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Lean Business Plan Template

An alternative to the business model canvas, our lean business plan template makes it easy to test out new ideas by quickly sketching out a one-page business plan..

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Why create a lean business plan?

Build your first Lean Plan in less than 20 minutes. Compared to writing a detailed business plan, that’s a huge time savings.

It’s simple

Anyone can create a Lean Business Plan. Unlike the Business Model Canvas, you won’t need any special business knowledge.

It's shareable

A Lean Plan fits on a single page so it’s easy to share and get feedback from business partners, friends, and family.

It's impressive

Investors don’t have time to read detailed plans. A Lean Plan will quickly grab their attention.

All 100% free. We're here to help you succeed in business, no strings attached.

2 great ways to build your lean plan:

Our free template:

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Confidently build your plan with step-by-step guidance, AI-powered suggestions, and expert support.

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Lean business plan FAQ

What is a lean business plan?

A lean business plan is a business plan that focuses in on the key details of your business, fits on one-page, and can be created in under 20 minutes.

What can I do with my lean business plan?

Your lean business plan can be used to quickly get your business idea onto paper, to quickly present your business concept to lenders or investors, or to simply get feedback on the key points of your business. Because a lean plan can be created quickly, its easy to adjust and refine as your business grows and evolves. We call this process of continually adjusting your lean plan - lean planning !

Why should I create a lean plan?

A lean plan will help you quickly develop your business strategy in a fraction of the time it will take you to write a complete business plan . Use your Lean Plan to experiment with different ideas and figure out your perfect business strategy.

What are the elements of a lean business plan?

(1) Strategy: What you’re going to do (2) Tactics: How you’re going to do it (3) Business model: How you’re going to make money (4) Schedule: Who is doing what and when. You can dive into more detail on what to include in each section here.

How can I use this lean plan template?

Just download the template from this page and start to fill it out - we'd recommend you print it. If you print it, use a pen and pencil or Post-It notes to add your ideas. Create multiple versions as you experiment with different business strategies, marketing and sales plans, and business models. When you’re done with your Lean Business Plan, your next step is to find out if your idea is actually any good. We’ve put together . Start there, and when you’re ready for more detail, check out our article on “demand validation” that walks you through the details of figuring out if potential customers will be willing to buy your product or service. You can do all of this with your Lean Business Plan, without having to spend a bunch of money. It’s the best way to get your business started with the least amount of risk possible.

Related Resources

7 Different Types of Business Plans Explained

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Lean Business Plan Template

Used 4,995 times

Use this Lean Business Plan Template to enlist your business with the applicable agency in your jurisdiction. All of the areas are fully customizable and can be tailored to your detailed necessities.

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Created by:

​ [Sender.FirstName] [Sender.LastName] ​ [Sender.Company] ​

​ [Sender.Company] was founded in (XXXX) year, with the aim of doing (Aim) . Although we began in [Sender.City] , we now plan to expand our reach to (Number) of countries.

After witnessing the problem of (name of problem) in (number of cities) amount of cities, we realized that there was a dire need for a solution. And through collective effort, we were able to create a strategic plan to launch [Sender.Company] .

​ [Sender.Company] aims to promote [Product.Name] through (name of marketing strategy) . As of (Year), [Sender.Company] is the only player in the market to promote [Product.Name] to fully address (name of problem) .

Our competitors may come close, but due to our USP, which is (describe USP) , our prediction is that we will remain a few steps ahead of the curve — and therefore our competitors — at all times.

Our current product selection includes:

Name of product

Revenue Channels

​ [Sender.Company] aims to be present on multiple social marketplaces to promote our products. Along with this, we will have an offline presence. Overall, our revenue channels include, but are not limited to:

Name of revenue channel

Pricing and cost structure

Cost of Product A – $0.00 ​

Cost of Product B – $0.00 ​

Cost of Product C – $0.00 ​

Business owners/business partners

Tupac James

Head of Production

Target market and Ideal customer

Our primary target market is: (Explain primary target market)

Our secondary target market is: (Explain secondary target market)

Our ideal customers would be females between the ages of 30-40, residing in (city, state, region or country), with a spending power of (amount) amount of dollars. These women would ideally like to shop for [Product.Name] for (primary reason to buy the product) , and we cater to that demand with our USP.

Competition and competitive advantage

Name of Competitor 1

(Describe what they do, their experience, their USP, and what competitor edge they have against you)

Name of Competitor 2

Name of Competitor 3

Competitive Advantage of [Sender.Company] ​

​ [Sender.Company] excels in (X, Y, and Z) , due to our years of experience in the industry and the USP we have. We plan to bank on (name of competitive advantage) to set a niche for ourselves and to reach our target milestones.

Describe milestone 1

Describe milestone 2

Describe milestone 3

Marketing plan

Our marketing strategy is divided between short-term and long-term. For the short-term strategy, we plan to use content marketing to educate the audience about our product/services. For our long-term marketing strategy, we plan to use content marketing, as well as offline channels such as billboards, kiosks, and pop-ups, to promote our product and to build relationships with our customers in real-time.

Financial projections

​ [Sender.FirstName] [Sender.LastName] ​

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Lean Business Plan Template & How-To Guide

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Historically, business owners have devoted months to constructing a detailed plan to establish strategy, executive, and financial numbers for their business. Although a strategic plan is often created, these entrepreneurs often miss a big piece: gathering feedback from potential customers.

Without collecting data and insight from target customers, the detailed business plan becomes a document of assumptions and guesses rather than a proven success blueprint.

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here

Lean business planning allows you to more quickly and accurately develop your business plan based on actual customer feedback and interactions.

On this page:

Key benefits of lean startup business planning, can you use a lean plan to raise funding, key elements of a lean business plan.

• Lean Planning Process
• Putting The Lean Plan Into Action

Review Your Results & Revise Your Plan

Lean business plan faqs, other helpful business plan articles & templates.

The lean startup business model is supported by a one-page business plan that does not require extensive financial forecasting or long-term market research and development plans. While the traditional business plan details every aspect of your company’s operations, the lean business plan focuses on key factors that present immediate opportunities for new companies to gain a competitive advantage over their competitors. This approach allows you to maintain company focus on your core mission and avoid adding unnecessary information that can weigh down your final document.

The lean startup movement has encouraged entrepreneurs to shorten their plans down from hundreds of pages to a one-page business plan or less – essentially eliminating the need for small businesses to create traditional plans at all. Rather than spending time creating lengthy reports, owners can simply list their core values, mission statement, market analysis, marketing strategies, and projected financial statements – all on one page.

Some companies even document their entire value proposition on a single sheet of paper which serves as both the foundation for further market research and development to improve its product or service offering. By having this type of information readily available to share with investors or clients, your company will appear more professional and prepared without taking up too much time creating unnecessary documentation.

Developing a lean business plan is a critical step in launching or growing your business. However, it’s important to note that if you’re seeking VC funding , bank funding, or angel investors , a traditional business plan is required. Such a plan includes additional research, strategy, and financial forecasts to give investors and lenders the information they need to determine whether they will receive an adequate ROI (return on investment) if they provide funding to you.

Below are nine key elements of a lean business plan example:

Business overview

Describe what the business does.

Value propositions

Detail the value your business brings to the market and the industry.

Key partnerships

List the key partners, including suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, vendors, or software firms, with whom your business will work.

Key activities

List the key activities your business will perform to gain a competitive advantage, grow market share, and fuel profits.

Key resources

List the resources that your business has at its disposal to create maximum value. This could include human capital (your own experience or that of your core team), intellectual property, patents, funding, etc.

