How To Write a Business Plan On Just One PowerPoint: A Free Template
How To Write a Business Plan On Just One PowerPoint: A Free Template
Business plans are a great way to map out the future of your business and how you can reach your goals. They help you clarify your ideas, set realistic objectives, and identify potential challenges upfront.
A well-written business plan will help you sell your company and attract investors or backers. It’s also a key part of finding funding for new operations and expansion opportunities. A business plan is not just for the big businesses either; even start-ups need to know where they're going and how they’ll get there.
Introduction
A business plan is a roadmap for your company. It will help you determine where you want to take your business, what that looks like, and how you’ll get there.
A business plan can also serve as an outline of all the activities and information your company needs to provide investors with to entice them to finance your venture or give you money for expansion. In other words, a business plan is your company’s sales pitch — or more accurately, it’s the main reason why anyone should trust your company enough to hand over their capital investment or trust-based service contract.
A well-written business plan will help you sell your business idea and attract investors or backers. It’s also a key part of finding funding for new operations and expansion opportunities.
If you don’t have time to create one from scratch, we’ve got good news: take our FREE PowerPoint template to get started.
What is a Business Plan?
A business plan is a comprehensive document, outlining the future of a company and its products or services. It is a strategic blueprint for a business venture or expansion. The document outlines the financial forecast, the strategy for marketing and distribution, and the targeted customer base.
A business plan is not a marketing plan. Business plans are made to highlight the strategic and financial aspects of a venture. Marketing plans are made to determine how an idea will be promoted and executed.
Tips for writing a good business plan
Business plans are mainly written for potential investors, lenders, and potential employees.
Avoid jargon
Investors would like to read something easy to understand. Jargon may sound impressive, but no one would understand it, so it will probably confuse the reader.
Avoid using too many numbers
The business plan is mainly about presenting data, so it is better to use a lot of charts and graphs to make it easier for investors to understand.
Use a structured writing style
Structured writing is the preferred style for business plans. It contains the following elements: introduction, overview, strategies, organization, performance, and conclusions.
Make sure your plan is actionable
Business plans should be able to get the reader excited and lead them to take concrete actions in the form of action steps.
Steps and Questions to Write a Business Plan
Define your business
What is the product or service offering?
Who is the targeted audience?
What will customers get from this product or service?
Analyze your industry
What is the current market condition?
What are the competitors’ pricing strategies?
What are the customer demands?
What are the customers’ buying behaviors?
How is the product or service positioned against competitors?
What is the business model?
Create the strategic plan
What are the goals and milestones for each financial forecast?
What is the business model?
What are the marketing strategies?
Who are the potential customers?
What are their buying behaviors?
Create the financial plan
What is the profit/loss (p&l) forecast?
What are the costs?
What are the cost drivers?
What are the expenses?
What are the expenses drivers?
What are the key performance indicators?
What are the control measures?
What are the assumptions?
Create the human resources plan
Who are the stakeholders?
Who are the key players?
What are the challenges?
How will those challenges be addressed?
What are the milestones for each challenge?
Create the product/service development plan
What are the features/benefits of the product/service?
What are the timelines?
What are the customer feedback/reviews?
What are the key features to be added/improved?
Create the marketing plan
What are the marketing strategies?
Who are the potential customers?
How will they be reached?
What are the advertisements?
What are the promotional activities?
What are the customer service/support channels?
Create the financial analysis plan
What are the key financial metrics?
What are the assumptions?
What are the key assumptions?
What are the key financial drivers?
What are the indicators? What are the risks?
What is the sensitivity analysis?
Finally, summarize everything in the one-page business plan template
Summarize the complete business plan in a one-page document.
What to Include in a One-Page Business Plan
There are a few components that are vital to every business plan, no matter what industry you’re in or what stage of funding you’re seeking.
In the one-page business plan, you immediately want to grab the reader’s attention. This is your one-two punch pitch: on one page should tell them what you’re trying to achieve, and how you’re going to do it. Our one-page business plan template includes:
Problem to Solve
Problem statement - Which problem are you trying to solve? Identifying and having a good understanding of the problem is crucial before you get started on your business.
Mission & Vision
Explain the purpose and direction of your business.
Market Analysis
Explain the attractiveness and the dynamics of the market.
Competitor Analysis
Identify the main competitors to determine their strengths and weaknesses.
Customer Segments
Explain the customer groups or businesses that you are aiming to sell your products or services.
Marketing Strategy
Detail the strategy to market the products or services to customers.
Business Structure
Explain the entity you want to form and the organizational setup.
Key Financials
Summary of the critical financial information and financial projections for the future
Of course, there are different types of information and content to explain your business plan in a one-page form. Adjust the categories to your needs. Our PowerPoint template is fully editable.
Your goal is to provide or pitch the information that management and investors need to make an informed decision about your company. You don’t want to overwhelm them with unnecessary information, and you don’t want to make them work too hard to find the information they need.
A sample one-page business plan template
If you’re still having trouble putting all these components into one document, there’s no need to worry.
We’ve developed a great template that offers all the standard components of a business plan, along with an outline that you can use to fill them in. This free PowerPoint template is 100% editable.
Why should you write your business plan in PowerPoint?
If you’re writing your business plan on PowerPoint, you can mix your text and bullet points to create a visual presentation. This is a good way to break down some of the larger components in your business plan, like the company overview or marketing plan.
Yet, PowerPoint presentations are hard to distribute, and if you want to share your business plan with other people, you’ll need to convert it to PDF.
How do you write a business plan for one page?
What should I include in a one-page business plan? Describe the issues your business and product will address, the state of the industry, your target audience, the key facts about your business, your launch plan, how you will sell your product, the financial plan, how much investment you need, and why now is the right time to start.
Summing up
A business plan is a crucial part of any company’s growth strategy. It can help you secure funding, attract investors, and attract potential employees.
It’s also a great way to organize your thoughts and set goals for the future of your company. We’ve found some free templates that can help you get started, and we’ve also provided a few tips to keep your business plan short, clear, and effective.
This one-page business plan template is perfect for anyone who wants to start a business but doesn't have the funds to hire a professional to create a plan for them. It's 100% free, fully editable, and comes with a free PowerPoint template so you can easily create a professional-looking presentation. So what are you waiting for?
Get started on your business presentation today with this free business plan template!
