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Skillshare

Build a Profitable Business Plan in 2 Hours

via Skillshare

Overview

The average business plan is about 30-50 pages according to the Small Business Association. Yikes!

If you’re a freelancer or solopreneur, writing 50 pages about your business and all the things you “plan” to do will take up so much time you’ll have none left to find clients!

What if you could create everything you needed to effectively guide your business with just 10 pages in around 2 hours?

It’s time to get real. Bootstrapping freelancers and solopreneurs don’t need crazy-long documents. What they need are actionable plans like trail maps that point you in the right direction. When’s the last time you saw a 50-page trail map?

In this class, we’ll cover the 5 most important planning documents you need to have at the start of your business: a 1 page financial plan, a 2-3 page marketing plan, a 2-3 page market topography guide, a 1-2 page statement of services/pricing/scope, and a 1-page mission/vision/values statement. As a special bonus, I've also included my marketing campaign planning template.

For our math-challenged friends, that’s about 10 pages MAX. I’ll guide you through each step in the process, walking you through the exact same documents I’ve created for my own business.

And, just like how trail maps don’t stay valid forever, your business plan sure won’t either. Everything we create will be designed to last about 6-months before you’ll want to review and update.

Ready to have a business plan that’s both useful and makes sense? Let’s get started.

PS - for extra help and support while working through the exercises, please join my BrainyBiz Facebook Group!

Who is this guy and what does he know about business?
I’m Nick Armstrong: the Geek-in-Chief behind WTF Marketing, dad, author, Ignite, PechaKucha, Startup Week, and TEDx speaker, audio drama enthusiast, and award-winning entrepreneur. Through WTF Marketing and partner organizations, I’ve served a wide array of happy clients ranging from mom-and-pop shops to Fortune 100’s over the last 10 years. I’ve co-organized community events like Fort Collins Comic Con, Startup Week Fort Collins, TEDxFoCo, Ignite Fort Collins, LaidOffCamp/CareerCamp, PodCamp Fort Collins, and more. My local efforts landed me a prestigious spot as one of BizWest’s 40 Under Forty for 2016 and the Colorado Association of Libraries’ Library Community Partnership Award in 2018.

If you're launching something new, my classes can help you:

  • Learn the Basics of PR and Marketing
  • Name your Brand
  • Get Paid Faster
  • Build Better Client Relationships
  • Negotiate Better
  • Give a Better Speech (maybe to pitch your biz?)

Syllabus

  • Introduction: 2 hours and 10 pages? Yup.
  • Why are most business plans 50 pages?
  • Who is your business for?
  • What is the value of $1?
  • Exercise 1: Create a Mission, Vision, Values Document
  • What is a Market Topography Guide?
  • Exercise 2: Create a Market Topography Guide
  • What is your scope?
  • Exercise 3: Create a Scope Statement
  • Peer Review Is Important
  • Financial Plan Overview
  • Exercise 4: Create a Financial Plan
  • Marketing systems overview
  • Exercise 5: Create a Marketing Plan
  • Wrap-up and A Note On Timing

Taught by

Nick Armstrong

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