If you’ve ever had to start a business, even if it’s been just a side-hustle, you undoubtedly had to create a business plan. A business plan can be an intimidating prospect, especially when you don’t know where to begin. That’s where lean business planning comes in.
Lean business planning is a structured, but streamlined approach to creating a business plan. It works with ‘lean thinking’, which aims to reduce waste and extra activity, identifying and implementing the most important elements of your business.
The lean approach aims to make the business plan easier to understand, by examining behaviours and recognizing how you’ll be achieving your goals while avoiding unnecessary information. This approach often uses lean business plan template that you can follow to create your plan and make the whole process much easier and faster. In this article, we discuss what are the steps of creating a successful lean business plan.
Establish Your Business
Begin with a high-level overview of your company. Write a single sentence describing what your company does. Focus your response on your value offer and how you differ from other market possibilities.
Select Your Problem And Solution
Describe the issue you wish to address for your consumers. Write a few phrases or bullet points outlining the problem that clients are experiencing. Once you’ve identified the issue, explain how your products and services meet the demand that the issue produces.
Identify Your Target Market And Competitors
Determine your target market based on your solution. Describe your ideal consumer by concentrating on their primary characteristics or preferences. Consider what other options people have when shopping for a product comparable to yours, and make a brief bulleted list of your top rivals.
Determine Your Value Proposition
What makes your company different from other similar companies in the same industry? Is there anything special about the way you do things or sell products or services? If so, be sure to highlight that in your plan so investors know why they should invest in you instead of another company doing something similar (or even exactly like) what yours does.
Determine How You Will Advertise Your Company
Define the business methods you’ll employ to assure the success of your business plan. Begin by identifying the sales channels via which your product or service will be sold. Make a bulleted list of the marketing methods you’ll employ to interact with your clients and convince them to buy your service or product. You should also think about your pricing and cost structure during this stage.
Examine Your Financial Situation
The next step to creating a lean business plan is to examine your financial situation. How much money do you have, and how much do you need? How much revenue can you expect to generate in the first year of operation?
This information is important because it will dictate which resources are necessary for your business to succeed. You may need more capital than you thought or less. You may find that certain equipment is unnecessary or overpriced. This information will also help determine how many employees you need to achieve your goals.
Your budget should include everything from salaries to marketing costs and even travel expenses for sales trips. Consider an expense management software to ensure better future financial opportunities.
Establish Success Benchmarks
Establish achievement milestones to serve as a timetable for your company plan. Write the basic work description, assign the assignment to the appropriate individual, and set a deadline for each task. A milestone might be the creation of a new website or the creation of a more detailed budget, for example.
Determine The Resources Required
Determine the resources you’ll need to be successful, such as prospective collaborations and team members. Begin by compiling a list of who will collaborate with you on your company and assigning each individual a position or title. Make a separate bulleted list of any firms or organizations with whom you may need to collaborate, such as wholesalers or suppliers.
Request Feedback
Share your lean company strategy with trustworthy business partners, family members, or friends to determine if they agree. Request comments and confirm their comprehension. If required, amend your plan based on their comments, which should be straightforward because the plan is simply one page and is designed to be changed as needed.
To Sum It Up
One of the most common business plan problems encountered is a lack of planning and research. This can lead to a lack of interest in the business plan itself, as it seems to have an ulterior motive behind it. The other myths about business plans come from a misunderstanding of what one actually is. A successful lean business plan will be concise, easy to read and understand and leave out any information that isn’t essential. If you’re working on writing your own lean business plan, remember this 9-step process and make sure you’re doing everything you can to ensure its success!
