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Free One-Page Business Plan Template and How To Use It

Professional Hacks
Simplify business decisions with our user-friendly one-page business plan template. Save time, clarify business goals and improve communication with peers.
Last updated:
March 5, 2025
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Free One-Page Business Plan Template and How To Use It

Professional Hacks
Simplify business decisions with our user-friendly one-page business plan template. Save time, clarify business goals and improve communication with peers.
Last updated:
March 5, 2025

A one-page business plan template concisely outlines a business strategy for investors, executives and team members. With it, you can pitch an idea to decision-makers or brief the team on upcoming milestones. To create a single source of truth for each stakeholder involved in the project, try our free one-pager business plan template. 

What’s a One-Page Business Plan?

A one-page business plan is an executive summary of your project’s goals, target markets and financial overview. It condenses lengthy business strategy documents so stakeholders and team members can quickly understand your project’s essential elements.

This document is useful at several points in the planning process:

  • In the early stages, you can use it as an executive summary or an elevator pitch to get people on board. 
  • During development, a one-page outline keeps everyone aligned on the high-level goals of the business plan.
  • After launch, you can distill everything you learned from the project into a template for future projects.

Benefits of a One-Page Business Plan

With this one-page business template, you’ll create a concise document that offers the following benefits.

Improved Communication

A simple one-pager format effectively communicates your ideas as briefly as possible. Decision-makers can review this brief overview to approve a new business endeavor, while employees can use it to understand their role in the project.

Simpler Distribution

Outlining your business plan in one page makes it easier to distribute, as you can print it to hand out at a meeting or quickly review it in a video call. And since this document is so short, it’s less daunting, so people are more likely to read it.

Better Future Documentation

A one-page guide can set you up for success on future projects. If you create this outline before any other documentation, it becomes a strong starting point for developing an in-depth business strategy. And after you’ve started a project, you can use your existing one-page business plan to craft templates for future endeavors.

What To Include in a One-Page Business Plan

Below are the following sections your one-pager should include.

Overview

A brief paragraph at the top will set up everything that follows. To keep it as relevant as possible, write all the other content first, then circle back to this section to summarize the document as a whole.

Key Challenge

Describe the specific issue your business plan intends to address. State it as briefly as possible, using accurate, measured language that doesn’t exaggerate the problem. 

Proposed Solution

Pitch a simple business solution that addresses the key challenge. This section should state your idea plainly so readers start thinking about your project’s purpose and goals. 

Unique Value

Explain what makes your business plan the perfect solution to the key challenge. Offer engaging, novel value statements that will get investors and decision-makers excited about your idea. Here are a few questions to ask yourself while drafting: 

  • What makes your solution stand out from competitors? 
  • How will your solution make a difference? 
  • How will you measure success?

Target Audience

Describe who you’ll market to, and explain how connecting with this audience will help the business meet its sales goals.

Market Differentiation

Provide a brief market analysis explaining your expected market size, competition and industry trends. Based on that information, describe what makes your solution stand out. Use simple statements with just enough information to excite readers about the possibilities. For example:

  • Unmatched affordability
  • On-target branding
  • Innovative business model

Roles and Responsibilities

In a table, list the key players involved in making this business plan possible. Then, describe the role they’ll each take on during the project. For example:

Revenue Model

Describe how this business plan will bring in revenue for the company. When explaining how your strategy will improve sales, highlight the unique value statements you listed earlier.

Investment Needed

To answer investors’ questions, plainly state the budget needed to reach your goals and provide financial data such as a sales forecast or marketing plan.

If those details add too much content for one page, replace them with links to other reports. That way, readers can reference them if they’re interested.

How To Outline Your Goals in a Business Plan One-Page Template

When drafting a business plan, clearly describing your business goals will earn stakeholder buy-in and tell team members what project success looks like. Here’s how to outline your long, medium and short-term goals in your proposed solutions section: 

  • Long-term goals: Describe how your business idea aligns with the company’s overall mission. For instance, consider whether the overarching objective is to increase revenue, improve brand awareness or open new locations. Then, detail how your proposal leads to that outcome.
  • Short and medium-term goals: List some specific milestones employees should reach on the way to the longer-term goals. Include dates so team members know what to aim for and when.

To fit within the constraints of a single-page outline, describe these objectives briefly. You can always link to more in-depth SMART goal documents for more information.

No items found.
Back to Gallery

Free One-Page Business Plan Template and How To Use It

Professional Hacks
Simplify business decisions with our user-friendly one-page business plan template. Save time, clarify business goals and improve communication with peers.
Last updated:
March 5, 2025

A one-page business plan template concisely outlines a business strategy for investors, executives and team members. With it, you can pitch an idea to decision-makers or brief the team on upcoming milestones. To create a single source of truth for each stakeholder involved in the project, try our free one-pager business plan template. 

What’s a One-Page Business Plan?

