When we talk about business plan we usually think about huge folder with at least 150-200 pages of small-size font text that contains your entire idea, concept and plan-schedule for running a business. I agree - there is such business plans… But for you as a home/online/double-salary entrepreneur writing a long-long business plan is simply a waste of time.

You need something that works for you. And you do need a plan, but a short one. What to do in this case.How to break the rules of business-plan-writing and produce something doable without killing hundreds of trees?

The best solution for you is The Shortest Business Plan That Works. It consists of only seven sections but they are the very essence of every business plan. If you cover these areas you can be sure that your plan is OK and you can focus on the real things like making money, for example.

Here are the key sections of The Shortest Business Plan That Works:

1. Customer

Do not make the most popular mistake of beginner-entrepreneurs. Start with the customer, not with your product. Think about your prospects. Know them well. Who are they? What are their need? What they usually buy? What brands they prefer? What is their age-range? What is their net worth? What they read? What sites they visit? What are their jobs? Their social status?

Knowing well your potential customers will give you the perspective to develop bestselling products and product series.

2. Niche

Where is the cross-point between your prospects’ needs and your product ideas? Find this/these cross point(s). They will form your market niche. Ask yourself some questions and find the answers: Which needs of my prospects aren’t met? How can I satisfy these needs? What kind of product (or series) I should produce in order to meet these needs? Jot down a lot of ideas. You will need them later.

3. Competition

You need your competition. It can help you get rich, but it can make you lose everything, too. You should know very well the competitors that sell to your customers and in your niche. What they sell? How they sell it? Do customers like these products? What they like? What they don’t like? List your major competitors and make a file for every single one of them. In this file (or Excel sheet) write down everything you know about the given competitor. Add information as you get it. Keep these records and read them frequently. You should know your competition - its weak zones and its strong ones. You have to beat it and without adequate information you will do nothing.

4. Product

Your goal is to oversell the competition and to get the biggest (bigger) market share in your niche. You have two ways: a) Sell a product that better satisfies your customers’ needs than your competitors’ products. b) Market your product better than your competitors. The best case, of course, is a+b.

5. Marketing

The key to marketing is to make sales. Doesn’t matter how much books you’ve been read or how much theories and methods you know. If your marketing strategy doesn’t make sales, you are on wrong way. Here are some guidelines:

• What are the communication channels you can reach your customers? (what sites they visit, what magazines they read?…)
• How your competition use these channels?
• Can you find new, unused channels?
• How to present your sales message to your customers in order to get more sales using the channels described above?

6. Production & Logistics

You should have an effective system that helps you produce your product, deliver it to the customers and process the payments and communications. If you don’t have a system, when your customers base get bigger you will get into the mess.

7. Expansion

From the very beginning you have to think about the growth of your business. Plan your product series. Draw the chart of your sales growth. Dream a little and plan a lot. You should know where you want your business to be after a year, after 2-3-5 years. After 10 years. Know your path and you will be able to follow it (even if you have to change it on the flies). Not having an expansion path is a one way ticket to bankruptcy.

***

Don’t waste weeks to prepare the perfect business plan. Devote 2 hours and prepare a 5-pages short business plan that works. That’s all you need to start a successful business.