A business plan is like a resume for your business.

Once you have a business plan created, consider it an internal tool you use on an ongoing basis in your business, updating it as necessary so it remains current. Remember that the most effective small business plans are those that are used as a living document in the business to help guide decisions and keep your business on track, as an entrepreneurial instruction manual. 

Your business plan can be as simple or as detailed as you need it to be. Traditional business plans are 15-20 pages and take time and research to complete. Not every business needs a traditional business plan. That brings us to the simple business plan format — the one-page business plan

A one-page business plan is a streamlined and brief business plan that you can use as-is or as a starting point for a traditional business plan. While this is a leaner version of the traditional business plan, you will still need to gather the information that is specific to your business to create a plan that is truly useful for you. Be prepared to answer the following questions as you create your simplified business plan:

• Vision: What are you creating? What will your business look like in one year, three years, and five years?
• Mission: What is your mission? Why are you starting this business, and what is the purpose? What are you selling and how will you sell it? What service are you providing to your customers? 
• Objectives: Are your business goals considered SMART goals? How will you measure success in achieving your goals? How will you track your goals? What are your sales objectives? 
• Strategies: How are you going to build your business? What will you sell? What is your unique selling proposition (i.e., what makes your business different from the competition)?
• Start-up Capital: What is the total amount of start-up capital you will need to launch your business?
• Anticipated Expenses: What do you estimate your business's ongoing monthly expenses will be immediately after launch, in three months, in six months, and one year?
• Desired Income: What do you anticipate your business's ongoing monthly income will be immediately after launch, in three months, in six months, and one year?
• Pricing Strategy: How will your business be profitable? How much will you charge for your product or services? 
• Marketing Strategy: How will you advertise and promote your products or services? Through your website, social media, and/or traditional advertising means?
• Action Plan: What are the specific action items and tasks you need to complete now? What are your future milestones? What will need to be accomplished by those milestones to meet your objectives?
• Once you have answered each of these questions, you will have a working business plan that you can use immediately to start taking action in your business.

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