A Four-Question Business Plan to Jump-Start Your Inner Entrepreneur

The Wise Bread blog suggests that when most of us think “business plan,” we’re thinking of a 50-page, multi-charted, supremely detailed document that has every branch and angle thought out thoroughly. That’s also why some of us never end up launching on worthy business ideas. The basics of any plan, though, can be answered in four questions:

1. What is your product or service?
2. Who are your customers?
3. When will things get done?
4. When are bills due and when do you get paid?

There are, of course, sub-questions to be answered on each of those points, but Wise Bread’s thinking is refreshing—after all, multi-unit corporations have been launched on little more than cocktail napkins. What simple steps did any of our entrepreneurial readers follow to map out their business? Tell the tale in the comments.
Photo by juhansonin.