Customer relationships

Describe how your customers will interact with your business. Will you have personal or automated channels of communication available? Chart out the end-to-end customer experience journey and how you intend on building customer relationships.

Customer segments and channels

Specify your target audience, what requirements of theirs you cater to, how you reach out to them, and, most importantly, the steps you are taking to generate a customer experience that will result in long-term loyalty.

Cost structure

Define your key costs and variable costs, and how they represent a competitive advantage if applicable. A lean startup business plan (versus a lean business plan for an existing company), needs to also include key startup costs you anticipate in launching your company.

Revenue streams

Describe how your business generates money. What are your revenue streams or sources, for example, selling advertising space on your app or publication, membership fees, direct sales, etc? List all your revenue sources in this section, starting with the source that delivers the largest revenue.

Download Your Free Lean Business Plan Template

Lean Business Planning Process

To create your lean business plan, follow these 4 steps:

Create the Plan

Your lean business plan will start with you, your business idea, and one sheet of paper. Yes, one sheet is all you will need.

Business Strategy

You will first begin by explaining your business strategy. This is simply a summary of what you are planning to do, who your customers are, and who your competitors are.

Identify the problem you are trying to solve along with your solution and potential alternative solutions. Then, describe your target customers. Focus on defining and describing the audience you expect to serve, who they are, where they live, etc. Lastly, explain who your competitors are. Describe what they’re doing and how they’re doing it.

Easy enough, that is all you need for your plan. With lean business planning, you simply create a business strategy that focuses on the essence and function of your business: what you’re doing and who it’s for.

Course of Action

The next piece of your lean business plan is laying out an outline of your course of action. This section will illustrate how you’re going to make your strategy happen. Here, you will focus on sales, marketing, your team members, and any potential key partners or future relationships in the business world.

Sales Strategy

It is important to first begin creating your course of action by establishing just what your sales strategy is. Will you be selling in a physical store or online? Or both? Consider whether or not your product will be sold in stores owned by other companies, and who these companies would be.

Marketing Strategy

Next up is creating your marketing strategy. Think about how you will effectively and attractively reach your potential customers. Here, consider the following:

• Target market
• Online presence
• Advertising
• Public relations
• Special promotions

Team Members

The success of your course of action will be dependent on the team members who execute it. If you need to build a team, think about who the key people are that you will need to hire. What are their qualifications and characteristics? If you already have an existing business, highlight the key members that help run your company and accomplish strategy and success.

Partners and Business Resources

Begin to think of the other businesses that you might want to work with. Most likely there are other companies that you will have to work with to make your strategy work. Brainstorm all key resources, business partners, distributors, and key suppliers that you will need to have relationships with.

After constructing your Course of Action, it’s time to create your schedule. Since lean business planning is centered around efficiency, designing an organized schedule is key.

For startups:

If you’re starting a new business, you should begin with getting to know your customers. For you to grow a viable business, you must understand your customers’ views, wants, and needs. Your goal here will be to ensure that you’ve developed a strategic, organized strategy. A startup’s schedule will often include sending out surveys, interviewing customers, and researching locations.

For established businesses:

For most businesses that have been around, your schedule should be focused on achieving the business goals you have identified. Your schedule should have specific actions with names, dates, and even times. The schedule you create should hold your business and its employees accountable for their work and progress.

The final part of scheduling is to make time to regularly review your Lean Business Plan. As your business progresses, so will your Lean Business Plan. Setting a regular review time is critical to get your business moving in the right direction and your team members on board.

Forecast and Budget

Even if you have the best business idea in the world, if the numbers aren’t there, it won’t work out. The final section of your Lean Business Plan should depict a business model that forecasts and budgets for the future.

Here, all you have to do is create basic bottom-up sales forecasts and a basic budget for expenses. Do not try to sugarcoat here, these numbers should be as practical as possible. With this, you will be able to identify just what will and won’t work for your business.

By taking on this pragmatic sense, you may begin to feel like your business will not be able to succeed unless you are flooding with customers or getting daily news coverage. You may need to alter your business model here and adjust your pricing and expenses to ensure that you can turn a profit. Also, keep in mind any funding options for large-scale marketing and PR campaigns. Keep a realistic view, but also be sure to acknowledge offers that may be available to help you out.

Putting The Lean Business Plan Into Action

After you have completed your lean business plan, it’s time to put it into action. Your main goal here should be to get a deeper understanding of your customers. Is your product solving their problem? Are they willing to pay for it? Do they want something else?

Reaching out to your customers early on will help you get a grasp on their wants and needs to make the necessary alterations to your Lean Business Plan for ultimate success. It will also provide you with some insight as to what products you may want to produce in the future.

As earlier mentioned, your lean plan should be reviewed regularly to discern just what is working and what isn’t. Compare your results with your lean plan. Are sales growing according to plan? Does the plan need to be changed?

For startups who have little to no metrics to track, review your customer interviews, surveys, or any other information that you have gathered about the industry. Here, you can begin to continually refine your plan and strategy if necessary.

If you are an established business, review your recent results with those from the past. Take note of your key metrics as well as foot traffic in stores, website visits, and any other critical units of measure for your business success.

After analyzing your results, it’s time to revise your plan. Remember that your Lean Business Plan is a process rather than a finalized document, and it is made for continuous improvements. Don’t be afraid to make any necessary changes to aid in your business’s success.

Lean business planning might just be the key to your company’s ultimate success. This simple method of business planning has helped many startups and existing businesses advance and flourish such as Google, Facebook, YouTube, and Amazon. By focusing on reviewing, revising, and business management, lean planning allows you to test out different strategies to find the best one to create a successful business.

How to Finish Your Business Plan in 1 Day!

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your business plan?

With Growthink’s Ultimate Business Plan Template you can finish your plan in just 8 hours or less!

What is a lean business plan?

A lean business plan is a compact, single-page document typically for internal use. Lean planning is a short-term business plan strategy for making small changes and measuring the results to improve the efficiency of the business. This compares to the formal business plan which is typically very detailed, includes 10 key components , and can be up to 15-25 pages in length.

What is the purpose of a lean business plan?

The lean business plan is primarily for internal use, so it doesn’t have to be a fancy document. The purpose of this plan is for you to document the changes you’ve made to your business so that you can analyze their effectiveness in improving business operations, marketing, and/or sales over a short period.

How long is a lean business plan?

The lean business plan is typically a one-page document to describe your business strategy including your goals, targeted audience, your business model, and how your sales and marketing strategies work to support your business goals. 

How do you create a lean business plan?

Refer to our article on ‘ Lean Business Plan: How-To Guide & Template ’ for the 4 steps in creating a lean business plan or a lean startup business plan template . You can also download our free lean plan template to help you get started. 

Lean business plan

Discover the lean business plan template, perfect for entrepreneurs and small businesses. Simplify planning with key sections on strategy, market analysis, and financials.

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Streamline your business strategy: The essential lean business plan template

Dive into strategic planning with our lean business plan template, designed specifically for entrepreneurs, startups, and small business owners looking for a streamlined approach to business planning. This template strips away the complexities, helping you focus on the core elements necessary to articulate your business vision, strategy, and action plan efficiently.

What's inside this lean business plan template?

