Business plan template: a one-page lean plan for makers

What a business plan template is, and which format to use

A business plan template gives you the headings of a plan and a prompt for each one. You fill in the answers for your own business. The SBA's guide puts it plainly: There’s no right or wrong way to write a business plan. What matters is that the plan answers the questions you and anyone you ask for money will have.

Most plans, the SBA says, fall into one of two common categories. A traditional plan goes into detail across the nine most common sections, from an executive summary to financial projections. A lean plan is a chart that summarizes only the most important points. The SBA says you might prefer the lean format if your business is relatively simple, or you plan to regularly change and refine your business plan. That describes many maker businesses in their first years: one person, a few products, and prices and channels that change as you learn what sells.

If you are not applying for a loan, start with the one-page plan. You can expand it into a traditional plan later, because the lean plan's parts feed straight into the longer plan's sections.

The one-page business plan template

This small business plan template uses the nine components the SBA lists for a lean plan, reworded for people who make and sell physical products. The order is changed so you write the parts that shape the rest first: what you sell and who buys it, then how they find you, then what it costs.

Copy the first two columns into a document or a single sheet of paper. Keep each answer to a few lines. If an answer runs long, it usually means you have not decided yet, and that is the thing to work out.

Filled example: a simple business plan for a candle shop

Example: a one-person shop that makes soy candles at home and sells them at weekend markets and in an Etsy shop. The business, its customers and its suppliers are invented to show how each part reads when filled in. Use it as a model for length and detail, then replace every line with your own.

For a jewelry shop the same page changes in a few places. Key resources would list tools and metal stock, and key partnerships a metal or bead supplier. Cost structure would include materials that change in price, such as silver. Customer relationships often carry more weight, because jewelry buyers often ask about sizing, engraving and repairs.

For an Etsy shop of any kind, write the marketplace fees into the cost structure line by line. The next section shows what those fees come to on one sale, next to two own-store options.

What each sales channel costs on one candle

The cost structure and channels in your plan depend on where you sell. Here is the same $24 candle sale on Etsy and on two own-store builders, using each platform's published rates. Etsy brings shoppers to your listing; an own store does not, so the lower fee comes with the work of finding buyers yourself.

How to write a business plan for a small business

These steps fill the one-page template in a single sitting. Work from what you already know, such as past sales and receipts, rather than from what you hope will happen.

1. Write the value proposition first

   Describe what you make and why people buy it, in one or two sentences. If you have sold before, use the words buyers used when they told you why they bought.

2. Name your customers

   Describe the people who actually buy, not everyone who might. Note where they live or shop, what they spend, and whether they buy for themselves or as gifts.

3. List your channels and their costs

   Write down every place you sell or plan to sell, and the fees each one charges. Marketplace, card processing and booth fees all belong in the cost structure.

4. Price one item and check what it leaves you

   Take one product. Subtract materials, packaging and the channel fees from its price. What is left is your margin per item, and it tells you how many you must sell to cover your monthly costs.

5. Fill in activities, resources and partners

   List the weekly work, the tools and space you need, and the suppliers you rely on. These parts show where the business would stall if one of them stopped.

6. Add revenue streams and set a review date

   List every way money comes in. Then put a date in your calendar to reread the plan. A lean plan is meant to change as prices, channels and products change.

When a one-page plan is not enough

A one-page plan is a working document for you. If you apply for a business loan or pitch an investor, expect to be asked for more. The SBA notes that with a lean plan, some lenders and investors may ask for more information. Of the traditional plan, it says: Lenders and investors commonly request this plan.

A traditional plan goes into more detail. The SBA's guide describes its common sections:

• Executive summary: what the company is and why it will succeed.
• Company description, market analysis, and organization and management, including your legal structure.
• Service or product line, and marketing and sales.
• Funding request: how much you need over the next five years and what you will use it for.
• Financial projections: for the first year, the SBA says to be even more specific and use quarterly or even monthly projections. For an established business, add income statements, balance sheets and cash flow statements for the last three to five years.

Most lean plan parts map onto these sections. Value proposition and customer segments become the company description and market analysis. Channels and customer relationships become marketing and sales. Cost structure and revenue streams become the start of your financial projections.

If you want help with your plan, SCORE offers free, confidential mentoring from experienced business leaders, and its site has templates for business planning, finance, sales, marketing, and management.

Where Nation fits

Questions about business plan templates