Ep. 3353 - Q&A: “One-page business plan: what is the essential info?”

0:00I once published a one-page business plan, it was included in the book $100 startup, the $100 startup. A lot of people have used and referred to that book and that plan over the years. A one-page business plan, what you really need to get your business up and running, you definitely don't need a 50-page business plan because most of what you write is probably not going to end up being true. You have no idea what's going to happen once you open your doors, right? So today, our caller wonders, what is essential about this plan? And can you really explain an entire business in a few paragraphs? Well, I believe that you can, especially when it is a new idea and you're like, I'm going to try this thing. Here's what I need to know, here's what I need to communicate, what is it that makes a business? Essentially, it's a product or a service, a buyer, and a means to exchange money, like a way to exchange money for goods or a service. So is this kind of business plan, is it still relevant? That is essential, like what's different in the world of AI, et cetera.

1:03I mean, is anything different in terms of this? Not really, but let's break it down. How is it possible to devise an entire business on less than one page? And might this help you move forward if you are stuck somehow, if you're like overwhelmed? And there's just so many options and steps and you don't know what to do. Let's give you a simple one-page plan, all right? Let's talk about a detailed question from our caller and my answer coming right up. I make thanks to our partner, Notion, for sponsoring today's episode. Notion is a pretty cool tool, I've been using it for years, and now they've got something new. Notions, all new custom agents, custom agents. Just imagine if like all of the quick questions that you get from email or direct messages or something else, what if they disappeared? And an AI agent took care of them, but also did a good job, you know? Well with Notion's new custom agents, the busy work is handled. A Q&A agent can pull from your existing knowledge and Notion share answers directly and slack, so your team gets the instant answers it needs without constantly interrupting

2:03your own work. I've been playing around with custom agents, it is a fun and helpful process. In just in case you don't know Notion, it is an AI-powered connected workspace for teams. Notion brings all your notes, stocks, projects into one space that just works. It is seamless, flexible, powerful, and actually fun to use. With AI built in, you spend less time switching between tools and apps and more time creating great work. Now with Notion's new custom agents, the busy work that used to take hours or never actually happened at all, runs itself. Try custom agents now at Notion.com slash hustle. That's all lowercase Notion.com slash hustle to try custom agents today. Also when you use our link, we appreciate that. You are supporting our show Notion.com slash hustle. This is Craig, and I've been following your project for years. Long ago, you published a one-page business plan that got a lot of attention. I recently read the $100 startup and came across it, though I think I'd already seen

3:07other people talking about it elsewhere. I'm wondering, what the most essential info is with such a short business plan? Aren't most of them a lot longer and more detailed? Why do you think it's possible to have all the info you need in such a short amount of space? Thank you for the blast from the past. If you want to see the original one-page business plan, if you don't have a copy of the $100 startup, I think you can go to 100startup.com, like 1-0-0-startup.com, then there are some resources links and it should be there. Now, just to disclaimer, I made that website a long, long time ago. So it either looks really bad or it's not up now. But if you Google one-page business plan, Chris Gillibot, most likely you'll find it. Some other people over the years have made some similar templates and tools, so if you want to see mine, be sure to include my name. But basically, it just asks you to fill in the blanks with the answers to some pertinent questions. And the questions are simply things like, what will you sell and who will buy it?

4:09And these questions, as I say, so simple. But a lot of people come to me with business ideas and they start their pitch and I'm like, okay, cool, interesting, but they don't actually have the answer to those questions. And it's kind of essential, right? Like, what are you going to sell? Who's going to buy it? And so the next section of the one-page business plan is about pricing. What will you charge? How will you get paid? How will you determine your price? And if you're not sure, just put something down, right? And then how will you get paid? Okay, you're going to set up a checkout link somewhere, or maybe there's some other process, but basically just making a decision there. And then there is a marketing section all about hustling, right? And a section where you define the success of the project. Because ultimately, it's your side hustle. People do these things for all kinds of different reasons. What does success look like for you? And so if you have the answers to these questions, I really believe that you do have the essence of your idea that you can move forward with. And yes, you can spend more time on details and thinking through lots of other parts of the process. But, again, in essence, that is the design of a business from idea to offer to income,

5:13which is what I want to help you do. That's why we have these short action-packed, daily episodes that will all give you a little tip, or a point of inspiration, or a story, to help guide you along. And just to encourage you, and let you know there's a whole bunch of people out there who are all trying to do something similar. You're not alone. And this is possible. Like, this is possible. It can be possible for you. I want to share your success story. All right. That's it for today. Listeners, if you have a question or a comment, sidehustleschool.com, download or stream, the entire archive of the show, 3,000 plus episodes, always free. You can also subscribe or follow wherever you get your podcasts. I'm so grateful to make the show for you every day. Much more is coming up. My name is Chris Gillibot. This is SideHustle School. From the Onward Project.