Abbreviated Business Plans: How to Write a Business Plan in One Day

Whether you’re about to launch a small business or you’re already working at it (or a freelance career), you really should have a business plan in place. While I’m a big supporter of long-form traditional business plans, I know that sometimes they can seem overwhelming to new entrepreneurs.

And do you know what? There is nothing wrong with starting out small. If you need a quicker solution to business plan writing, consider an abbreviated business plan such as the one page business plan template I give away for free here on my site.

When you use one page business plans, or a slightly longer abbreviated business plan, you can probably hash out the basics of your new business plan in just one day.

Why Use a One Page Business Plan?

• One page business plans are quicker to put together than longer business plans.
• One page business plans give you a basic roadmap for your business (which is better than no guidance at all).
• One page business plans can serve as a base for a long-form business plan that you’ll write later — similar to using an outline to write up a report.
• One page business plans might be enough for a micro-business, with no need to take the plan further.
• One page business plans are easy to update.

Downsides of One Page Business Plans

• You might forget about important details.
• You can’t include a very thorough marketing plan in the mix (although I also provide a separate one page marketing plan template to help with that here).
• As a road map, it will tell you where you’re going, but it won’t give you detailed directions on how to get there (meaning you’ll have to figure a lot out for yourself along the way).

Is a One Page Business Plan Right for You?

Abbreviated business plans like my one page business plan template aren’t the best option for all entrepreneurs. They can be used as a framework for writing a larger business plan later no matter what business you’re in. But if you plan to use a one page business plan as your only business plan, I’d recommend only doing so if you run an extremely small home or online business or perhaps a freelance career. If you’re running a larger brick and mortar business — and especially if you have to think about things like inventory and product placement concerns, I would recommend having a more traditional business plan put together before launch (or as soon as possible if you’re already in business without one).

Need help writing your business plan? Get in touch.