A one-page business plan is an executive summary of your project’s goals, target markets and financial overview. It condenses lengthy business strategy documents so stakeholders and team members can quickly understand your project’s essential elements.

This document is useful at several points in the planning process:

  • In the early stages, you can use it as an executive summary or an elevator pitch to get people on board. 
  • During development, a one-page outline keeps everyone aligned on the high-level goals of the business plan.
  • After launch, you can distill everything you learned from the project into a template for future projects.

Benefits of a One-Page Business Plan

With this one-page business template, you’ll create a concise document that offers the following benefits.

Improved Communication

A simple one-pager format effectively communicates your ideas as briefly as possible. Decision-makers can review this brief overview to approve a new business endeavor, while employees can use it to understand their role in the project.

Simpler Distribution

Outlining your business plan in one page makes it easier to distribute, as you can print it to hand out at a meeting or quickly review it in a video call. And since this document is so short, it’s less daunting, so people are more likely to read it.

Better Future Documentation

A one-page guide can set you up for success on future projects. If you create this outline before any other documentation, it becomes a strong starting point for developing an in-depth business strategy. And after you’ve started a project, you can use your existing one-page business plan to craft templates for future endeavors.

What To Include in a One-Page Business Plan

Below are the following sections your one-pager should include.

Overview

A brief paragraph at the top will set up everything that follows. To keep it as relevant as possible, write all the other content first, then circle back to this section to summarize the document as a whole.

Key Challenge

Describe the specific issue your business plan intends to address. State it as briefly as possible, using accurate, measured language that doesn’t exaggerate the problem. 

Proposed Solution

Pitch a simple business solution that addresses the key challenge. This section should state your idea plainly so readers start thinking about your project’s purpose and goals. 

Unique Value

Explain what makes your business plan the perfect solution to the key challenge. Offer engaging, novel value statements that will get investors and decision-makers excited about your idea. Here are a few questions to ask yourself while drafting: 

  • What makes your solution stand out from competitors? 
  • How will your solution make a difference? 
  • How will you measure success?

Target Audience

Describe who you’ll market to, and explain how connecting with this audience will help the business meet its sales goals.

Market Differentiation

Provide a brief market analysis explaining your expected market size, competition and industry trends. Based on that information, describe what makes your solution stand out. Use simple statements with just enough information to excite readers about the possibilities. For example:

  • Unmatched affordability
  • On-target branding
  • Innovative business model

Roles and Responsibilities

In a table, list the key players involved in making this business plan possible. Then, describe the role they’ll each take on during the project. For example:

Revenue Model

Describe how this business plan will bring in revenue for the company. When explaining how your strategy will improve sales, highlight the unique value statements you listed earlier.

Investment Needed

To answer investors’ questions, plainly state the budget needed to reach your goals and provide financial data such as a sales forecast or marketing plan.

If those details add too much content for one page, replace them with links to other reports. That way, readers can reference them if they’re interested.

How To Outline Your Goals in a Business Plan One-Page Template

When drafting a business plan, clearly describing your business goals will earn stakeholder buy-in and tell team members what project success looks like. Here’s how to outline your long, medium and short-term goals in your proposed solutions section: 

  • Long-term goals: Describe how your business idea aligns with the company’s overall mission. For instance, consider whether the overarching objective is to increase revenue, improve brand awareness or open new locations. Then, detail how your proposal leads to that outcome.
  • Short and medium-term goals: List some specific milestones employees should reach on the way to the longer-term goals. Include dates so team members know what to aim for and when.

To fit within the constraints of a single-page outline, describe these objectives briefly. You can always link to more in-depth SMART goal documents for more information.

FAQs

Is a One-Page Business Plan the Same as a Project Charter or Executive Summary?
How do I use this template?

The main difference between a one-page business plan and other simple guides is its audience. An executive summary is strictly for requesting approval from decision-makers, while a project charter aligns a whole team on the shared goals they’ll all work toward. In contrast, a one-page business plan is for a general audience, answering high-level questions for anyone who needs them.

Easily duplicate this template by selecting "Save This Page" in the top right corner. Once you go through a quick sign-up process, you'll find the template waiting for you in your Dashboard or under Favorites.

What Are the 7 Must-Haves in a Business Plan?
What is Scribe?

One-page business plans are customizable to your needs, but there are seven main elements you should always include: 

  1. Overview.
  2. Problem and solution.
  3. Unique value.
  4. Target audience.
  5. Market differentiation. 
  6. Roles and responsibilities.
  7. Revenue model and necessary investment.

Scribe is a tool that creates step-by-step guides - instantly! Download our free Chrome extension to start creating guides for any process.

How Do I Use This Template?
What is Pages by Scribe?

Click Use This Template at the top of this page to open the one-page business plan template in Scribe. Then, click the Duplicate Page icon in the top right. Select which team you want the template saved to and whether to keep the linked Scribes. Click Duplicate, and the template will appear in your Scribe Dashboard within your chosen team. You can then open and edit it as needed.

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