When I started working on my master's thesis, I wanted to get it right. Like, really right. I read the books, reviewed frameworks, pored over case studies. I tried to imagine what the ideal content strategy for a small business might look like.

And then reality happened.

The small business I worked with – BounceBake, a home-based chiffon cake business in Singapore – didn't have a marketing team. Or a clear brand voice. Or a budget. The founder was juggling baking, order fulfilment, parenting and the occasional content request from me.

In other words: the perfect strategy wasn't going to work. At least, not the kind I had in mind.

Why aiming for perfect is a trap

It's tempting to want a textbook strategy. One with every stakeholder interviewed, every persona crafted, every touchpoint mapped. But here's what I realised: most small businesses don't have the luxury of time, team or tools to get there.

Trying to do it all from the get-go can actually backfire. It leads to overthinking, bloated documents, and strategies that sit in folders gathering digital dust while the business keeps running on autopilot.

What works instead: Start small, go steady

With BounceBake, I had to zoom out and ask: what will actually help this founder make better content decisions today?

That shift changed everything. Instead of building the perfect strategy, I focused on:

• Clarity over completeness – answering the essential questions first

• Tools she could actually use – no complex software or lengthy processes

• Systems that were simple, flexible and sustainable – because life happens an we need to adapt along the way

Instead of the perfect strategy, I aimed for a useful and practical one.

Strategy is iterative (like good baking)

One of the best things I learnt from this thesis process was to treat strategy like dough, not a concrete slab. You shape it, test it, tweak it. You bake small batches before scaling up. You get feedback, iterate, and keep going.

This mindset led me to develop a four-stage approach designed for small businesses with limited resources. It draws on established methods from content strategy literature but simplifies and adapts them for solopreneurs who are wearing many different hats.

Each stage includes actionable tools – from message architecture and value proposition canvas to content modelling and editorial calendars – all tested through a real case study with BounceBake. Because theory without practice is just expensive homework.

Ready for the practical stuff? If you're curious about how the four-stage content strategy approach actually works in the real world, read my post explaining it.