How to Create a Simple Christian Business Plan

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A simple business plan template for Christian entrepreneurs

If you are a Christian entrepreneur who’s feeling overwhelmed at the thought of creating or writing a business plan, I have some good news for you.

A business plan doesn’t have to be a massive or scary document. Also, it doesn’t have to contain every single detail about your business. There are one-page business plans that are as effective as those massive ones, so there’s no need to avoid creating a business plan because you think you’re incapable.

I know some of you may be wondering why you need a business plan. Let me tell you some important reasons why a business plan is a good idea for your business.

Reasons Why You Need a Christian Business Plan

• To serve as a road map or guide for your business
• A business plan will keep you focused, and provide clarity on the most important aspects of your business
• Helps you avoid mistakes when starting a business
• Allows you to set out your goals for your business, and to keep you accountable

While it’s possible to run a business without a plan, in my experience, it’s easier to stay focused and accomplish your goals when you have a business plan to guide your decisions. A business plan is also a useful tool to refer to when you need to assess how well your business is doing.

Check out this post for some more reasons why a business plan is aggod idea: 10 reasons why you need a business plan.

Now, here is how to create a simple business plan for your business, Christian school or Christian ministry.

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HOW TO CREATE A SIMPLE CHRISTIAN BUSINESS PLAN

1.CHOOSE YOUR FOUNDATIONAL SCRIPTURES

As a Christian, the Bible should be the foundation for everything you do. This also applies to your business.

If you’re just starting a business or still trying to create a business plan, I want you to think of some Bible verses you want to anchor your business on. These verses will serve as your foundational scriptures, and you can refer to them every time you need to remind yourself why you’re in business, or whenever you are going through hard times.

Your foundational scriptures can be some of your favorite Bible verses, promises from the Bible or anything that you choose. There are no rules.

Here are some of mine:

“In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty.” (Proverbs 14:23)

“Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.” (Proverbs 22:29)

“For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.” (Psalm 50:10)

“You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.” (Deuteronomy 8:18)

2. CHOOSE SOME CHRISTIAN VALUES YOU WILL APPLY IN YOUR BUSINESS

As a business owner, you’re faced with all sorts of temptaion, and it’s easy to stray if you’re not very discerning.

Very often, it starts with little things, like justifying business practices you know are not ethical. Soon you completely forget you’re a Christian and start doing what everyone does. But, there’s a biblical way of doing business, and that’s what you should embrace as a Christian entrepreneur.

So what godly business principles are you going to apply to your business?

Take some time to make a list of some Christian business values you’ll use to operate your business. You can always change them or add to them as your business grows, but it’s important to know what values will shape your business, so they can serve as a reminder when you’re faced with temptation.

Some examples of Christian business values include:

• Honesty
• Accountability
• Treating your customers with love
• A commitment to being a faithful steward

There are lots of Christian business values you can apply to your business, so pick a few that you can use to run your business for the glory of God.

Would you like some more business planning tips? Grab a copy of my Business Planning Cheat Sheet below.

3. WRITE YOUR MISSION STATEMENT

Remember how excited you were when you first got the idea to become an entrepreneur? You probably had some big dreams and goals and wanted to change lives or solve a specific problem.

Your mission statement is the place where you basically articulate your reason for becoming an entrepreneur. Your mission statement should be short and to the point. All you need to do is answer these two questions: what does your business do, and whom do you serve?

If you can answer these two questions clearly, it means you know why your business exists, and you know who your customers are.

Many entrepreneurs waste so much time trying to come up with a powerful or compelling mission statement they forget to address these two basic questions. Please, don’t make that mistake!

Now, spend some time thinking about the answers to these questions, write your answers down, then keep your mission statement somewhere visible.

4. CREATE YOUR VISION STATEMENT

A vision statement is an important part of a Christian business plan, so make sure you spend some time thinking this through.

While your mission statement focuses on the present and the reason for your business’s existence (aka your why), your vision statement focuses on the future. Your vision statement answers questions like: where do you want to be in five years? What are the long-term goals for your business? How do you plan to achieve those goals?

Just like your mission statement, your vision statement should be short and inspiring. It should answer the “what” of your business. For example, what do you want to be known for in the future?

Your vision statement will give you direction, and also motivate you to keep going when you encounter some business hurdles. So take the time to write a vision statement. Keep it somewhere visible so you can revisit it whenever you need some motivation.

Below is a post with examples of inspiring vision and mission statements. Please do check it out!

17 Truly Inspiring Company Vision and Mission Statement Examples

5. PRACTICAL AND LEGAL PLAN

This section basically deals with all the practical, legal and regulatory aspect of your Christian business plan.

