One-Page Business Plan Templates

One-Page Business Plan Templates explained by professional Forex trading experts the “ForexSQ” FX trading team.

One-Page Business Plan Templates

Having a business plan is a must, whether your goal is to start a one-person freelancing businessor a multi-million dollar enterprise. However, if you are looking to start a simple product or service business as a sole proprietor or one-person corporation you don’t need a 50-page business plan. A shorter plan will suffice — especially if you don’t have to impress financial institutions or investors for debt or equity financing.

The quick and easy one-page business plan templates in this article (for both product and service businesses) can get you started.

If your business is a partnership, requires multiple employees, or needs financing you may need a more robust business plan — see this Guide to Writing a Business Plan Step By Step for a detailed description of how to write each section of a full-sized plan.

Keep in mind that a business plan is a living document and you can always start with a one-page plan and enlarge it with additional detail as required. You may be able to articulate the business overview, vision, objectives, and concise action items in a single page, but you might want more detail in the financial and marketing sections. For example, you might want to add an extra page to your pricing strategy section for income/cash flow statements and another for breakeven analysis in advertising and promotion.

Structure of a Business Plan

A one-page business plan needs to provide concise answers to several basic questions that must be addressed by any business plan:

What is the need for your product or service?
What is your competition and how will you differentiate yourself in the marketplace?
How will you make money? e.g. what are your sales versus expenses?

How will you market your business?
How will you get started? What are your capital requirements?

How to Use the Templates

The sample templates can be copied into a Word, Excel or similar office document by selecting the text and using copy/paste (using Windows, outline the text to be selected with the mouse, and hit CTRL-C to copy and CTRL-V to paste).

One-Page Business Plan Template for a Service Business

This template is suitable for freelance businesses that provide services, such as consultants, graphic designers, landscapers, delivery services, etc. For a one-page plan, the answers to questions should be one or two sentences at most.

Business Plan for Company Name at: Date

Address __________________________ Phone ___________ Email ________________

Vision

This section should articulate your hopes and dreams for the business (see How to write a vision statement for your business). For example:

· What are you building?
· What do you see this business becoming (in x years)?
· How do you plan to grow the business and to what degree? (e.g. hire employees, open up branch outlets, take the business public, etc.)
· Do you eventually plan to sell the business for profit or to provide money for your retirement?

Business Overview (or Mission)

The business overview (or mission) should describe how you intend to achieve your vision. For example:

· What service(s) will you provide?
· What is your target market (who will buy your services)?
· How will your service offerings address the needs of the customers (e.g. what is your unique selling proposition)?
· How will you provide your services (e.g. online, home business, brick and mortar, etc.)?

Pricing Strategy

The pricing strategy section needs to demonstrate how your business will be profitable. Summarize your projected revenue and expenses:

· How much will you charge for your services?
· Briefly describe how your pricing will be competitive enough to attract customers but be high enough to generate a profit after subtracting expenses. See Breakeven Analysis and Pricing Strategies to Increase Profitability.

Advertising and Promotion

This section describes how you intend to get the word out to customers about your services. For example:

· What are the most efficient ways to market your services? (e.g. business website, email, social media, newspapers). Will you use sales promotional methods such as pricing discounts for new customers, etc.?
· What marketing materials will be used (business cards, flyers, brochures, etc.)? What about referrals?

Objectives

This section lists your objectives and metrics for success by time frame, as well as potential questions or challenges. For example:

· Capture 20 percent of the local market share by year end
· Gain 5 steady customers in the first 6 months of operation
· Earn a net income of $50,000 for the first fiscal year

List any obstacles or concerns, for example:

· Winter season and/or poor spring weather reduces demand for landscaping services

Action Plans

Briefly describe the action items needed to achieve your objectives, using milestone dates. For examples:

· By “date” a fully-equipped home office will be completed
· By “date” business licenses and insurance acquired
· By “date” purchase of delivery van negotiated with dealer
· By “date” launch business website with description of services and price list
· By “date” social media marketing plan in place and potential customers connected via Facebook and LinkedIn
· By “date” subscribed to cloud-based accounting software and setup customer invoice templates

Describe possible solutions for any potential obstacles

· If landscaping services cannot be delivered due to weather look into providing other services, such as snow clearing or tree pruning

One-Page Business Plan Template for a Product Business

This template is suitable for business that sell products, such as food services, beauty products, bike shops, etc.

Business Plan for Company Name at: Date

Address __________________________ Phone ___________ Email ________________

Vision

This section should articulate your hopes and dreams for the business (see How to write a vision statement for your business). For example:

· What is your grand plan and what do you see this business becoming?
· How do you plan to grow the business and to what degree? (e.g. hire employees, open up a second restaurant or manufacturing plant, purchase new equipment and machinery to increase productivity, go public and sell shares on a stock exchange, etc.)
· Do you eventually plan to sell the business, or retire and have your children take over?

Business Overview (or Mission)

The business overview (or mission) should describe how you intend to achieve your vision. For example:

· What products will you be selling?
· What is your target market (who will buy your products)?
· How will your product offerings address the needs of the customers?
· How will you sell your products (e.g. online, storefront, etc.)?
· How will you deliver your products (e.g. shipped, over the counter, served, etc.)?

Pricing Strategy

Demonstrate how your business will be profitable by summarizing your projected revenue from product sales minus your expenses:

· How much will you charge for your products?
· Briefly describe how your product quality and/or competitive pricing will lure customers from rival businesses but be sufficient to generate a profit after subtracting manufacturing costs and expenses. See Breakeven Analysis and Pricing Strategies to Increase Profitability.

Advertising and Promotion

Briefly outline the marketing plan for your products:

· How will you advertise your products to attract customers? (e.g. storefront, business website, email, social media, newspapers). Will you use sales promotional methods such as free samples, product demonstrations, price discounts, etc.?
· What marketing materials will be used (business cards, flyers, brochures, etc.)?
· What about customer feedback with digital or printed surveys, social media, and referrals?

Objectives

List your objectives and metrics for success by time frame, as well as potential questions or challenges. For example:

· Sell 500 units of product by year end
· Gain 2 major customers within the first 6 months of operation
· Have an average of 50 percent occupancy rate in your restaurant within 3 months of opening
· Earn a net income of $30,000 for the first fiscal year, $50,000 by the 3rd fiscal year

List any obstacles that may prevent you from achieving your objectives, for example:

· Suppliers not able to deliver sufficient product
· Construction delays to renovations on the premises

Action Plans

Briefly describe the action items needed to achieve your objectives, using milestone dates. For example:

· By “date” business premises chosen and lease signed
· By “date” renovations to business premises completed
· By “date” contracts with suppliers and wholesalers negotiated and signed
· By “date” qualified employee hired
· By “date” purchase of delivery van negotiated with dealer
· By “date” launch business website with description of products and price list
· By “date” social media marketing plan in place and potential customers connected via Facebook and LinkedIn
· By “date” point of sale system acquired, customized, and installed
· By “date” products acquired and stocked
· By “date” employee training completed
· By “date” premises open for business

List any obstacles or concerns and how you intend to overcome them. For example:

· In case wholesale supplier A is unable to deliver sufficient product sign contracts with backup suppliers
· Be prepared to delay opening if renovations to the premises are not completed on time, or open anyway and continue construction after business hours