• Company name & mission : Begin with the basics, establishing your business identity and mission to guide all your strategic decisions.
• Our offer : Clearly articulate what your business offers, highlighting your unique value proposition to stand out in the market.
• Problem statement : Define the problem you're solving, ensuring your business targets real needs for a solid market fit.
• Solution : Summarize your solution in one sentence, showcasing how you uniquely address the problem.
• Target market : Identify and describe your primary audience segments, tailoring your approach to meet their specific needs.
• Key competitors : Offer insights into your competition, helping you position your business effectively in the marketplace.
• Sales and marketing strategy : Outline how you'll reach and convert your target audience, detailing sales channels and marketing tactics.
• Financial projections : Present a snapshot of your financial outlook, including key expenses, revenue streams, and growth trends.
• Management team and partners : Highlight the people behind the business and their roles, underscoring your team's expertise and capabilities.
• Action plan : Set clear milestones and deadlines, assigning responsibilities to ensure progress towards your business goals.

Key benefits of using this lean business plan template

• Focused strategy : Concentrate on what truly matters to get your business off the ground or to the next level with a clear, concise plan.
• Efficient planning : Save time and resources with this streamlined business plan tempalate that covers the essentials without the fluff.
• Clear direction : Eliminate ambiguity in your business strategy, making it easier for your team and partners to align with your vision.
• Competitive insight : Understand your market and competition better, enabling you to position your business more strategically.
• Financial clarity : Gain insights into your financial health and projections, aiding in better decision-making and investor communications.
• Action-oriented : Move from planning to doing with a structured action plan that keeps your team focused and accountable.

Get started

Elevate your business strategy without the complexity. Our lean business plan template is your first step towards a more focused, effective, and successful business journey. Start shaping your strategy today, driving your business forward with clarity and purpose.

And, for a more comprehensive approach to business planning try our business plan template.

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Lean Canvas Template

Build a business plan concisely and practically with the Lean Canvas Template. Present your business idea clearly and precisely.

About the Lean Canvas Template

The Lean Canvas Template helps you quickly build a business plan without the complexity usually involved in business plan templates. It’s a practical and concise way to present your business idea.

What is a Lean Canvas?

A Lean Canvas is a 1-page business plan invented by Ash Maurya to provide a more straightforward business opportunity evaluation. It’s a simplified version of the business model canvas template and helps your team break down your idea into key assumptions, replacing cumbersome, time-consuming business plans.

How to use the Lean Canvas template

The Lean Canvas template consists of boxes you must fill out to complete the plan. Go through each prompt in turn, doing your best to articulate the answers in a simple, straightforward way. Don’t be afraid to iterate on your Lean Canvas.

Begin by selecting this Lean Canvas Template. You can edit any of these sections, changing them as necessary. You can fill the blocks with sticky notes, links, and files such as photos, videos, and PDFs. Share your board with others and invite them to collaborate with you.

In the Lean Canvas Template, you will find:

In the first row:

The questions you should ask:

What problem does your product or service seek to solve?

How common is this problem, and how many people have it?

How much would people be willing to pay to fix this problem?

What are the top three features of your product or service that work toward solving the problem?

Describe what makes your business innovative and creative inside your field or industry.

Unique value proposition

What are you bringing to the table that your competition is not?

How many competitors in this space are there, and what can you do to separate your business from theirs?

Unfair advantage

How can you ensure people will not copy your product?

What steps are you taking to maintain a competitive advantage?

Customer segments

Who are your prospects, and how do they connect to the problem?

In this step, you should identify specific personas among your potential customer base, how they perceive the problem you’re solving, and the unique value prop you can offer.

In the second row:

Existing alternatives

Are there any products or services that solve your business problem?

What are the current solutions available today?

Map out your competitor’s landscape and how people are currently adopting or not their solutions.

Key metrics

What indicators can you use to determine whether your product or service is working correctly and your business is succeeding?

Your key metrics can mix engagement statistics, revenue, and customer satisfaction scores.

High-level concept:

Explain your idea in a simple X for Y analogy (e.g., “Vegan meat options for vegans”).

What paths do you need to take to reach customers?

Understanding your customer segments is critical to informing this step. Know where your audience is and how to reach them. It can be over social media, content marketing, billboards, etc.

Early adopters:

Here is where you describe your ideal customer and who will adopt your product or service right away. They might help with spreading the word.

In the bottom row:

Cost structure

List all operational costs here.

What is the cost of customer acquisition?

What about distribution cost?

Identify key partners in your venture and look up costs of potential suppliers or manufacturers, shipping, and other logistical partners to get at the true cost of operating.

Revenue streams

What is your revenue model?

Gross margins?

What is the lifetime value of your product or service?

Make sure not just to model how much you will earn initially but recurring revenue and how much value you expect from each customer over time.

How to review your Lean Canvas template

Step back and consider everything you’ve mapped, and share with your team for alignment. Use this information to spot your business’s weaknesses and strengths and hone your overall strategy.

Remember, the biggest difference between the Business Model Canvas and the Lean Canvas is that the first focuses on a specific product while the latter focuses on a specific problem.

Benefits of using the Lean Canvas Template

A Lean Canvas is an easy way to brainstorm the various factors in determining the potential profitability of a business model.

1. Easy to complete: One of the significant advantages of the Lean Canvas Template is that it’s very simple and low-cost to create, unlike many other business tools. The most important thing is that you bring in all the relevant parties in your business to inform each canvas step.

2. A high-level overview of your business: It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day minutia of running a business and lose sight of the overall picture and goals. Using a Lean Canvas example keeps you focused on overall strategy and potential threats and opportunities to your business.

3. Incorporate internal and external factors: The Lean Canvas Template explores the internal strengths of your business and potential external threats and factors that may affect profitability. Then, you can use it to improve and update internal processes according to external factors.

Can I use a Lean Canvas template for existing businesses, or is it only for startups?

Although startups commonly use Lean Canvas, it can also be implemented by existing businesses, particularly when introducing new products, penetrating new markets, or pivoting the business model.

How often should I update my Lean Canvas?

The frequency of updates depends on the stage of your business. Startups may update it more frequently as they iterate through ideas, while established businesses might update it when undergoing significant changes or launching new initiatives.

Can I share my Lean Canvas with investors or stakeholders?

Sharing your Lean Canvas with investors or stakeholders is common. It provides a quick overview of your business concept and can be a discussion starting point.

Get started with this template right now.

Product Canvas Template

Works best for:.

Desk Research, UX Design

Product canvases are a concise yet content-rich tool that conveys what your product is and how it is strategically positioned. Combining Agile and UX, a project canvas complements user stories with personas, storyboards, scenarios, design sketches, and other UX artefacts. Product canvases are useful because they help product managers define a prototype. Creating a product canvas is an important first step in deciding who potential users may be, the problem to be solved, basic product functionality, advanced functionalities worth exploring, competitive advantage, and customers’ potential gain from the product.

Root Cause Analysis (RCA) Template

Strategy, Planning

The Root Cause Analysis (RCA) Template is a structured tool that helps teams uncover the underlying reasons behind specific problems or events. By pinpointing and addressing these root causes, rather than just treating the symptoms, organizations can foster long-term solutions and prevent recurring challenges, leading to more efficient and sustainable operations.

Product Management - Product Flow

Product Management, Planning

Product Management - Product Flow template enables product managers to visualize and streamline product development processes. By mapping out key stages, tasks, and dependencies, this template enhances workflow transparency and coordination. With features for identifying bottlenecks and optimizing resource allocation, it empowers teams to improve efficiency and accelerate product delivery. This template serves as a valuable tool for ensuring smooth product development and launch processes, ultimately driving better outcomes.

