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Wednesday 25 December 2013

5 SIMPLE BUSINESS PLAN TEMPLATES FOR ENTREPRENEURS


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5 Simple Business Plan Templates for Entrepreneurs
By Sara Angeles,
Business News Daily, 24 December 2013.

It's no secret: No one likes to write a business plan. But don't worry; simple business-plan templates can help you write a business plan quickly and easily. Simple business plan templates eliminate unnecessary details and instead focus on what you really need to get your small business up and running.

Typical business-plan templates tend to be very complicated, and many can be up to 50 pages long. The truth is, most small businesses don't need such comprehensive business plans. In fact, these complicated business plans may even do a disservice by discouraging you. What small businesses and first-time entrepreneurs need is a quick and painless way to craft a business plan, without all the fuss. [How to Write a Business Plan]

So you can spend less time writing - and more time launching - here are five simple business-plan templates.

1. $100 Startup: One-Page Business Plan

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Image: $100 Startup

You've heard about those businesses that started off by jotting down their ideas on a napkin at a bar, café or restaurant. $100 Startup's One-Page Business Plan is a little like that, but more organized. Designed for entrepreneurs who are itching to get started, this simple business-plan template asks a handful of questions that you can easily answer in one or two sentences. It covers everything from what you sell and who will buy it to how you will get paid, "hustle" to find customers, foresee challenges and overcome the obstacles - all in a single page.

2. The One Page Business Plan Company: The One-Page Business Plan

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Created by The One Page Business Plan Company, this simple business template covers only the key areas entrepreneurs need to address to start a business: their vision for the company, mission for why the business exists, objectives for setting out goals, strategies to make the business successful and action plans indicating what work needs to be done. Unlike complicated business plans, boring blocks of text are not required; bullet points will do.

3. Copyblogger: A Remarkably Simple Business Plan

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Image: Copyblogger

Not all small businesses are concerned with credit lines, partnerships and office space - at least not in the beginning. So why should their initial business plans include these things? Instead, Copyblogger's Remarkably Simple Business Plan offers a business-plan template fit for the real would-be entrepreneur world. Whereas most business-plan templates assume all businesses are uniform, Sonia Simone, co-founder and chief content officer of Copyblogger Media, created the Remarkably Simple Business Plan to get to what entrepreneurs really need to know to start a business: the ins and outs of the product or service, how customers will find the business and how the business will make money. Simply copy and paste the Remarkably Simple Business Plan template, and you're good to go.

4. WiseBread: 4-Question Business Plan

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Image: Screen captured from Wise Bread

Greg Go, co-founder of online finance community Wise Bread, is a big believer that entrepreneurs who are just starting out don't need lengthy business plans. What they need, he said, is an "internal working plan" to get started. The internal working plan consists of four simple questions that make up the simple business plan: What is your product or service? Who are your customers? When will things get done? When are bills due, and when do you get paid? To guide entrepreneurs in completing their four-question business plan, Go provides a simplified way of answering each question in his blog post Create a Business Plan by Answering 4 Simple Questions.

5. Platform Planner: One-Page Visual Business Plan

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Are you the visual type? Look no farther than Angela Bowman's One-Page Visual Business Plan. Based on the principles of the Business Generation Model Strategyzer app, Bowman's One-Page Visual Business Plan uses sticky notes to creatively craft an outside-the-box business plan. Here's how it works: To create a One-Page Visual Business Plan, start by separating a single page into different sections or columns, such as company information and customer segments. Write down your ideas or responses on a sticky note, and then stick it on the corresponding section. You can also colour-code the sticky notes for better organization. Then, if your plans change, you can easily remove a note, move it around or add new ones to better fit the direction in which your business is headed. The One-Page Visual Business Plan is a fun and unique way to visualize your vision and quickly get your business off the ground.

Top image: Free simple business plan templates help you start a business pronto. Credit: Business plan image via Shutterstock.

[Source: Business News Daily. Edited. Some images added.]


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