Professional Documents
Culture Documents
BUSINESS PLAN
Start With a Vision,
Build a Company!
JIM HORAN
JIM HORAN is president and founder of his own consulting firm, The One Page Business Plan Company.
Prior to the establishment of this firm in 1990, Mr. Horan worked for 20 years in senior level financial positions
with Fortune 500 companies. As developer of the One Page Planning and Performance System, Mr. Horan
has consulted with thousands of businesses which have used this methodology to simplify their business
planning processes.
The Web site for this book is available at www.onepagebusinessplan.com.
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The One Page Business Plan - Page 1
MAIN IDEA
Business plans don’t need to be long to be good. In one page, you should be able to communicate where you want to take your
company in the future and how you’re going to get there. The most important result of preparing a business plan is to clarify your
thinking so that your employees, your partners, your suppliers and even your customers work with you rather than against you.
A good business plan will answer five specific questions succinctly and clearly in a few concise, well thought out sentences:
Business Plan
For people who have become conditioned to spending six months writing a long business plan, the concept of summarizing the entire
business plan in one page seems too good to be true, but the reality is most conventional business plans never actually get used.
They exist solely to create the impression that much thought and effort has gone into the planning process rather than as something
that is of practical use day-in and day-out. By contrast, a one page business plan is simple enough that it can be used to explain where
your business is heading to everyone from potential employees through to bankers, boards of directors and potential partners.
In summary, a one page business plan works because:
• It takes a complex subject (your business) and makes it simple to understand what’s happening and why.
• It focuses on what’s important rather than how big and impressive the business plan is.
• It is readily understandable and comprehendible.
• It can be adapted to many circumstances – communicating with employees, meeting with bankers or potential backers, etc.
• It is consistent in that it sends the same message to everyone who reads it.
• It’s flexible and able to be changed quickly to reflect your latest thinking rather than your thinking of six months ago.
• It can be expanded upon – by the addition of budgets and other reference materials as required.
• It uses everyday language, not the terminology of an accountant or business specialist.
• It focuses attention on delivering results rather than spending endless time planning.
• It allows every key objective to be highlighted, monitored and tracked in real-time rather than with a significant delay.
• It acts as an excellent management training template.
• It allows everyone in the organization to be on the same page rather than guessing about the status of any projects.
• It provides everyone with a map of how to build the business and add value.
1. The Vision Statement – What, exactly, are you trying to build? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 2
A good vision statement will describe the idea behind your business in a manner that captures the passion
of your idea. A good vision statement will be expansive, idealistic and loaded with invitations to see the
possibilities. A good vision statement will describe your dream in a memorable way.
2. The Mission Statement – Why will customers buy this product or service? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 3
The mission statement describes why your business exists in short and memorable statements. It speaks
directly as to why anyone would want to buy and use your products and services. A mission statement
articulates and specifies the commitment you make to your customers and stakeholders.
3. The Objectives – What metrics will be used to measure success? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 4
Objectives set out your well-defined targets and then specify how you will measure progress towards the
accomplishment of those goals. Objectives are tightly focused, specific, prioritized and important. In short,
if you’re achieving your objectives, your business will be a success.
4. The Strategies – How will the business be built? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 5
Strategies set the direction and values of your organization. They also establish your boundaries, thereby
helping you to stay on track. If you have firmly established strategies in place, it will become easier to make
important business decisions because they will become obvious.
5. The Plans – What is the work that needs to get done? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 6
Plans are the specifics which must be actioned in order to achieve the objectives. Clearly, the business’s
strategies, objectives and plans must integrate and be consistent with each other if anything worthwhile is
going to be accomplished.
6. Sample One Page Business Plans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pages 7 - 8
The One Page Business Plan - Page 2
Every industry has approximately four to six “standard practices” 2 Next, think about your current customers:
for the way most things get done. If you pay attention to what the • What attributes do they have in common?
leaders do in your line of business, that will usually be a • What is the best way to sell to them at present?
reasonably good indicator of how you should go about • What’s likely to be a good way to sell in the future?
capitalizing on the opportunities which are available to you. • How can you promote what you offer to more people?
For example, the key commercial strategies of the 21st century
(so far) in most industries are:
3 Now think more about what you’re currently doing:
1. Price isn’t everything – and loads of customers are willing to • What is working very well at present?
pay more for products and services that add more value. • How can we improve that?
2. Attract the best talent – and give everyone a stake in the • What are our biggest problems right now?
outcome. • How can we address those problems and move forward?
3. Think fast and act quickly – or competitors will get to the
market before you do.