App Development Canvas Template

Market Research, Product Management, User Experience

Ever noticed that building a successful app requires lots of players and moving parts? If you’re a project manager, you definitely have. Lucky for you, an app development canvas will let you own and optimize the entire process. It features 18 boxes, each one focusing on a key aspect of app development, giving you a big-picture view. That way you can fine-tune processes and get ahead of potential problems along the way—resulting in a smoother path and a better, tighter product.

Product Development Phases

The Product Development Phases template assists product teams in managing and tracking product development stages effectively. By defining key phases such as ideation, design, development, and launch, this template provides a structured framework for project planning and execution. With sections for setting milestones, allocating resources, and tracking progress, it enables teams to streamline development processes and drive projects to successful completion. This template serves as a roadmap for navigating the complexities of product development and ensuring timely delivery of high-quality products.

SWOT Analysis Template

Decision Making, Strategic Planning, Prioritization

When you’re developing a business strategy, it can be hard to figure out what to focus on. A SWOT analysis helps you hone in on key factors. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors, like your employees, intellectual property, marketing strategy, and location. Opportunities and threats are usually external factors, like market fluctuations, competition, prices of raw materials, and consumer trends. Conduct a SWOT analysis whenever you want to explore opportunities for new businesses and products, decide the best way to launch a product, unlock your company’s potential, or use your strengths to develop opportunities.

• Sample Business Plans

Lean Business Plan Template

Are you too struggling to figure out how to write a lean business plan?

Well, you’re not alone—many entrepreneurs do! A lean business plan is the first document that introduces your business to potential investors or partners.

So, it has to be appealing to persuade potential investors or partners!

Making a plan visually appealing with all the essential information about your business can get overwhelming. Worry not—here is a guide on writing a lean business plan with all the sections and an example.

Thus, don’t wait any longer and dive right in.

What is a Lean Business Plan?

A lean business plan is a short, one-page document that acts as a roadmap for your business.

It focuses on the most important aspects like what your business does, who it is for, what makes it unique, and how it helps you make money.

Unlike traditional business plans that are lengthy and complex, a lean business plan is simple to understand.

It also provides a foundation for creating a more detailed business plan later.

Writing a lean business plan follows a customer-centric approach. So, let’s begin by understanding a lean business plan outline.

Components of a Lean Business Plan

• Customer Segment
• Unique Value Proposition 
• Cost Structure
• Revenue Streams 
• Key Metrics
• Unfair Advantages

The problem statement talks about what problems your business aims to solve for potential customers.

First, try to understand what top problems are your product or service solving for your target market. Know that your business idea is not viable enough if it isn’t solving any practical problem.

Along with it, mention your customers’ pain points. The most efficient way is to figure out your ideal customer profile first, and then understand their pain points.

Discuss what are the solutions your customers are looking for and how your idea fits in their requirements.

While doing so, try avoiding jargon and any technical terms that will be hard to understand. Also, back your problem statement with evidence and facts instead of assumptions.

Existing alternatives

This is the second part of the problem section. In this section, mention the existing alternatives that are solving your potential customers’ problems.

The businesses solving the same problems are your current competitors. These alternatives are what customers are using or considering as of now.

Understanding these existing alternatives helps you identify how your solution can stand out and provide greater value to customers.

2. Customer segment

The key to writing this chapter is to understand your target market and separate them into various customer groups. Consider demographics, psychographics, and consumer behavior while bifurcating.

To identify target customers, ask yourself the following questions:

• Who are we creating value for in our business model?
• Who are our most important customers?

This way, you will be able to identify your most profitable segments too.

Once you’ve your customers, here are the various components to include in this chapter:

• Types of Customer Segments
• Mass Market
• Niche Market
• Diversified
• Multi-sided platforms/ markets

Creating a customer profile

The customer profile defines the customer segment more clearly for your company by assessing the customer’s pains and gains.

To understand customer pain points better, we can categorize them as follows:

• Undesired outcomes, problems, and characteristics
• Pain severity

Customer Gains: Customer gains are the results or benefits that customers want. Ideally, this is what your product or solution must provide. This is how we can categorize gains:

• Required Gains
• Expected Gains
• Desired Gains
• Unexpected Gains
• Gain relevance

Early Adopters

Early adopters are the customer section that is among the first customers to try out your product or services.

Since they are more in need than others of something to solve their problems, they will forgive the imperfections or flaws of the early releases. This would help you better test and collect the actual feedback for your solutions.

Want to create a Customer Persona in Easy Steps?

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3. Unique Value Proposition

Once you’ve identified your target audience, you should also pinpoint the strengths of your product or service that attract them.

In other words, how would you describe your business to target customers in just ONE sentence (possibly less than 200 characters long)?

A Unique Value Proposition is a sentence that tells why what you do is different from competitors and why that difference matters to customers.

This is a critical parameter in your plan and is hard to get right. It might take years of experience and a lot more market analysis to make that one sentence.

It usually combines:

• The target segment
• The key problem
• The key benefits the customers are going to get after having the product/service.
• The special and unique way you will deliver it

For example, Google’s USP is “Organizing the world’s information and making it universally accessible and useful” .

4. Solution

How would you solve customers’ problems? Outline a possible solution for each problem.

Describe your business idea briefly and in concise sentences that explain what the customer experience is going to be. Make sure you don’t go with the technical words here and keep it all simple.

We have already written a problem chapter. Now match your every solution with its associated problem from the problem chapter. Make a one-to-one association between the problem and the solution, keeping your product offering in mind.

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5. Channels

Once you know the solution, it is time to attract customers. List your inbound or outbound marketing strategy to spread your reach: How are you going to acquire your customers?

When your product is ready to solve customers’ problems uniquely, you need to speak loud so customers know that you have the solution for their problems.

Here are examples of some marketing channels: social media, paid online advertising, TV ads, PR, cold calls, Google Ads etc.

List all the possible channels you are going to use for your business, and how will you leverage them to spread the reach.

6. Cost structure

Now, this is one of the most important sections, as your potential investors or business partners will want to know about the costs.

Costs are necessary as they help you to identify how many customers you need to cover your costs.

The accuracy of costs depends on whether you have an existing business or the business is in just the idea stage. If your business is at the idea stage, you will have to make assumptions regarding cost structures.

Write this section last. At an early stage, you don’t even need to write down these numbers. You’ll have more clarity on cost figures once you implement your ideas.

7. Revenue streams

This slide of the lean startup plan template outlines how you will generate income for your business.

Start by listing all the sources of revenue. It could include the way you will charge as in through product sales, service fees, subscription model, or any other mode.

8. Key metrics

Identify the key numbers that indicate your business’s performance: these are the metrics you’ll use to monitor your progress.

Every business, regardless of its industry or size, relies on key performance metrics.

Define the customer actions you’ll track to measure your progress and evaluate your business performance. For example, some of the metrics you can track are:

• Customer acquisition cost (CAC)
• Monthly recurring revenue (MRR)
• Customer churn rate
• Gross profit
• Conversion rate
• Website Traffic

9. Unfair Advantages

The “unfair advantage” is a single, clear, and compelling statement that states why you are different from your competitors and worth paying attention to. Do you have more resources, access to more patents, or better brand recognition?

This section is a little hard to describe. Many entrepreneurs make mistakes while defining this section.

It has to be about something that you already have, which cannot be copied or bought and would require a considerable amount of time for anyone else to build.

To understand your unfair advantage, ask yourself: why do I believe I have more chances to be successful than anyone else in my chosen business vertical?

For example: Tesla’s technological innovation in electric vehicles (EVs) and battery technology is a key unfair advantage. The company’s EVs offer superior performance, range, and charging infrastructure compared to traditional automakers.

Now that we know what all sections to include in a lean business plan, let us go further and see an example.

