Tips on Writing the Business Plan
The Un_Standard Way
Tired of check-the-box templates that check no one’s pulse? Un_Standard builds plans that don’t just guide teams—they light a fire. Here’s how to turn that dusty doc into a roadmap for clarity, momentum, and bold movement.
1. Start With the “Why Now?”—Not the Executive Summary
Business plans usually open with company history or a tired executive quote. Forget that. Hook your team and investors with the burning need: “This is why our business matters today—because here’s what’s broken, and why only we can fix it.” Declare urgency, not chronology. A movement starts with “why now,” not “once upon a time.”
2. Name the Problem So Clearly It Hurts
Best-in-class plans don’t hedge about “market needs”; they call out pain so vividly, you can feel the discomfort. Spell out who suffers, what it costs them daily, and why the world is worse off without your solution. If your plan’s “problem” is boring, your team will (rightly) tune out. Make the pain and stakes real—so solving it becomes a call to arms.
Join The Movement
3. Forget Fluff—Go All-In on Clarity of Mission
A Un_Standard plan is a rally cry. Every sentence in your mission statement should be bold enough for your team to repeat, remix, and act on. Cut anything generic (“deliver exceptional customer value”) and replace with a purpose only YOUR company can claim. Clarity means the mission resonates in every sales call, investor pitch, and strategic sprint.
4. Make the Solution About the Customer’s Win, Not Yours
Don’t just showcase your tech or product—illustrate the transformation for your customer. What are they able to do, be, or feel because you exist? Frame every benefit in terms of the hero’s journey—the customer, not your logo, is the protagonist. This reframes your “demo” as a promise of personal and business impact.
5. Map the Market With Movement, Not Memorization
Listing market size is table stakes. The real art? Show where incumbents fail—and how you’ll dance through the gaps. Pull from clarity sprints: “Here’s the territory we’ll own, and here’s why our movement can go where the big players can’t.” Map momentum, not just competition.
6. Define Your ICP Like a Real Person
The “everyone” audience is dead. Describe your Ideal Customer Profile with grit: demographics, behavior, frustrations, aspirations, and purchase triggers. Give them a name, a flaw, and a dream. If anyone on the team can’t point to a photo or persona and say “yes, them”—you’re still too vague.
7. Build in Alignment—Not Just Org Charts
Don’t stop at “who reports to whom”—reveal how every function interlocks. Marketing shouldn’t just pass “leads”; show how your systems, rituals, and narrative cross-pollinate results. Indicate the recurring alignment meetings, shared scoreboards, and ownership of key initiatives. Alignment that moves gets updated and reinforced—not set and forgotten.
8. Prioritize Metrics That Actually Move You
Metrics aren’t wallpaper—they should sharpen focus. Ditch bland metrics for the ones that predict breakthrough:
- Which 2–3 numbers, when moved, make everything easier downstream?
- Are you evaluating for both leading and lagging indicators?
- Will these metrics drive bold decisions in real-time? Tie each KPI to a clear action plan and owner—not just a dashboard slot.
9. Make Execution Clear and Relentlessly Specific
A plan with vaporware timelines isn’t a plan—it’s wishful thinking. For every goal, outline exact steps, owners, checkpoints, and what gets paused if resources run thin. Add in “how will we recover if this stalls?” Your plan should make everyone uncomfortable…with its clarity.
10. Anchor Every Section With Outcomes, Not Outputs
Outputs (calls made, demos booked, ads run) don’t propel movements. Define outcome targets for every section:
- What cash, change, or customer impact are you chasing?
- What will your customers, team, and market say about you in 12 months? Declare these outcomes boldly—let them be the north star everyone rallies to.
Un_Standard Movement Action: The 90-Day Planning Ritual
No plan is static. Schedule a 90-day “plan reset”—scrap what drifted, reinforce the wins, and refocus every project on the clearest next move.
Finish Line: Launch Plans, Not Documents
Tired of plans collecting digital dust? Build a movement map—one with muscle, purpose, and internal alignment as standard. At Un_Standard, we help ambitious teams turn plans into practice—and documents into delivery.
Are you ready for a business plan built for action, not approval?
Book a Clarity-Driven Planning Sprint With Un_Standard →
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David Garrard
Agent Provocateur & Chief Creative Officer at Un_Standard. David helps ambitious brands unearth clarity, break the rules that hold them back, and co-create movement-level growth. When not challenging the status quo, he’s in the kitchen inventing new flavors or chasing after his three cats: Hallie Tosis, Lester Een, and Jim G. Vitis. #BeUnStandard
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