Since this is a first step towards a lean business plan, here’s a reminder: The lean business plan is for internal use only. Don’t sweat the text. Just do bullets. And in LivePlan, you have an ideal tool for a strategy summary.

Using the LivePlan pitch page

The LivePlan tool starts with a simple statement of problem and solution, and then adds a streamlined summary of market. Together, combined with the implicit identity in the choice of problem and solution, this is an excellent strategy summary. It’s more than enough for a lean plan.

Sample 1: For a small business social media consultant:

The LivePlan pitch summarizes strategy for Have Presence. The identity is the owner’s interest in and facility with social media. The market and product offering are defined in bullet points.

The LivePlan pitch summarizes strategy for Have Presence. The identity is the owner’s interest in and facility with social media. The market and product offering are defined in bullet points.

Although this may be enough, I find the IMO strategy summary is useful for me. It helps me keep track of the fundamental generators of traffic. In the HavePresence.com lean business plan, although the pitch is a good visual summary, it also keeps track of IMO strategy generators. Notice in the following three illustrations how the LivePlan standard outline was modified to accommodate the lean business plan:

Sample 2: For a bicycle retailer

The LivePlan pitch summarizes the bike shop strategy. The owner’s identity is implied, and the market and product offering appear in bullet points and a simple chart.

The three illustrations here show the strategy summaries for each of the three fundamentals.