Lean business plan example

Below is an example of a restaurant lean business plan to have clarity:

Benefits of a Lean Business Plan

A lean business plan is an efficient and condensed business plan to draw investors’ attention to your business in its initial stage.

Some of the advantages of a lean business plan include:

• Simplicity: Only the main elements of a business are focused on a lean business plan, which makes it simple for readers to understand.
• Efficiency: A lean plan writing takes less time and resources than a traditional business plan.
• Actionable insights: It helps you track key metrics and performance indicators at one glance.

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That’s it for today. We hope you found this lean business plan writing guide helpful. If you are still confused, you can always use a business planning software like Upmetrics, for both your lean and traditional business plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many pages should a lean business plan be.

A lean startup business plan is also known as a one-page plan. So, as the name suggests, it should be one page only covering the main elements of a business.

What is the difference between a traditional business plan and a lean business plan?

A business plan is a detailed document showcasing everything about a business, including its goals, revenue streams, financial projections, funding ask, call to action, target market, and a lot more.

On the other hand, a lean plan is short, focusing on the most important parts of the business.

Where can I find free templates and resources for creating a lean business plan?

There are several options from where you can find a free lean business plan template. Here are some options:

• Upmetrics: It offers a free lean canvas that is easy to customize and provides other resources too for your business plan.
• Score: SCORE offers a variety of business planning templates, including lean plan templates, that you can download for free.
• SBA: The SBA website offers resources for small business owners, including business planning templates and guides.

About the Author

Vinay Kevadiya

Vinay Kevadiya is the founder and CEO of Upmetrics, the #1 business planning software. His ultimate goal with Upmetrics is to revolutionize how entrepreneurs create, manage, and execute their business plans. He enjoys sharing his insights on business planning and other relevant topics through his articles and blog posts. Read more

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Lean Canvas is a 1-page business modeling tool used by millions of people.

Get others to see what you see:

Stop creating long and boring business plans that no one reads. Start communicating your big idea clearly and concisely.

A Lean Canvas helps you deconstruct an idea into a business model using 12 building blocks.

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Lean Canvas is used by over a million people that span startups, universities, and large enterprises.

What is a Lean Canvas?

Lean Canvas is a 1-page business plan template created by Ash Maurya that helps you deconstruct your idea using twelve business modeling building blocks.

A Lean Canvas can describe a business model, a product release, or even a single feature, making it a highly popular business model innovation and product management tool used by millions worldwide.

If you have ever written a business plan or created a slide deck for investors, you’ll immediately recognize most of the building blocks on the canvas.

Lean Canvas helps you communicate your idea clearly and concisely to key stakeholders.

You can outline multiple business models on a Lean Canvas in one afternoon instead of writing a business plan, which can take several weeks or months. More importantly, a single-page business model is much easier to share with others, so it will be read by more people and updated more frequently.

Lean Canvas helps you systematically build and launch successful products.

When taking on a complex project, like, say, building a house, you wouldn’t start by putting up walls. You’d probably start with an architectural plan or blueprint — even if it’s just a sketch.

Building and launching an idea is no different.

Most entrepreneurs start with a strong initial vision and a Plan A to realize that vision. Unfortunately, most Plan As don’t work.

It has statistically been shown that two-thirds of successful startups report drastically changing (or pivoting) their plans along the way.

So, what separates successful startups then isn’t necessarily starting with a better initial plan (or Plan A) but finding a plan that works before running out of resources .

Until now, finding this better Plan B or C or Z has been based largely on gut, intuition, and luck. There has been no systematic process for rigorously stress testing a Plan A.

The first step to iterating your Plan A is gaining clarity on your Plan A.

This is what the Lean Canvas helps you do.  

What is the difference between Lean Canvas and Business Model Canvas?

Lean Canvas was adapted from Alex Osterwalder's Business Model Canvas and optimized for the Lean Startup methodology.

The motivation behind Lean Canvas was creating a more founder-focused business modeling tool better suited for early-stage products.

It replaces these boxes on the Business Model Canvas: key partners, key resources, key activities, and customer relationships with these boxes: problem, solution, key metrics (KPIs), and unfair advantage (a defensible competitive advantage).

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Simplify your plan with our lean canvas template

Streamline the path to success with a lean canvas diagram that inspires your team to break down every big business idea, discover opportunities, and contend with internal and external influences—on one concise document.

Lean canvas template

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Think inside the boxes

Distill your mission, metrics, and milestones on a portable, easy-to-read one-pager that everyone in your orbit can understand—and enjoy.

Spread the word: Share plans and milestones to instill an understanding of the collective purpose.

Learn from past successes: Reflect on your progress—and refine plans—by easily revisiting your lean canvas model template.

No decisions in a vacuum: Make informed decisions when you focus on detailed metrics and the broader landscape.

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What is a lean canvas?

A lean canvas is a one-page diagram, divided into boxes, that shows your venture’s key characteristics at a glance. While you can customize your diagram, many lean canvases include boxes for the following categories: key metrics, cost structure, customer segments, channels, unique value propositions, and any problem that you’re facing. 

When making your lean canvas, it’s important to know your project, business, and landscape well. Bring your whole team on board for a brainstorming session and distill ideas and priorities from there.

What are key metrics in a lean canvas?

Key metrics are your definition of success and are an essential part of a lean canvas diagram. They function as a set of shared goals for your team as well as a measuring stick that helps track performance.

Key metrics depend on specific goals, so they vary from company to company, project to project, and lean canvas to lean canvas. Are you scaling up? Are you testing out a new product? Perhaps your key metrics would include the number of subscribers, daily visitors to your website, or your lead conversion rate.

What is a high-level concept in lean canvas?

When considering how to use lean canvas templates effectively, you’ll want to understand the key points of the one-pager—including the high-level concept box.

The high-level concept, a sub-category under the unique value proposition (UVP) box on the lean canvas model example, is a succinct one-sentence description of what your company stands for and how it differentiates itself from the market. You can think of it as your elevator pitch.

Distilling the whole of your company into a sharp one-liner is no easy task so tackle this category last. On FigJam, you can work it out together. Invite the whole team and share any business idea freely on our editable, customizable template.

How do I create a lean canvas template?

Deconstruct your business plan with a lean canvas template. Follow these steps to use this template effectively:

• Explain your business model scenario.
• Fill out the relevant sections of the template using the prompts as a guide. Evaluate key elements of your business, including the problems your business solves, and the solutions it offers. List your unique value proposition and unfair advantage, and identify key customer segments.
• Identify the costs of your business and the estimated revenue it will bring in.

What are the benefits of using a lean canvas template?

A lean canvas template is a one-page business plan that helps teams easily visualize their business model. By following a simplified framework, teams can focus on the most important elements of their model to inform their business strategy and overall decision-making process. Plus, a lean canvas template is easily shareable with others making it easy for key partners to review and provide feedback.

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Lean canvas template

Distill a business plan in a streamlined business model canvas

Use the lean canvas template to outline the advantages, targets, challenges, risks, cost structures, and opportunities of a business strategy. The lean canvas is a visual framework popular with entrepreneurs, startups, and articulate their business model and identify key components necessary for success.

Created by Ash Maurya, The lean canvas provides a straightforward way to evaluate your business opportunities. It helps you break down your business idea into key factors and gives you a visualization of your business strategy. It’s also easier for others to read through and give feedback on than a standard business plan.

