Throughout this course, you’ve accomplished a LOT in terms of research, product and service design, marketing, and other key aspects of running a successful business. Now it’s time to put it all together using the One Button Business Plan!
What does the One Button Business Plan include?
The plan gathers together many of the worksheets and exercises you’ve already completed and lays them out in one place, along with handy starter text to create a professional business plan for your new venture. It includes:
- A typical business plan structure, based on the one you learned about in lesson 13, which can be used to seek funding or simply to organize your ideas into a single document for your own reference.
- Starter text for every section of the plan – you can change this text, delete it and/or write your own from scratch; some of the starter text includes phrases in [square brackets] that you’ll need to replace with your own content.
- Tips for filling in the sections with the content most relevant to your business; tips are shown in blue and should be deleted from your finished document.
- Worksheet content from the course that can be used ‘as is’ or edited/changed in the finished document once you export it.
How do I use the One Button Business Plan?
That’s easy!
- Start by reviewing the content below the line on this page. It’ll show you whether you’re missing any worksheets that you might still want to fill in before exporting the plan.
- Once you’re happy with the content below, click the button below to export the plan in the Word Doc format.
- The draft plan will download to your system; you can then open and edit it in Microsoft Word, the free Libre Office suite, in Google Docs, or in any other word processor.
[Your Logo]
Business Name
Contact:
Tel:
Email:
Address
Address
Date
Tip: This is your title page. Add your business name and contact information where indicated above. Once you export your draft business plan, you can reformat it to suit the style and brand of your business.
Table of Contents
Your table of contents goes here…
Tip: Use your word processor’s Table of Contents feature to automatically generate a Table of Contents based on the document heads.
Tip: Your pages should have a header starting on the Table of Contents page (the first page after the cover sheet). Include your Business Name and possibly the logo in the header. Also make sure you number your pages in the footer.
1.0 Executive Summary
[Business Name] offers a unique product to the [Customer Target Market] …Tip: You may want to use your Positioning Statement from Lesson 6 as a starting point for part of the Executive Summary.
Tip: Generally, you should write the Executive Summary last, after the rest of the plan is completed. Try to limit the Executive Summary to one page.
2.0 Business Profile
Overview of Product or Service
[Business Name] offers [Product], [Service]…Our competitive advantages include…
History
We have been operating for… In that time we have grown from…
I was inspired to start the business when I realized that…
Owner Profile
I have the following qualifications and interests that give me the background needed to succeed with [Business Name].
- Experience, training, or certifications related to the business and industry. [list any relevant qualifications].
- In addition, I have prepared myself to operate the business by [list specific skills you have developed to run the business, such as budgeting, financial management, customer service, etc.].
- My background: I am currently working on [course or skill development] to improve my capabilities with [area you need to improve or add skills].
Vision
Tip: Your Vision Statement from Lesson 6 is a good starting point!
Legal Structure
[Business Name] is structured as a [Structure] registered in the Province of… [Owner] is the…Tip: As well as the legal business structure, this section might include identification of the owner(s), the CEO or owner responsible for operations, registered business address, and owner or entity responsible for any debts.
3.0 Market Research
Industry Overview
The [Industry] is currently…
Tip: The Landscape of Players you prepared in Lesson 3 is good source material for this section.
Prospects for future growth and opportunity…
Challenges the industry faces include…
Tip: The STEEP Analysis you prepared in Lesson 3 is good source material for this section.
Competitors & Partners
My main competitors are…
My competitive advantages in relation to these competitors include…
Tip: The Partners and Competitors Analysis from Lesson 10 offers starter content for this section.
Target Market
My primary target market is…
Tip: The interviews and observations you made in Lesson 4: People First offer starter content for this section.
4.0 Marketing Strategy
Positioning Statement
My positioning statement can be summarized as:
[Product] or [Service] Presentation
Our [Product][Service] customer experience can be described as…
Tip: Use the work you did in Lesson 5: Exploring New Possibilities and in Lesson 7: Let’s Experiment as source material for this section.
Customer Experience
My customer service map is…
Tip: Use the experience map you created in Lesson 5.5: Experience Design as a starting point for this.
Pricing
My pricing structure is…
Compared to my market competitors, my pricing is…
Tip: Use the work you did in Lesson 8: Making a Living and Lesson 10: Making it Real as source material for this section.
Marketing Activities
My marketing plan is…
Tip: Use the work you did in Lesson 6: Building Your Vision as source material for this section. Make sure it is up to date and consistent with your Customer Experience map!
5.0 Operations
Location
The business is located at…
Legal and Regulatory Issues
Laws and regulations that impact business operations include:
- Law or Regulation – Description of impacts and how they be addressed.
- Law or Regulation – Description of impacts and how they be addressed.
- Law or Regulation – Description of impacts and how they be addressed.
Process/Production
The [Business] production process is is illustrated below…
Tip: Use the process map you created in Lesson 8.5: Capabilities and Resources as a starting point for this.
The steps in the production process are…
Break Even Analysis
We reach our ‘break even’ point at… [Unit Sales Volume]
Breakdown of Product/Service costs
Our product/service and overhead costs are…
Tip: Use the work you did in Lesson 10: Making it Real as a starting point for this section.
Potential Growth Challenges
If we experience rapid growth, with demand for more than [number] units a month, we have the following contingency plan in place:
Describe plan for handling rapid growth…
6.0 Financial Plan
Current Assets
My current assets are…
[Insert a table or list of current assets here.]
Tip: Use the work you did in Lesson 8: Making a Living as a starting point for this list of things you own already that will be used in the business. List their current value.
Startup Costs/Financing
Startup costs are…
[Insert a table or list of startup costs here.]
Tip: Use the work you did in Lesson 8: Making a Living as a starting point for this list of things you need to purchase or acquire to get started.
Revenue Streams
My three main revenue streams are…
If you have not created your Revenue Steam Analysis yet, visit the worksheet here to fill in your missing information. Be sure to refresh this page after saving your updated information.
A possible revenue stream for the coming year: Revenue stream 1…
A possible revenue stream for the coming year: Revenue stream 2
A possible revenue stream for the future: Revenue stream 1 in the future…
A possible revenue stream for the future: Revenue stream 2
A possible revenue stream for the future: Revenue stream 3 in the future…
Where is the money? The money 1
How much? 188
Assumptions/Unknowns:Assumption 1 more…
Where is the money? The money 2
How much? 6770
Assumptions/Unknowns:Assumption 2
Assumption 2.1
Assumption 2.2 more…
Where is the money? The money 3 is at…
How much? 7789
Assumptions/Unknowns:Assumption 3
Assumption 3.1 more…
Again
Sales Forecast
My sales forecast for the first year is…
[Insert a sales forecast table here.] [Describe and expand on the sales forecast here…]
Tip: Explain what drives these sales in each month in this section. Are they seasonal? Special events such as sales or trade fairs?
7.0 Action Plan
Year 1 Business Goals
Our year one business goals are…
Tip: Use the work you did in Lesson 10: Making it Real as a starting point for this section, especially 10.6 Experiments and Action Plans.
Next 3 Months
Action items we will carry out in the next three months to meet our goals are…
9.0 Appendix
Tip: Add any appendices your Business Plan needs, such as your Cash Flow spreadsheet here. You might also include other appendices, such as drawings or mock-ups of your product or service packaging.