When writing your business plan, crafting your executive summary should be done with a lot of thought and planning. It is, after all, the section where you tell your audience where you are and where you want to go. A good business plan has many sections, and one of the most important beyond the financials is the executive summary.
A good executive summary is the place where you really sell your business. It’s where you tell the reader where you want to go and why you will be successful. This is where you highlight your strengths and the strengths of the plan. Without a strong summary, all the business plan becomes is a bunch of numbers. Write it last, but put it first in the overall document.
When crafting your executive summary, you should include several things. What depends on if you are an established business or a start up. Here’s the run down:
Established Business: Include your mission statement when writing your business plan. This explains what your business is in a short few sentences. Include your company information such as when your business was formed, its founders and their roles, how many employees you have and your location. If you’ve experienced positive growth, include it and put in graphs or charts to illustrate. Include a description of your products or services.
Include some financial information such as your current bank and investors. Then summarize your plans. Try and keep the whole summary to one page. Think of it as your business’ resume.
Startup or New Business: Include the same information as above, as much as you have to that point. Be sure to focus on your experience and background and why you are starting this business. Also include why this business is necessary and will succeed. Talk about your market analysis.
The executive summary really is the business’ resume, so make it count. Your future success is counting on it.
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