The lean  canvas template helps you:

• Brainstorm and articulate the core strategy of a business model
• Streamline cross-functional collaboration with stakeholders
• Create a straightforward, one-page business plan
• Leverage customer insights to gain a competitive advantage

How to create a lean canvas step-by-step:

To create a lean canvas model, you only need to answer the nine elements. They include: 

1. Define the problem

What is the problem that your company intends to solve? What pain points do your target customers or personas face, and how do they relate?

Clearly express what the problems are, and how your solution can address them.

2. Propose a solution

The solution your product or service provides that solves the problem(s) you wrote down in the “Problem” step. 

In other words: What does your product or service do, and why would someone be interested? Highlight the unique features or benefits that differentiate your solution from competitors.

3. Craft a unique value proposition

Your unique value proposition is what makes your brand different from similar brands that already exist. Develop a clear and compelling value proposition that communicates the unique value your business provides to customers. This helps you convince people to buy from your brand instead of a competitor’s. 

4. Identify your unfair advantage

Identify any unique advantages or strengths that set your business apart from competitors. This could be proprietary technology, key partners or strategic relationships, industry expertise, a known history of strong customer relationships, or a strong brand reputation.

5. Identify your customer segments

The segments of people you’re targeting with your product or service. These are the people who would get the most value from your brand. 

Are they early adopters of technology? What technology do they use? Go into detail about their characteristics, habits, attitudes and more to create actionable personas.

6. Define your key metrics

The metrics you can use to measure how successful your business is and whether your product is effective. These could include customer acquisition cost, customer lifetime value, conversion rates, or revenue growth milestones.

Note: Key metrics can be a mix of general metrics like “units sold” and more product-specific metrics. 

For example, if your product is a solution for productivity or time management, one product-specific metric you could measure is “time saved on tasks.” 

7. Design your channels

Determine the most effective channels of communication you will use to reach your target customers and deliver your solution. Consider both online and offline channels that align with your customer's preferences. 

Common channels include your website or social media profiles, with other examples being live events, an app, and email, or out-of-home advertising.

8. Determine the cost structure

This includes everything cost related you need to account for, like marketing and promotion, manufacturing or production, technology, and your people. 

Will customers pay for your product or service? How much will you charge? Will there be different pricing models for different customer segments?

9. Identify revenue streams

Outline how your business will generate revenue. Some common examples are product sales, speaking engagements, and consulting services.

Tips for creating a lean canvas

• Keep it concise : The lean canvas is designed to be a one-page framework, so prioritize brevity. Focus on the essential elements and avoid unnecessary details. Be clear and concise in your descriptions.
• Conduct and use customer research : To create an accurate and insightful lean canvas, conduct thorough customer research. Talk to your target audience, gather feedback, and validate your assumptions. This will ensure a solid foundation for your canvas.
• Collaborate with your team : The lean canvas benefits from diverse perspectives. Involve your team members and stakeholders in the process. Encourage open discussions and brainstorming sessions to gain different insights and ideas.
• Test and validate assumptions : The lean canvas is an effective tool for testing and validating your high-level concept for a new business. Use lean experiments, prototypes, and minimum viable products (MVPs) to gather real-world feedback and refine your canvas accordingly. ‍
• Iterate and revise : Treat your lean canvas as a living document that evolves with your business. Regularly revisit and update your canvas as you gather new insights and validate assumptions. Embrace a continuous improvement mindset.

How to create a Lean canvas template

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Lean canvas template frequently asked questions

What is a lean canvas, what is the difference between a lean canvas and a business model canvas, in what order do you fill a lean canvas.

Template by Ash Maurya

Ash Maurya works to create better, faster ways for building successful products. He started to apply and test his findings, which went into a blog, then into a book, and finally into a series of products with his company LeanStack - aimed at helping entrepreneurs raise their odds of success.

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Lean Business Plan Template

What is a Lean Business Plan?

A Lean Business Plan is a streamlined, highly measurable approach to achieving your business goals. It helps teams of any size and industry to create a comprehensive strategy with clear focus areas, objectives, and measurable targets (KPIs). By taking small steps, measuring results, and making frequent course corrections, teams can optimize their business performance and ensure they are taking the best steps to reach their goals.

What's included in this Lean Business Plan template?

• 3 focus areas
• 6 objectives

Each focus area has its own objectives, projects, and KPIs to ensure that the strategy is comprehensive and effective.

Who is the Lean Business Plan template for?

The Lean Business Plan Template is designed for teams of any size and industry looking to take small steps, consistent tracking, and frequent course corrections for optimize the business. It is an effective and efficient way to organize, track, and optimize the performance of any business.

1. Define clear examples of your focus areas

A focus area is a broad category that is related to your business. Examples of focus areas could include optimizing cash flow, increasing customer satisfaction, or improving productivity. 

2. Think about the objectives that could fall under that focus area

Objectives are the specific tasks you need to complete in order to reach your overall focus area goal. When defining objectives, be sure to be as specific as possible and think about measurable targets (KPIs) that will help you track your progress. Examples of some objectives for the focus area of Optimize Cash Flow could be: Increase Cash Flow, and Increase Revenue.

3. Set measurable targets (KPIs) to tackle the objective

KPIs (key performance indicators) are measurable targets that you set to help track your progress. KPIs can be financial, operational, or customer-related goals that give you insight into the performance of your business. An example of a KPI for the focus area of Optimize Cash Flow could be: Decrease avg payment time from 30 days to 15 days.

4. Implement related projects to achieve the KPIs

Projects (or actions) are specific initiatives that need to be completed in order to reach your objectives. Think about the resources, time, and budget required to complete each action and how it will help you reach your goals. An example of a project related to Optimize Cash Flow could be: Launch Payment Process.

5. Utilize Cascade Strategy Execution Platform to see faster results from your strategy

The Cascade Strategy Execution Platform is a comprehensive tool that helps teams to track progress, and make frequent course corrections to reach their goals faster. With user-friendly dashboards, and easy-to-track metrics, Cascade helps teams to easily track, measure, and optimize their business performance.

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BONUS : Read the lean canvas how-to guide .

Lean Canvas Template

Geared toward entrepreneurs, the lean canvas template asks all the right questions to guide your team through the process of uncovering your startup’s unique value proposition. In 9 compact cells, the lean canvas tool asks you the vital questions to help you form a real business case for your grand vision.

• Map out the key foundations of your business idea.
• Identify your competitive advantage to generate a blueprint for your target consumer.
• Maintain the focus of real-life operations on your unique value proposition and communicate that value with your key partners and stakeholders.

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Example   lean canvas   templates

How to create a lean canvas with Xtensio

• Click and start editing, no account or credit card required. Follow along with the instructional landing page details. Add charts, graphs, images, and videos to customize the landing page template and make it your own. Drag & drop. Resize. It’s the easiest editor ever.
• Customize everything in the lean canvas template to match your brand. Define your style guide. Add your (or your client’s) brand fonts and colors. You can even pull colors directly from a website to easily brand your lean canvas and more.
• Work on your lean canvas business plan together on the cloud. Add colleagues (or clients) to collaborate on the lean canvas template. Changes automatically save and sync across all devices, in real-time.
• Share a link. Present a slideshow. Embed. Download a PDF/PNG. The lean canvas seamlessly adapts to your workflow. No more jumping from tool-to-tool to design different types of deliverables.
• Reuse and repurpose. Save your own custom lean canvas template. Or copy and merge into other documents.

Follow along step-by-step with the lean canvas how-to guide.

What is the lean canvas template?

The lean startup canvas, inspired by the Lean Startup movement , was originally created by LEANSTACK to generate simple and sleek representations of business operations. Before launching a product, use this version of the business model canvas template to present your startup’s unique solutions and market competitiveness to key partners.

