Business Plan Prompt

What it does

Drafts a lean business plan that's a thinking tool, not a doorstop. The old-school 40-page plan mostly exists to be filed and forgotten; what actually helps a founder is a tight document that forces clarity on the questions that matter — who's the customer, what's the offer, how do you make money, and do the numbers work. This prompt builds that one-to-three-page plan, and it pushes back on hand-waving, prompting you to fill the gaps rather than letting you gloss over them.

Draft a lean business plan from the details below. Keep it practical and concise (1-3 pages, not a giant document).

Include these sections:
- Executive summary (write this last, in 3-4 sentences).
- Problem: the specific pain, and who feels it.
- Solution: what we offer and how it solves the problem.
- Target market: who exactly, and a rough sense of how many / how big.
- Business model: how we make money (pricing, channels).
- Competition & differentiation: alternatives (including "doing nothing") and why us.
- Go-to-market: how the first customers actually find us.
- Key numbers: rough unit economics, startup costs, and what we need to break even.
- Risks & assumptions: the top 3 things that have to be true for this to work.
- Milestones: the next 3-6 month goals.

Rules:
- Be concrete. If a section is vague, tell me what's missing and ask me the question instead of filling it with fluff.
- Realistic over optimistic — flag assumptions that look shaky.
- Plain language a busy reader (or I, in six months) can follow.

Business details:
- The idea: [what the business does]
- Customer + their problem: [who + pain]
- How it makes money: [model + pricing]
- What I know about the market/competition: [details]
- My rough numbers (costs, price, any traction): [whatever I have]

How to use it

Give it whatever you actually know and let it expose the gaps. The most useful thing this prompt does is refuse to paper over thin sections — when you can't answer "how will the first 100 customers find us?" or "what's the cost to serve one customer?", that's a signal, not a formatting problem. Work those answers out; they're the difference between a plan and a wish.

Use it iteratively. Draft, see where it's weak, go get the real number or do the customer conversation, and refine. The plan should change as you learn — a plan that never updates isn't being used.

Example output

A tight document with a problem section like "Freelancers wait 30-60 days to get paid and spend hours chasing invoices," a clear model ("$12/mo SaaS, free tier for acquisition"), honest competition ("most use spreadsheets or generic invoicing tools that don't automate follow-up"), and a risks section that names the real ones: "Assumes freelancers will pay for something they currently do manually for free."

Variations

Investor-ready: Add "I'll show this to investors. Add a brief traction section and tighten the numbers and market sizing — they'll scrutinize those."

Loan/grant application: Add "This supports a loan/grant application. Emphasize financials, repayment ability, and realistic projections."

One-page version: Add "Condense the whole thing to a single-page lean canvas style — just the essentials in short blocks."

Side business: Add "This is a side business alongside my job. Keep it small and realistic — modest goals, low startup cost, part-time time budget."

Common pitfalls

Fluff over substance. A plan full of confident generalities ("huge market," "no real competition") hides the risks instead of addressing them. Specifics, even uncomfortable ones, are the point.

Hockey-stick fantasy. Wildly optimistic projections fool no experienced reader (and no honest founder). Keep the numbers grounded and label the assumptions.

Writing it once. A plan filed and never reopened did nothing. Treat it as a living document you revisit as you learn what's actually true.

Who uses this prompt

First-time founders organizing a fuzzy idea, side-hustlers checking whether the numbers work before they commit, small-business owners preparing for a loan or a pivot, and anyone who needs to think a business through clearly without drowning in a template. It's a clarity tool first, a document second.