Introduction to Building a Simple Business Plan
After losing your job, it’s normal to feel overwhelmed and unsure about what to do next. You didn’t plan on quitting, but now you’re faced with the task of building a business to replace your income. You don’t need to dream up a revolutionary startup, but rather focus on creating a simple plan that helps you earn a steady income, make informed decisions, and reduce stress.
Understanding the Methodology
To create this guide, we drew from first-hand accounts of professionals who were laid off and became successful entrepreneurs, as well as insights from career transition experts, freelance coaches, and economists who study self-employment. We focused on real-life outcomes, examining what people did in the first 30 to 90 days after a layoff and what helped them stabilize their income quickly.
What to Expect from This Guide
This article will walk you through the process of creating a simple, practical business plan that can fit on a few pages. This plan will help you move forward without getting bogged down in unnecessary details.
The Importance of a Simple Business Plan
After a layoff, your nervous system is already under a lot of stress. You’re dealing with loss, uncertainty, and possibly a blow to your identity. At the same time, you need to make financial decisions under pressure. A simple business plan isn’t about creating a complex strategy or forecasting five years into the future. It’s about answering a few key questions that will help reduce chaos: Who will pay me, for what, and how quickly?
What Does "Simple" Mean in This Context?
A simple post-layoff business plan answers six essential questions:
- What problem am I solving, and for whom?
- What service or offering am I currently selling?
- How do I get my first customers?
- How much do I need to earn every month?
- What will I do in the next 30 days?
- What won’t I worry about yet?
Step 1: Calculate Your Income Floor
Before you start thinking about your "vision," calculate the minimum income you need to stay afloat. This includes expenses like rent or mortgage, food, health insurance, minimum debt payments, and other essential costs. Financial planner Carl Richards emphasizes that clarity alleviates fears more than optimism. Write this number at the top of your plan, and everything else will support it.
Step 2: Choose the Fastest Monetizable Skill You Already Have
The quickest route to income is almost always by selling a skill you already used in your job, just in a different context. Examples include:
- Marketing manager → freelance campaign strategy
- Operations management → system and process consulting
- Software developer → contract development or audits
- HR partner → fractional HR support
Step 3: Define a Narrow Offer
You don’t need a list of services; you need a clear offer that someone can say "yes" to. A good post-layoff offer:
- Solves an urgent problem
- Is easy to understand
- Can be delivered within weeks
Step 4: Decide How to Acquire Your First Three Customers
A business plan that says "marketing" is not a plan. You need direct, controllable measures. The most reliable early channels are:
- Former colleagues and managers
- Previous providers or partners
- Warm introductions via LinkedIn
- Targeted outbound emails
Step 5: Establish a Simple Pricing Rule
You don’t need perfect pricing; you need pricing that supports your income floor. A simple approach is to take your monthly income floor, divide it by realistic billable weeks, and add a buffer for taxes and expenses.
Step 6: Create a 30-Day Action Plan
Your simple business plan should outline exactly what you will do in the next 30 days. This could include finalizing your offer, sending messages to potential clients, booking calls, and delivering your first paid work.
Step 7: Write Down What You Are Explicitly Ignoring
This is a crucial part of your plan. Write a short list titled: “I’m not worried about this yet.” Common items include:
- A perfect website
- A registered LLC in each state
- Social media growth
- Advanced tools and software
- A sophisticated brand identity
What Your Simple Business Plan Should Look Like
Your final plan should fit on two pages and include:
- Your lower income limit
- Your positioning in a sentence
- A clear offer
- A price rule
- An approach to customer acquisition
- A 30-day action list
- A “not yet” list
Taking Action
Do it this week:
- Calculate your minimum monthly income
- Write your one-sentence statement
- Define a clear, timed offer
- Set a price that supports your income floor
- List 20 people you can contact
- Write a simple outreach message
- Send at least five messages
- Book at least one interview
- Deliver a small paid or trial assignment
- Update your plan based on what actually happened
Conclusion
A layoff can feel like the ground beneath you is disappearing, but a simple business plan gives you something solid to hold onto. You don’t need certainty; you need direction and movement. Focus on replacing your income and proving nothing. Write the plan, take the next step, and let your business take shape through action. Independence often doesn’t start with confidence but with necessity, and that’s okay.