Q&A: “One-page business plan: what is the essential info?”

This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.

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Long, long ago, I once published a one-page business plan. I believe it was in the $100 startup, one of my early books. That business plan has been used over the years by lots of people, which is really cool because my goal in doing that was to simplify the process of thinking through what makes a business, which really is quite simple, a product, a buyer, a way to exchange money for goods. That is what makes a business. And a lot of people feel intimidated or they think business is entrepreneurship with a capital E that they saw in Shark Tank or something.

And obviously you can make something complicated, but wouldn't it be better to make it simple? So that was what the whole motivation was for that one-page business plan, which is free online, by the way, if anybody's interested in it. One of our callers is wondering about that business plan. Is it still relevant? 'Cause it's been a number of years.

And also what is essential? Like how is it possible to devise an entire business idea on less than one page? That's what they're wondering. I think his name is Craig. In fact, it's possible with even less than a page.

But I'll get into that in my answer coming up after this quick message from our sponsor. Stay tuned. [Music]

Hi Chris, this is Craig and I've been following your project for years. Long ago, you published a one-page business plan that got a lot of attention. I recently read the $100 startup and came across it.

Though I think I'd already seen other people talking about it elsewhere. I'm wondering what the most essential info is with such a short business plan. Aren't most of them a lot longer and more detailed? Why do you think it's possible to have all the info you need in such a short amount of space? - Craig, thanks for the question.

Yes, most business plans are much more detailed and longer. But that's kind of the point of making the one-page business plan. I wanted people to be able to have something they could use right away without getting overwhelmed. And in fact, a lot of business plans, even though they are longer, they are not necessarily that accurate because they're making all sorts of assumptions and forecasts that may or may not turn out to be accurate. It's hard to predict the future.

So I should mention, first of all, other people have also made similar templates and tools. Mine is not the only short business plan out there. But if you Google that phrase, one-page business plan, $100 startup, you should be able to find this document if in case anybody wants it. Now, this document just asks you to fill in the blanks with the answers to some pertinent questions. Questions such as, what will you sell?

Who will buy it? I mean, those are two really basic fundamental questions. And the funny thing is a lot of people come to me with business ideas, but they don't actually have the answer to those questions. And that's kind of essential to use Craig's word. The next section is pricing.

What will you charge? And how will you get paid? Also pretty important. Then there's a marketing section, which I call hustling, and a section where you define the success of the project according to your own judgment. So obviously you could add more info, but that is in essence the design of a business from idea to offer to income.

So what are you gonna sell? Who's gonna buy it? How do you make that happen? What do you charge? How do you get paid?

Knowing the answers to those things can go a really, really long way. So that's what it's all about. And I'm glad it's been helpful for so many people over the years. Again, free for anybody who's interested in it. Listeners, if you have a question, come to sidehustleschool.com/questions.

We'll be featuring them throughout the year. We'll continue to feature them, I should say, for the rest of the year. Along with updates from listeners as they launch their projects. Thank you so much for being out there. Take care of yourself today.

Do something for yourself and come back tomorrow. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. [Music]

From the Onward Project.