One of the first things you need to do when starting a business is to write a business plan. Your business plan is like a map for your business, so you can write down your goals and a clear plan for how you’ll reach them.
A business plan is important for anyone who owns a business and is also required if you want to get small business funding or find investors. Before a bank or person gives you money, they want to ensure your business is on solid ground (so they can get their money back).
There are several parts to a business plan, such as an executive summary, a market analysis, a financial plan, and projections. The first part of your business plan will be the summary.
If you haven’t been able to finish your business plan because you don’t know how to write an executive summary, we can help. In this guide, we’ll explain what an executive summary is and give you tips on how to write your own so that the beginning of your business plan is strong.
An executive summary is the first part of your business plan. It is short, informative, and easy to read. The executive summary is very important, even though it’s only one or two pages long.
An executive summary explains what your business does, why an investor might want to put money into it, why their money will be well spent, and why you do what you do. An executive summary should tell the reader what they need to know, but it should also grab their attention.
Why Write an Executive Summary?
Whoever you send your executive summary and business plan to is probably busy, maybe even very busy. A business plan as a whole is long, has a lot of parts, and deals with a lot of numbers.
Someone with a lot on their plate wants to learn about your business quickly, which means they don’t want to read your 80-page business plan. This is where your executive summary comes in.
An executive summary is a perfect way to get someone interested in your business, tell them about it, and give them a clear reason why they should invest in it.
Your executive summary is your chance to sell your business to potential investors and show them that your business is worth not only their money but also their time.
How to Write an Executive Summary in 5 Steps?
An executive summary is short because that’s what it is. You need to be able to explain your business idea, what makes you different, and how you plan to grow into a successful business.
The rest of your business plan will go into more detail, but your executive summary should include the most important parts. It should be able to stand on its own since it’s often the only thing a potential investor will read.
Here’s what should be in your executive summary. Think of it as a template that you can use to make your own.
1. The Hook
Whether or not your entire executive summary gets read depends on the first sentence and paragraph. Because of this, the hook or first sentence is so important.
In general, anything that grabs a reader’s attention is called a hook. Even though an executive summary is a formal business document, you want your hook to make you stand out from the crowd without wasting time.
You can use a creative fact about your business, an interesting fact, or just a well-written description of your business as your hook. When writing your hook, it’s important to think about who your reader is. Give them something that will make your business plan stand out in a sea of others and help them remember it.
If you can get their attention in the first paragraph, your executive summary is much more likely to be read, which could lead to an investment.
2. Company Description Summary
Now that you’ve got the reader’s attention, it’s time to talk about your business in general. If an investor is going to give you money, they need to know what your business does or what you sell, as well as who runs the business.
Your company description should include information about your business, like when it was started and where it’s located, as well as your products or services, the names and roles of the founders or executive team, and any other information about the management style or team.
3. Market Analysis
In the executive summary, your market analysis is a short description of how the market for your business looks. You want to show that you have done your research and shown that your product or service is needed. Some questions you should answer:
- Who are your competitors?
- Is there a demand for your products or services?
- What are the things about your business that make it different from others?
4. Products and Services
Now that you’ve shown that the market has a need, it’s time to show how your business will meet that need. In this part of your executive summary, you should talk about what your company sells or does.
Talk about your current sales, how your business has grown so far, and anything else that makes your company stand out.
This is also a good time to figure out what makes your business unique and gives you an edge over your competitors.
After all, your business probably isn’t the first of its kind. Show potential customers what you do better than your competitors and why they should choose your product or service over the others on the market.
5. Financial Information and Projections
In this part of your executive summary, you want to give a summary of how your business is doing financially right now.
Again, you’ll go into more detail about this part of your business plan later on, so just give some highlights for now.
Include your current sales and profits, if you have any, as well as what funding you hope to get and how this will affect your finances in the next few years.
This is also where you can talk about any funding you’ve gotten before. If you paid back your loan on time, this is a very good thing for lenders to know.
Also Read:
- How to Make Money Online Business?
- How to Make Money Online Without Paying Anything?
- How Can You Use a Personal Loan for Business?
The Bottom Line
Even though it’s short, it’s not easy to write an executive summary. Your executive summary is a one- to two-page summary of your entire business plan, including your introduction, business description, business plan, market analysis, financial projections, and ask.
It takes time and many drafts to boil down information to its most important parts. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to write the executive summary of your business plan and ask friends or coworkers to help you edit it to perfection.
But some tools make it easier to write a business plan, including your executive summary. A business plan template is a good place to start, and business plan software can help you design your plan. After all, a well-written executive summary can make or break your business’s chances of getting funding, so you’ll need all the help you can get.
Comments are closed.