Business Strategy Prompt: Options Memo With Real Tradeoffs

Prompt

Act as a strategy consultant for owner-led small and mid-size companies who turns a messy growth question into a short options memo the owner can decide from, using only the facts and numbers the owner provides.

Inputs:
- The company in two sentences: what it sells, to whom, and where: [CompanySnapshot]
- The decision or goal, with a time frame: [StrategicQuestion]
- Current numbers you can share (revenue mix, margins, growth, cash): [KeyNumbers]
- What customers have actually said or done (requests, complaints, churn, waitlists): [CustomerEvidence]
- Competitors and what they do better or worse: [Competitors]
- Hard limits such as cash, people, lease, or owner time: [Constraints]
- Options already on the table: [OptionsOnTheTable]
- When the decision must be made: [DecisionDeadline]

Generate:
1. A situation summary in five bullets: where the money comes from, what is growing, what is shrinking, and what customers are asking for.
2. Three strategic options: the strongest two from OptionsOnTheTable and one alternative the owner did not list. For each, state where the company would play, how it would win against Competitors, and what it would stop doing.
3. A tradeoff table scoring each option on upfront cost, time to first revenue, fit with Constraints, use of existing strengths, and main risk. Use the owner's numbers and mark estimates as [ESTIMATE].
4. The three assumptions each option depends on most, with the cheapest test to check each one before DecisionDeadline.
5. A recommendation with the condition that would change it ("Pick B unless test 2 shows...").
6. A 90 day plan for the recommended option: owners, milestones by month, and the numbers to watch.
7. Kill criteria: the specific results at day 90 that mean stop or switch.

Rules:
- Never invent market sizes, growth rates, or competitor numbers. Write [NEED DATA] where a number would help.
- Keep the memo under one page per section, in plain words.

Instructions

Replace every [bracket] with your own numbers, customer evidence, and constraints. Works on ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini. The model only knows what you paste, so test the key assumptions before you commit money; this is not financial advice.

Generated Output

This image was generated using the prompt above.

Business Strategy Prompt: Options Memo With Real Tradeoffs - Result

Examples

Example Input

CompanySnapshot: Neighborhood bike shop in a mid-size city, 12 staff. Sells bikes and parts and does repairs from one storefront.
StrategicQuestion: How should we grow profit over the next 2 years?
KeyNumbers: Revenue about $1.1M last year. Repairs are 38% of revenue but most of our gross profit. Retail bike sales fell about 15% after two online brands started shipping direct. About $120k cash we can invest.
CustomerEvidence: Repair waitlist hits 9 days every spring. Two local corporate campuses asked if we could maintain their employee bike fleets. Customers often ask for pickup and drop off.
Competitors: A big box store sells cheaper bikes but does few repairs. Online brands sell direct with no local service.
Constraints: The owner can add only one new manager. Lease ends in 18 months. We do not want debt.
OptionsOnTheTable: Open a second storefront across town. Launch a mobile repair van.
DecisionDeadline: End of next month.

Example Output

1. SITUATION
- Repairs are 38% of revenue but most of the gross profit.
- Retail bike sales fell about 15% after online direct brands arrived.
- Demand for repairs exceeds capacity: 9 day spring waitlist.
- Customers ask for pickup and drop off; two campuses asked for fleet maintenance.
- $120k to invest, no debt, one new manager, lease ends in 18 months.

2. OPTIONS
A. Second storefront: play in a new neighborhood with retail and repairs. Win through local service the online brands lack. Stop: nothing; this adds a full second shop.
B. Mobile repair van: play in homes and offices across the city. Win on convenience, which customers already ask for. Stop: taking walk-in tune ups during spring peaks.
C. Fleet service contracts (not on your list): play with employers, starting with the two campuses. Win on reliable scheduled service no competitor offers. Stop: chasing low margin retail bike sales with discounts.

3. TRADEOFFS
| | A Storefront | B Van | C Fleet contracts |
| Upfront cost | Most of the $120k [ESTIMATE] | Van and tools [NEED DATA] | Low, uses current staff and tools [ESTIMATE] |
| Time to first revenue | Months [ESTIMATE] | Weeks [ESTIMATE] | Weeks after a signed contract |
| Fit with constraints | Weak: second lease, more than one manager | Good: one van lead | Good: one account manager |
| Uses strengths | Retail plus repairs | Repairs | Repairs |
| Main risk | Retail keeps falling | Scheduling and travel time | Contract terms and seasonality |

4. ASSUMPTIONS AND CHEAP TESTS
A: Repair demand exists across town. Test: count current repair customers by zip code.
B: Customers will pay a convenience fee. Test: offer paid pickup for 4 weeks and log uptake.
C: The campuses will sign paid contracts. Test: send both a one page proposal with a pilot price this month.

5. RECOMMENDATION
Pick C, then add B. Fleet work uses your strongest profit line with little upfront cost. Switch to B first if neither campus agrees to a paid pilot by the deadline.

6. 90 DAY PLAN
Month 1: owner meets both campuses, sends pilot proposals; service manager sets a fleet checklist.
Month 2: run the first pilot; track hours per bike and on time completion.
Month 3: price a standard contract from real hours; start the paid pickup test from option B.
Numbers to watch: repair gross margin, waitlist days, fleet hours billed, pickup bookings.

7. KILL CRITERIA
- No paid pilot signed by day 45: switch to the van test.
- Fleet work pushes the spring waitlist past 9 days: cap fleet hours or hire a mechanic before expanding.
- Pickup test bookings are too low to cover a driver's time [NEED DATA: driver cost]: drop option B.

Not financial advice. Check costs with your accountant before committing cash.