4 Select three critical issue which are limiting your growth,
4. It’s better to have a reasonable product and superior profitability or effectiveness. On a piece of paper, list each
execution than a great product but poor implementation. and write down:
5. Volunteer your time and expertise to be visible – by becoming • The root cause of each problem.
a resource to any group that wants to hear from you. • What needs to change.
6. Don’t try and do it all alone – but specialize in what you do • How results can be measured in the future.
best and outsource everything else.
Strategies are common knowledge in an industry. If you read a 5 From all the material put together in steps 1 - 4, come up
trade publication, you’ll quickly pick up on the key strategies with a list that states all the success factors and limiting
within that field. The underlying strategies will be reflected in factors of your current business, and the corresponding
everything the industry leaders are saying and doing. Well success factors and limiting factors of the business you
established strategies will endure until an industry breakthrough would like to create in the future.
occurs which will move the industry off into a different direction.
Genuine breakthroughs like that, however, are rare.
Strategies address the external and the internal influences that 6 Finally, select approx. five areas that are critical to
will affect your business. External strategies focus on building your company. Draft a strategy statement for
opportunities to grow your business or meet outside threats. each area which describes succinctly:
Internal strategies address the business’s strengths and • How that area will be built and managed.
weaknesses in terms of culture, capabilities, efficiency and • How emerging opportunities will be exploited.
profitability. • How critical problems will be addressed.
Effective strategy statements are industry focused but broad at
the same time. For example, a publishing company’s strategy 7 Ponder your first draft for a few days and reflect on it. Then
might be:
go back and rewrite your strategies again. Try to state
n To self-publish at first, build credibility and then seek a your strategies in less words to enhance their clarity and
national publisher. focus. Keep going until you’re happy with the results.
n To continue to look for ways to turn consulting processes into
products or programs that can be packaged and resold.
n To use my network of personal contacts to seek out “One way of understanding strategies is to think of them as
opportunities to speak or get articles published which will ‘industry practices’. Every industry has its leaders, its followers,
raise my profile. and its rebels, and each has an approach for capturing market
n To build my brand and corporate identity through personal share. Pay careful attention to the successful businesses in your
endorsements from CEOs and notable authors or industry and you can learn important lessons. Miss an important
consultants. lesson and your business may not even get off the ground.”
n To collaborate and work with others in ways that are intelligent – Jim Horan
and results oriented.
“Strategies provide the answer to the question: ‘What will make
n To have in place an exit strategy in 5 - 7 years of selling to a this business successful over time?’”
major publisher or business training company. – Jim Horan
The One Page Business Plan - Page 6
To build Professional Business Interior Systems (PBIS) into a highly successful business
1 Vision furniture company which specializes in providing competitively priced office furniture and other
business systems with superior service to companies which have between 10 and 15 employees.
To provide emerging growth companies a single source for the purchase of all their office furniture
2 Mission and other business equipment from an experienced professional who understands how to create
attractive, functional, flexible, pleasant and affordable office layouts.
n Build a strong reputation for superior service; make a definitive attempt to be viewed as the
Nordstrom of office furniture and systems.
n Focus on serving the emerging growth companies operating in the Chicago region.
n Do some targeted marketing programs aimed at financial institutions, insurance companies
and computer companies within this geographic area.
4 Strategies
n Maintain current competitive advantages in pricing by keeping overheads low.
n Sell through print catalogs and other direct sales methods rather than investing in showrooms
or carrying an extensive inventory of equipment.
n Centralize all our distribution activities in one location, thereby reducing our costs.
n Simplify manufacturing activities by lowering the number of suppliers worked with from five to
three, thereby achieving greater economies of scale.
n Complete revising and updating the sales brochure by January 31, 2004.
n Complete the first mail-out of 5,000 brochures by February 28, 2004.
n Research potential new equipment suppliers and negotiate supply contracts by June 30, 2004.
n Announce new equipment supply agreements by August 30, 2004.
n Purchase new PC-based design and layout software by May 30, 2004.
5 Plans n Launch new service to provide layout design option to clients by August 30, 2004.
n Redesign internal databases to simplify tracking marketing responses by April 30, 2004
n Notify the people within our personal networks that I have a vacancy for a personal assistant by
January 15, 2004.
n Develop new packaging design and point-of-sale materials by July 30, 2004.
n Develop a new employee incentive program which can come into effect as of July 1, 2004.
The One Page Business Plan - Page 8
Over the next three years, build Galactic Technologies, Inc. (GTI) into a $100 million enterprise as
1 Vision a technology company specializing in the development and commercialization of innovative new
technologies which are energy efficient.
To develop and successfully bring to the market a range of mass consumer technologies which
2 Mission will enhance the customer’s quality of life whilst at the same time using as small an amount of
energy as is practicable.