Many people put off planning because they picture a thick document full of charts. So they skip it, and the business runs on guesswork. A good plan for a small business can fit on one page. What matters is that you answer the right questions honestly, and look at the page again every month.
Take a sheet of paper or open a note on your phone, and answer these ten questions in a few lines each.
The ten questions
1. What problem do you solve?
Write it from the customer’s side. Not “I sell shoes”, but “office workers in Kumasi want smart shoes that last, without travelling to Accra”.
2. Who exactly is your customer?
Age, location, what they earn, where they buy today. “Everybody” is not a customer. The clearer the picture, the easier everything else becomes.
3. What do you sell, and at what price?
List your main products or services and the price of each. If you are not sure how to set prices, read our guide on pricing your products so you make a profit.
4. Why will people buy from you?
Closer, faster, better quality, friendlier, more reliable? Pick one or two reasons you can actually deliver every day.
5. Who else sells this?
Name three competitors. Write what they do well and where customers complain about them. Their weak spots are your opening.
6. How will customers find you?
WhatsApp status, word of mouth, a shop sign, Facebook, a stand at church events. Choose two or three channels you can keep up with.
7. What do you need to start?
Equipment, stock, a space, registration, a phone line. Write the cost next to each item and add them up.
8. What will it cost to run each month?
Rent, transport, data, electricity, wages, your own allowance. This is the amount you must cover before you make any profit.
9. How many sales do you need to break even?
Divide your monthly running cost by the profit you make on one sale. If each sale leaves you GH₵20 and your monthly costs are GH₵3,000, you need 150 sales a month just to break even. Ask yourself honestly if that number is realistic.
10. What will you do in the next 90 days?
Three to five concrete steps with dates. For example: “Register the business name by 15 November. Get 20 paying customers by 31 December.”
Use it, do not file it
A plan only helps if you look at it. Put a reminder on your phone for the first day of every month. Compare what happened with what you wrote, and change the page. Prices change, customers surprise you, and some channels work better than others. That is normal.
When you later need a loan or a partner, this one page becomes the starting point for a longer plan. Lenders and investors ask the same questions: who is the customer, what does it cost, and how do you make money. You will already have the answers.
A quick checklist
- Every answer fits in a few lines.
- Your customer is described specifically.
- Start-up and monthly costs have real numbers, not guesses.
- You know your break-even number.
- Your 90-day steps have dates.
If you want feedback on your plan, share it in the EDOKAN Business Community. Other owners have been where you are, and they are generous with advice.
