Using a spreadsheet is helpful but not necessary yet. You’ll be creating sections that address six topic areas.

The six basic topic areas that you’ll write about are:

• The Business Idea
• Products or Services
• Marketing
• Management and Operations
• Financial Forecasts
• Writing The Executive Summary

For now, focus on writing just a paragraph or two for each topic. Writing these sections gives you the chance to think through each topic and begin to clearly define the company. Focus on just getting the basic idea down.

In the next sections, we’ll go through each topic and discuss how to think about these essential five topics of your business. As we go along, I’ll give you clear directions on how to quickly write each section. In each section you’ll be given a series of simple questions to answer, laid out in the form of a writing assignment. Try answering the questions briefly, then come back later and expand on each point. Don’t get bogged down on any one question. If you don’t know the answer, just make a note that you need to research that topic and come back to it later. Most importantly, just keep writing…

 
»» Go To The Next Section:  Write A Simple Business Plan: The Business Idea section