How do you make a concise lean canvas?

The lean business plan is divided into 9 compact cells that pose critical questions to assist you in developing a real business case for your grand vision.

• Identify 3 real pain points.
• Research existing alternatives.
• Present your solution as a solution.
• Define your key metrics.
• Create a clear and compelling unique value proposition.
• Uncover your differentiating factor.
• Identify your target customer.
• Define the key channels you’ll reach these customers on.
• Outline your cost structure.
• Present a path for revenue streams.

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• Customize to match your branding.
• Share with a link, present, embed or download.

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Lean Business Plan Template

Create a plan that adds value without getting lost in the tiny details. monday.com's lean business plan template will help you create a streamlined visual that focuses on your business model, schedule, strategy, and tactics..

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Include key aspects, organize assets, collaborate with ease, lean business plan template key features.

• monday Workdocs Create your business plan on a collaborative document where stakeholders can add input without disrupting your work.
• Views Get the full picture of your strategy. Choose from views such as Gantt charts, Calendar, Kanban, Table, and others.

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Frequently asked questions.

• What is a lean business model? A lean business emphasises value and minimizes waste. This model focuses on optimizing processes to deliver value to the customer.
• What is a lean start up plan? A lean startup business plan is a short roadmap that specifies the startup's goals and what's needed to reach them. This plan often begins by identifying a problem and solution.

9 components of the Lean Canvas technique | Free Template included

This post is also available in: German

What is a lean canvas? 

The lean canvas is a concise one-page business plan that evaluates all the main elements of your business opportunity. It is an adaptation of the Business Model Canvas designed specifically for Lean Startups . The framework is divided into nine key sections that together provide a thorough overview of the overall strategy.

Completing a lean canvas online template enables remote teams to easily collaborate and share their ideas with ease. The finished document can be continually updated, shared, downloaded and exported as a PDF.

In this article, we cover

• Completing your own lean canvas online 

How do you create a lean canvas?

• How to use our free lean canvas template

What is the difference between lean canvas and business model canvas?

Create your lean canvas with an online template.

Use our completely customizable lean canvas template for free. Simply click the image below to get started. Then you can invite colleagues to collaborate with you, share it with your team, or download it as a PDF or image.

The lean canvas template is divided into nine sections, with two subsections, that should be completed in order. Working through each section alone or collaboratively with your team, add your assumptions to each prompt as sticky notes. Don’t be afraid to continually iterate and build on those assumptions over time.

Create your own lean canvas by following the 9 steps outlined below. Once finished, share the link with your team or export it as a PDF.

Start by asking yourself: What is the problem we are trying to solve? What is the customer pain-point we want to solve? How prevalent is this problem? 

The founders of Uber, Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp, couldn’t get a ride on a cold night in Paris. They wondered how great it would be if they could book a taxi directly from their phone. That’s when the idea for Uber was born. 

Existing Alternatives

What are the existing alternatives to the problems outlined? Taking the Uber example further, the founders would’ve written down taxis or chauffeurs in this section. 

2. Solutions

How do your proposed solutions ease existing pain points? How does it make the lives of your customers better? Summarize your product or service in this section. 

For example, Amazon’s lean canvas would read as ‘Enable our customers to buy any product from the comfort of their home, at the click of a button’.

How will you define success for your startup? What are the KPIs you want to aim for? For a service-based start-up, these may be metrics that involve growth and adoption such as motivation, revenue, Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) and Customer Lifetime Value (CLV).

4. Cost Structure 

Irrespective of whether your startup has received seed funding or if it’s bootstrapped, every startup needs to have its finances under control. Consider operational costs, both variable and fixed, so you have a clear idea of your runway . While the numbers only need to be indicative, make sure you do some initial research into manufacturing and distribution costs to give some weight to the numbers. 

5. Unique value proposition

What are you going to be doing that is different to existing products? Will you differentiate on service, price, quality, or some other way. If you get stuck, try the value proposition canvas to gain a more profound understanding of how to craft a compelling value proposition 

High-Level Concept

The high-level concept subsection conveys the value proposition in the most succinct manner possible. List your X for Y analogy. E.g. YouTube = Flickr for videos.

6. Unfair Advantage

What’s your secret sauce? What do you have that will ensure that your product or service cannot be copied? Maybe it’s a new technology, like Google’s advanced secret search algorithm. Or Allbirds new fabric that makes ‘the world’s the most comfortable shoes’. It’s about what gives you an edge over the competition.

7. Customers

Your customers are the beating heart of every business. It’s important to have a very clear idea of who your ideal customers are. Highlight key demographic, psychographic and behavioral attributes of your customer segment in this section. Go a step further with the help of our user persona template and customer journey map .

Having passionate early adopters will help you achieve viral growth, so identifying who your early adopters will be and how you’ll reach them is key. For a lean start-up, this customer segment will also provide valuable early user feedback.

8. Channels

How do you plan to reach your customers? Which channels will you use to connect with your target market? Consider the media and channels your key demographic uses, and who they trust: TV news, magazines, social media, influencers or major retailers.

9. Revenue Streams

Which revenue model will you use? Depending on your product or service, you may opt for subscriptions, advertising or freemium. On top of that, consider what the lifetime value of your product will be, recurring revenue, customer value and gross margins.

The Lean Canvas is a more concise, faster, portable, and effective adaptation of the Business Model Canvas. The Lean Canvas is adapted from The Business Model Canvas and designed by Ash Maurya. It is based on a lot of assumptions, rather than hard facts. Its concise design means that you can get a clear idea of the strengths and weaknesses of a potential business idea in just 30 minutes!

A Business Model Canvas is a more elaborate document that includes 5-year financial projections, market sizing data, etc. It is also designed to serve more as a product roadmap . Meanwhile, the lean canvas prioritizes experimentation over execution. It focuses on identifying how to get the product to market, while the business model canvas includes final details of executing the launch plan.

Unlike the static Business Model canvas, the Lean canvas is dynamic and evolves with every iteration. 

Lean Canvas Example

We’ve filled out our lean canvas template based on Uber’s business model to showcase what a completed template could look like. 

Keep the momentum going, and explore our 10 most popular business strategy templates you can use right now.

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The links on this page to try out the template (both the image and the Use Template button) lead to a 404 error. The correct URL should be https://app.conceptboard.com/load/lean-canvas

Thank you Thomas! The link is now fixed. Have fun using the Template!

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Lean Business Model Canvas Template

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UNIQUE VALUE

UNFAIR ADVANTAGE

CUSTOMER SEGMENTS

List your top 3 problems

EXISTING ALTERNATIVES

List how these problems are solved today

Outline a possible solution for each problem

HIGH-LEVEL CONCEPT

EARLY ADOPTERS

KEY METRICS

COST STRUCTURE

REVENUE STREAMS

List your fixed and variable costs

• Business Plan

See your business from a new perspective with Jotform’s Lean Business Model Canvas Template. Simply fill in a short form with problems your business could solve, how they are currently being solved in the market, and how your company can uniquely work to solve these problems. Our template instantly converts the information into polished PDFs you can download or print for your next big meeting.

Our Lean Business Model Canvas Template already looks professional, but you can personalize it further to match your business. Jotform PDF Editor lets you rearrange form fields or add your company logo at the touch of a button! By instantly converting your business model into an accessible PDF format, our Lean Business Model Canvas Template can help you see the bigger picture and determine how to take your business to the next level.

