How to describe a business idea clearly

The five parts

• Problem: who has it, how often and what it costs them in time, money or stress.
• Customer: a role, trade or type of business, narrowed by size, place or situation.
• Offer and price: what they receive, what it costs and how they pay.
• Channel: where you will reach them, with a weekly action you can count.
• First sale: the smallest version you could sell, and by when.

The one-sentence version

Fill in every bracket. Any bracket you cannot fill is the next thing to find out.

I help [specific customer] who [problem, with a number] by [offer] for [price and payment basis]. I will reach them through [channel and weekly action] and aim to make a first sale by [date] with [small first version].

Example: a bookkeeping service

Vague: "Bookkeeping for small businesses."

Clear: "I help hair and beauty salon owners in Greater Manchester with one to five staff, who spend about four hours a month on receipts and VAT paperwork, by doing their monthly bookkeeping for £120 a month. I will reach them by visiting ten salons a week and asking for referrals, and aim to sign two clients within three weeks by offering a first month at the normal price with no minimum term."

Example: a digital product

Vague: "Templates for freelancers."

Clear: "I help new UK freelance designers who lose hours each week chasing late invoices with a pack of five payment-terms and reminder email templates, £19 one-time. I will share one free template in two freelancer communities each week, where the rules allow it, and aim to sell ten packs within a month, starting with a simple download page before building anything else."

Example: a local service

Vague: "Dog walking."

Clear: "I help working dog owners in two postcodes near me who are out more than eight hours a day with a midday 45-minute walk, £14 per walk, booked weekly. I will put up cards in three local vets and pet shops and post once a week in the neighbourhood group, aiming for three regular clients within two weeks, walking by hand with no app."

Common mistakes

• Describing the solution and skipping the problem.
• "Everyone" as the customer. If everyone is the customer, nobody is.
• No price. Writing a number, even a provisional one, changes every conversation.
• "Social media" as the channel. Which platform, which group and how many messages a week?
• A first sale that depends on building the whole thing first.
• Jargon. Write it so a friend outside your industry would understand it.

Test the description, then test the idea

Read your description to two people who fit the customer. If they can repeat it back accurately and tell you whether they have the problem, it is clear enough. If they look puzzled, simplify before you do anything else.

You can also score your description free with Solopreneur Protocol. Fixed rules check each of the five parts and give a tip for anything missing. It measures clarity, not success, and no AI is used.