The SIMPLE One-Page Business Plan

Most business planning approaches have one similar flaw – they’re far too complicated! The majority of organizations and leaders don’t need a 100-page business plan that sits on a remote shelf in a corner office somewhere collecting dust never again to see the light of day.

What they do need is a ridiculously simple, clear business plan that outlines:

1. What you will do and what you will become.
2. How you will reach your goals.
3. Where you need to make improvements.

If you have not written (and are not regularly reviewing) a simple business plan, you will continue to  struggle with clarity, results, and profit.

I recently wrote an article, The ONE Reason Everyone Needs a SIMPLE Business Plan. Take a second to click over to review it because it will add value to this article.

For years, I struggled to make the progress that I knew was possible in my work and with my team. I knew I had to do something. So I developed a Simple, One-Page Business Plan Template.

The template really is simple – which is what allowed me to make significant progress and gain momentum. The template has 4 short sections – End, Action, Change, Review.

Today, I am going to give you a copy of my business plan guide and template. More about that in a moment.

1. End

In the first section of my template, I considered the future – the end. What would a successful business look like for me? How many clients or customers? What about income? How would I help people?

[Tweet “When you know what the future looks like, you can work every day toward fulfilling that vision.”]

Vision – or the end – gives you permission to begin each day, each task, each project with a clear vision of the desired direction and destination, and then work to make those things happen.

If you don’t make a conscious effort to visualize who you are and what you value, then, by default, you will empower other people and circumstances to shape you, your life, and your work.

Once you are clear about what the end looks like, you can begin looking at the actions required to reach them.

2. Action

The most effective leaders and organizations have clear, specific, actionable, and repeatable disciplines.

They regularly ask – How will customers learn about our business? How often will I communicate with clients and customers? What disciplines will I perform (or what commitments will I keep) on a regular basis to reach my goals?

These are specific, recurring actions that you can perform daily, weekly, monthly to make progress toward your envisioned future.

3. Change

To accomplish vision, change must occur in the culture. That’s what growth is all about. [Tweet “Growth is at the core of leadership – if there is no growth, there is no leadership.”]

Otherwise, what are you leading people to do? Stay the same?

Effective leaders lead their teams to adopt the perspective that everything is an experiment. Many of our “experiments” work – some work wonderfully. Others that don’t succeed can be tweaked and improved until we maximize the return-on-investment.

Ask – What could be done better? What must be different? What is our current reality?

Don’t be afraid to admit to your team what needs to change – they already know. Movement becomes possible when you admit your current reality. Momentum comes when you take action to improve  your current reality.

So identify what needs to change. These changes are not ongoing disciplines like in the Action section. Instead they are one-time projects and improvements that, when completed, enhance the way you do business.

4. Review

Now this is the most important part of your NEW Simple, One-Page Business Plan. For your plan to work, you must commit to review the plan weekly and use it to guide HOW you invest your time and HOW you make decisions.

Set a day and time every week to review your business plan. It doesn’t take long – just 5-10 minutes – but it makes a huge difference. Because you are reconnecting with what’s most important to you and to your work.

Your NEW Simple, One-Page Business Plan will guide you and your team to extraordinary growth while allowing you the flexibility and freedom to adjust to changes in your market.

There’s quite a bit of bonus content in the template download including:

1. A complete list of questions for each of the 4 sections to help you quickly draft your simple, business plan.
2. My story about the painful experience that ultimately led me to develop my simple business plan.
3. Links to resources that will help you get started and stay on track with business vision and business planning.
4. Instructions and tips for how to get the most out of your simple business planning experience.

I’m so committed to helping you succeed in your work that we developed the NEW Simple, One-Page Business Plan Guide and Template just for you! I want you to enjoy the freedom and clarity that comes from mapping out the specific actions you will do on a regular basis, and I want you to avoid the struggles that so many face.

Click here to download the NEW, Simple One-Page Business Plan Guide and Template.

Once you download it and try it out, shoot me an email. You can even send me your draft to review for you. I’m looking forward to hearing about the dramatic improvements to your life and work.