Strategic Plan Template

Focus on the future and keep your company moving forward with Jotform’s Strategic Plan Template. Simply fill in the attached form with your company overview, delve deeper with a SWOT analysis, and finish off by determining your strategic goals, actions, and financial plans. Our fully-customizable template converts submitted information into polished PDFs, which you can download, print, or share instantly.You don’t need a degree in design to build a professional strategic plan. Change fonts, update colors, and add your company’s logo in an instant — with Jotform’s drag-and-drop PDF Editor, customization is a breeze! Establish goals, set your priorities, and draw up solid action plans as polished PDFs with our Strategic Plan Template. By clearly defining your goals and the steps you’ll take to achieve them, you can keep your company on track and grow your business faster.

Single Page Business Plan

A single page business plan is just as it sounds: a summary of business objectives displayed on a single page. Single page business plans are typically used to pitch ideas before writing longer, more detailed business plans for potential investors and partners. Instead of starting from scratch, use our free Single Page Business Plan PDF Template to outline company goals in a professional, accessible PDF document. Once you’ve filled out a simple form with details regarding your company’s overview, objectives, challenges, and strategies, this Single Page Business Plan Template will automatically convert that information into a professional PDF that can be read at a glance. With your single page business plan saved as a PDF, you can easily download it for your records, email the file to coworkers, or print out copies for company meetings.This Single Page Business Plan Template already has a stunning design, but you can quickly customize it to meet your business needs with our drag-and-drop PDF Editor. Easily add fields for additional information such as milestones, market or competitive analysis, and financial summary. Don’t forget to represent your business by adding your logo and changing the fonts and colors to match your branding. No matter what modifications you make, your custom Single Page Business Plan Template will create an impressive, brief breakdown of business objectives to help steer your company in the right direction.

Operational Plan Template

A Business Operational Plan PDF Template encompasses critical details of a company or an organization. To put it simply, it is what the organization or company wants to achieve, such as financials, budget planning, etc. Accountants and managers in an institution or company often take so much time to create an operational plan template that they end up procrastinating other significant organizational events. This operational plan sample is structured with important details for your organization. It comes ready to print, but since most organizational details and structures are different, you can simply edit the fields by putting your own organization information. Also, using the Jotform PDF editor template, you can quickly add and delete fields, choose your own color options, etc. Finally, you can share your draft with your team members via email.

Marketing Brief Template

A marketing brief can make or break your campaign. But writing a brief for every new campaign eats up time you simply can’t afford to lose. With this free Marketing Brief Template, you can quickly and easily draft marketing briefs without ever having to start from scratch. Simply fill out this simple online form with client information and project details such as objectives, budget, and materials, and the template automatically creates overviews as PDFs — easy to download, print, and share with the rest of the marketing team. Since each marketing campaign is unique, why not make your marketing brief unique as well? Luckily for you, customizing your Marketing Brief Template is a breeze with our drag-and-drop PDF Editor. You’ll be able to change the text or any graphic element in just a few clicks. Feel free to get creative — change the fonts and colors, upload your own background image, or add your company logo for a professional touch. Each time you submit details about your new marketing campaign, your custom Marketing Brief Template will display those plans in easily-accessible PDFs. With PDF marketing briefs in hand, your marketing team can get right to work promoting your products and building your brand.

Glamping Business Plan Template

A Glamping Business Plan Template is a document containing case studies, strategies, and future plans of the company. A great business plan should discuss a problem and how to resolve it by creating specific goals, plans, and objectives.This Glamping Business Plan Template contains a cover page, company overview page, team or staff page, frequently asked questions page, financial analysis section, and a conclusion page. This template also shows the mission, vision, goals, and objectives of the company. This template explains the projected costs, revenue, profits, loss, and expenses of the company monthly, quarterly, and yearly. The data is displayed in a table format so that it is easy to read and to analyze. This template is also using Calculation widget and conditional logic in order to get the total revenue and expenses. You can fully customize this PDF by changing the image cover, logo, pictures of the staff, font format, layout and many more by using the PDF Editor.

SOP Template

A standard operating procedures (SOP) template is a document or memo that specifies the procedures for a specific issue, case, or scenario that all employees in an organization should follow. Establishing SOPs helps an organization become more organized and efficient. This sample SOP template outlines a hospital admissions process for managing and triaging COVID-19 patients. By following the process laid out in this document, employees will be more likely to avoid confusion and conflict with others.This SOP template shows the date the document was created; the effective date, title, and background of the process; the specific keywords, guidelines, and process flow; and the individuals assigned as reviewers or approvers. This PDF template displays a sample logo of a healthcare institution — users can easily customize the template to include their own logo. The template also includes an input table to show the process flow in an easy-to-understand format. The process flow includes a description of each step, the responsible personnel, and notes or remarks.

These templates are suggested forms only. If you're using a form as a contract, or to gather personal (or personal health) info, or for some other purpose with legal implications, we recommend that you do your homework to ensure you are complying with applicable laws and that you consult an attorney before relying on any particular form.

Lean Business Plan Template

Download this Lean Business Plan Template Design in Word, Google Docs Format. Easily Editable, Printable, Downloadable.

Unleash your entrepreneurial potential with Template.net's Lean Business Plan Template. Crafted to simplify the planning process, it offers a user-friendly interface with customizable sections for market analysis, strategy formulation, financial projections, and more. Seamlessly track your progress, adapt to market dynamics, and pave the way for business success. Get started today!

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Lean Canvas Template

What do you think of this template.

Product details

Why are more and more entrepreneurs choosing the Lean Canvas approach or Business Model Canvas over writing a traditional business plan? There are six reasons in particular – intuitive, universal, different, simple, practical, actionable. All the boxes on the canvas are intuitive and easy to understand, and that you don’t need a business degree or a PhD to fill one out. A typical Lean Canvas consists of the following fields – problem, solution, key metrics, unique value proposition, unfair advantage, channels, customer segments, cost structure, and revenue streams. This template can be used by anyone in the company, from financial analysts and planners to engineers and project managers. Now you don’t need to write a long business plan, but you can present your ideas on one page. Many startups use this technology to convey the value of their project to investors.

Let’s take a closer look at what this template consists of. Our Lean Canvas Template consists of four slides, each of which allow you to present all the information that investors need on one page. You can describe the advantages of your project, its strengths, potential markets, client problems, and their solution. Part of the slide is intended to describe possible risks and ways to reduce their impact on the project. Team leaders, entrepreneurs, new product developers, here is a partial list of those who will be interested in this template. The second slide completely repeats a typical Lean Canvas and has the same block arrangement. You can change the sequence of information in blocks at your discretion. Having a lot of infographics on this slide makes the information intuitive and makes it easier for the audience to perceive it. This slide can be used when planning a project. Each member of your team will understand which process follows next and which processes are running in parallel. The third and fourth are blocks in the form of tables. This gives you the ability to highlight the key points of your project and provide a short description under each one. You can use these slides when drawing up a weekly work plan and setting tasks for employees. Slides will be useful for those who want to structure their current tasks and plans.

With just a few colors and stylish icons, this presentation looks professional. You can change the size of fonts and icons, the color of the text and infographics at your discretion. The template’s versatility allows you to apply it to your other projects. Combining different slides will add some freshness to your old presentation. For example, when analyzing the strengths of a product, describing the key stages of a project, setting tasks for employees. Many entrepreneurs around the world are enjoying the benefits of presenting information using the lean canvas methodology. One-page plan presentation, intuitive design, and ease of use are the main advantages of this method. This professional lean canvas template will be useful not only for startup teams and investors, but for engineers, architects, and specialists from other fields who want to convey their ideas for improving the processes in the company.

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