Business plans have fallen out of favor with most strategists in recent years because they can often be bloated, take too much time and even a be a bit daunting to a new business founder.
Most people have heard of business plans before — the 15-30 page long reports that boil down to be a detailed road map for a business complete with in-depth analysis of their target markets, sales projections and all kinds of hullabaloo that simply do not need to be established at the forefront as much as other things!
A business VISION, however, is essentially a picture of the destination for your budding business and a rough idea of how to get to where you want to be.
If a business plan is a road map, your business vision is the picture on your wall of where you dream to go.
The most important part of a starting holistic business is its marketing and networking strategy. Because of this, the business vision we recommend creating does not need to be very large at all–a page or two at most–and will still incorporate some of the same elements other business plans or visions do.
Here are the elements you want to include on your one page business plan in their own sections:
- General business description (overview and scope of business)
- Vision and mission statement
- SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely) Goals
- Situation analysis/Market research (your business vs. your industry and competitors)
- Market differentiation (what makes your business different in a way your target market will care?)
- All possible products and services