Write the one-page business plan: positioning, packages, pricing, 90-day client plan, systems and first-year targets.
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Module 12 workshop: your business plan.
Write the one-page business plan: positioning, packages, pricing, 90-day client plan, systems and first-year targets.
One page, six boxes.
A business plan for a planning business does not need forty pages.
It needs one page that you will actually read every month.
Boxes 1 to 3: what you sell.
Write the positioning sentence first and test it on someone outside the industry.
If they can repeat who you serve and why you, it works.
Box 4: the next ninety days.
List your two or three channels and the weekly actions for each, in numbers you can count.
"Network more" is not an action.
Box 5: systems and compliance.
A short checklist with ticks.
Structure chosen with an accountant.
Box 6: first-year targets.
Targets work backwards from the income you need.
Decide the revenue, divide by your average fee to get the events, and divide by your expected conversion rate to get the enquiries you need.
That is the lesson. The worksheet and the quiz are just below this video.
What you will be able to do
- Complete a one-page business plan
- Set first-year targets
- Plan your next 90 days
One page, six boxes
A business plan for a planning business does not need forty pages. It needs one page that you will actually read every month. This workshop pulls together the decisions from the previous seven lessons into six boxes: positioning, packages, pricing, the 90-day client plan, systems, and first-year targets. Write it in a document, print it, and pin it above your desk. You will rewrite it every ninety days; that is the point.
| Box | What goes in | From lesson |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Positioning | Niche, city, client, why you; one sentence | 7 and 5 |
| 2. Packages | Three packages, one line each, with what is included and excluded | 2 |
| 3. Pricing | Starting price per package, hourly rate for changes, minimum fee | 2 |
| 4. 90-day client plan | Channels, weekly actions, the entry offer | 3 |
| 5. Systems | Structure and compliance status; the stack; process documents done and to do | 1, 4 and 6 |
| 6. First-year targets | Events, revenue, enquiries, conversion, reviews, project write-ups | All |
Boxes 1 to 3: what you sell
Write the positioning sentence first and test it on someone outside the industry. If they can repeat who you serve and why you, it works. Then the packages, three of them: an entry offer, a core package, and a premium or full-service package. For each, one line on who it is for, the main deliverables, and the main exclusion. Then the prices, built from the hours method in lesson 2 and compared to the typical GTA ranges. Write the minimum fee you will accept; it is the number that stops you taking work that costs you money.
Box 4: the next ninety days
List your two or three channels and the weekly actions for each, in numbers you can count. “Network more” is not an action. “Two venue tours and one vendor coffee every week; one association meeting a month; two articles a month; fifty personal emails in week one” is. Write the entry offer with its price. End the box with the date of your day-90 review in the calendar.
Box 5: systems and compliance
A short checklist with ticks. Structure chosen with an accountant. Business name registered on the Ontario Business Registry. HST decision made, and if not registered, a quarterly check against the $30,000 threshold. Business bank account open. CGL insurance in place, certificate template ready. Client agreement reviewed by a lawyer. Lead tracker, proposal template, e-signature, invoicing, project board template and folder structure set up. Process documents written for the stages you have done twice. Anything unticked becomes a task with a date in box 4.
Box 6: first-year targets
Targets work backwards from the income you need. Decide the revenue, divide by your average fee to get the events, and divide by your expected conversion rate to get the enquiries you need. Then check that the events fit in the calendar alongside your niche’s season and your own capacity, and that the enquiries are plausible from your channels.
- Revenue target for the year, before HST.
- Average fee per event, from your package mix.
- Events needed = revenue ÷ average fee.
- Expected conversion from enquiry to signed client; if you do not know it yet, assume a modest share and correct it at day 90 with real data.
- Enquiries needed = events ÷ conversion.
- Add two supporting targets: reviews collected and project write-ups published.
Use the budget sheet or a simple spreadsheet for your own business costs, so that revenue minus costs gives you the income you were aiming for. If it does not, change prices, packages or event count before the year starts, not after.
Worked example: the Harbour Gala planner’s plan
Positioning: “Toronto planner for foundation and non-profit galas of 150 to 400 guests, who builds the program around the ask.” Packages: program and sponsorship review (entry, two weeks, excludes vendor booking); gala day-of and run of show (core, final six weeks); full-service gala planning (premium, discovery to report). Pricing: $750; $2,500; from $4,500; changes at her hourly rate; minimum fee $750. 90 days: one fundraising association meeting a month; two foundation coffees a week from referrals; two articles a month; the entry offer sent to every foundation on her list; day-90 review booked for the end of January. Systems: all ticked except two process documents (sponsorship package production and paddle raise script), dated for December.
Targets: revenue $60,000 before HST. Planned mix: eight full-service galas averaging $5,000 ($40,000), five day-of packages ($12,500) and ten reviews ($7,500), total $60,000, twenty-three engagements. Assuming she converts one enquiry in three on her current record, she needs about seventy enquiries in the year, roughly six a month, most of them in spring and late summer. Eight galas must fall on different dates in two short seasons, so she checks the calendar and books two contract coordinators early. Supporting targets: twelve reviews and four published project write-ups. Her own costs, from the budget sheet, come to about $9,000, which leaves the income she planned. She prints the page, pins it, and books the review.
Common mistakes
- Writing a long plan and never reading it again.
- Targets with no arithmetic behind them.
- A 90-day plan with no numbers in it.
- Leaving compliance gaps unticked and undated.
- Skipping the day-90 review, which is where the plan becomes real.
Worksheet
Download the worksheet, complete it for your own event (or the running gala example), and keep it in your course binder. It takes about 24 minutes.
Check your understanding
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