Business planning made easier?
If you are like me - you have quite a few business ideas that you plan on launching but you are frightened by the thought of writing out a business plan. Even though you do not mind doing market and industry research, you find yourself suffering from information overload and the hundreds of thoughts that go through your mind as you read about what other businesses in the industry are doing. This then leads you to begin second-guessing yourself and the idea itself. Next thing you know, that idea you planned on launching is still sitting on the shelf.
Well, I recently came across a solution to this problem. I found that answering a couple of pre-defined questions in as little words as possible can greatly aid the process. As simple as it sounds, it does work. After going through such an exercise, you should be able to explain exactly what your business will do, how it will do it, who it will do it for, how much it will cost to do it, and finally how much it will make while doing it.
I made this revelation while working through the submission questions on the Coleman Entrepreneurship Center Launch Depaul venture competition. Here are some questions from the competition. Note the character limit.
- What is the problem you are trying to solve? Max 210 characters
- What is your solution to this problem? Max 450 characters
- How will you make money solving this problem and/or what is your sustainability plan? Max 450 characters
The process works because it forces you to remain objective as you can only answer one question at a time with each question asking something specific about your business idea. Also, your overall understanding of the business idea will be much improved since you have to answer the question in as little words as possible. Thereby making it easier to put your business plan on paper. Go ahead, try it!