In this section, you can state your business name, and describe your business structure (sole proprietor, partnership, LLC, etc)? You can also include things like your business address, business bank account, website address, social media accounts, and stuff like that.

If you need some business licenses or permits for your business, this is where you make a note of them. Include information like where you can obtain the licenses and how much they cost. If you need insurance for your business, this is where you state what kind of insurance you need and other details about the insurance.

This section covers all the practical, legal and regulatory things you need to do to start, and run your business legally and professionally.

6. CREATE A FINANCIAL PLAN

Yes, you need a financial plan if you want to succeed in business.

Every Christian business plan template I have seen has a section for this because your financial plan is one of the most important criteria to determine the viability of your business.

So what should you include in your financial plan?

Your financial plan should include at a minimum the following things :

• The amount of capital you need and the amount you have.
• How your business will make money.
• How much you need to run your business for the first six months, and how much revenue you expect your business to generate. It’s sometimes difficult to predict business cash flow, so just come up with the best estimate that you can.

It’s very important for your financial plan to include the cost of operating your business for at least the first six months, and how you will fund your business operations if you don’t bring in any revenue during this period.

This is important because you don’t want to start a business, then run out of money to keep operating your business.

Finally, your financial plan should include a marketing budget since you are going to spend most of your time marketing your business if you are a new business owner. Your marketing budget depends on your marketing strategy, so make sure it’s realistic.

Related: 7 Christian Business Advice to Boost Your Sales and Profit

7. CREATE YOUR BUSINESS SYSTEMS AND STRATEGIES

Your business systems and strategies are an important part of your business plan since you need them to operate your business effectively.

Taking the time to create systems and strategies for your business will save you a lot of time and headache in future.

Some of the most common and useful systems and strategies you can create for your business include:

1. MARKETING AND SALES STRATEGIES

Since no business can survive without customers or clients, you need a way to attract customers to your business, and a strategy to convert potential customers into sales.

There are lots of marketing strategies you can use to attract and retain customers. Some methods are free, while others are paid (like advertisements).

Your marketing strategy is simply the methods you will utilize to attract the attention of potential customers. You can use content marketing, cold calling, social media marketing, paid ads, or direct mail marketing. These are all legitimate and effective ways to attract customers if you know how to use these strategies.

You don’t have to use all the strategies. What you need will depend on your type of business, your customers, where they hang out, and your marketing budget. However, generally, it’s always better to start with free marketing strategies especially if you are working with a low budget.

Your sales strategy on the other hand is the steps you will use to convert a potential customer into a paying one. It’s not enough to attract people to your business. Brand awareness is the first step, but the ultimate goal is to make sales and generate revenue/profit for your business.

Below is a very helpful post on proven sales strategies you can use in your business. Please check it out!

25 proven sales strategies from top entrepreneurs and startups

2. CREATE A SYSTEM FOR MEETING CUSTOMER’S EXPECTATIONS

If you are a business owner committed to providing a great experience for your customers, you should have a system in place for meeting their expectations.

Start by creating a customer service policy which should include things like how your customers can communicate with you, your response time, how you’ll deal with customer queries or complaints, shipping, refund and return policies (if applicable). Finally, make sure your customers know what they can expect from you, and where they can find all the information they need.

Creating a system for dealing with your customers is a great way to keep your customers happy, and a great strategy for retaining customers.

Depending on your business, some other systems you may need to create include:

• Product development system. This is the system for planning and developing and testing new products
• Employee management system. This is your system for hiring, managing, and firing employees.
• A system for working with suppliers for your business
• Operations management system. This is the system that ensures your business runs smoothly from day-to-day. Your operations management system is how you keep track of everything that’s going on in your business so you can easily assess how your business is doing at all times.

As you can see, there’s a lot that you can include in a Christian business plan, but the idea is to keep it as simple as possible. You don’t have to include every single thing in your business especially if you’re a small business owner or a sole proprietor.

With that said, having a business plan and creating some simple systems and strategies for your business will help you to stay organized, and be more productive.

You can create a simple business plan in one or two hours, so don’t make it a big deal or ignore it.

Let me close with these words of Jesus.

“For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. …” (Luke 14:28-33)

Final Thoughts on How to Create a Simple Christian Business Plan

Creating a business plan can seem overwhelming but it really isn’t. If you have been putting off writing a business plan for your business, I hope the tips in this post can help you create a simple Christian business plan for your business.

Did you find this Christian business plan template helpful?

Related Christian business advice posts

How to Prosper in Business as a Christian (5 Assets You Need to Build a Prosperous Business)

How to Be Successful in Business As a Christian

7 Essential Christian Business Tips for Beginner Entrepreneurs

How to Create a Simple Christian Business Plan

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