Entries from March 2008 ↓
March 28th, 2008 — business writing
If you are ready to start working on your business plan the first thing you will want to work on is your executive summary.
The executive summary is the first part of your business plan. And it is also the most important part of your business plan as it gives an overview of the entire business plan as well as a history of your business.
Basically, you will use the executive summary to show where your business is currently, where it started and where you want it to go. It is important that you be truthful!
Since the executive summary gives an overview of the entire business plan, it should be the last part of your business plan that you write up. You only want to write the executive summary once you have worked out the rest of the business plan.
Contents of the Executive Summary
- Mission Statement
- Date business began
- Names of founders and the functions they perform
- Number of employees
- Location of business and any branches or subsidiaries
- Description of plant or facilities
- Products manufactured/services rendered
- Banking relationships and information regarding current investors
- Summary of company growth including financial or market highlights
- Summary of management’s future plans
For all of the above except for the mission statement, have the information in a bulleted listed or something similar. The point here is brevity. Your mission statement will be whatever length you need to get your mission across.
If your business is brand new you you might not have information for all of the areas above. That is okay and expected. Instead of worrying about that lack of info try to focus on your experience and background instead. If you can show expertise in the industry then you are going in the right direction!
While not necessary, you can include a table of contents directly after the executive summary. That way the reader will have an easier time going through your business plan as they can be quite lengthy.
Stay tuned for part 3 of writing a business plan!
And if you missed part 1, check out How to write a business plan, part 1.
March 25th, 2008 — business writing
Are you planning on starting your own business? If so, you will want to work on your business plan before you get too far along in your preparations. A business plan is a written guide to starting and running your business successfully. You will definitely need a solid business plan if you are planning on seeking outside financing for your business, whether it is from a local bank or a venture capital firm. A good business plan is also a great map for you to follow as you grow your business.
Business plans tend to vary by industry and size of business as to what you will need to include in your business plan. A good rule of thumb is to have the following categories in your business plan at a minimum:
- Executive Summary
- Market Analysis
- Company Description
- Organization & Management
- Marketing & Sales Management
- Service or Product Line
- Funding Request
- Financials
- Appendix
Stay tuned for more on writing a business plan!
To read the rest of this series, see part 2,
March 12th, 2008 — Vocab & grammar
Thesauri and dictionaries are not mutually exclusive tools of the writing trade. It seems, though, that quite often people choose to use a thesaurus in lieu of a dictionary when both may in fact be needed. A good thesaurus will offer synonyms for a word that run the entire spectrum, not merely precise synonyms, but also words that mean sort of the same thing.
For example, using one of the words in the most preceding sentence, the Microsoft Word thesaurus returns the following for the word “precise” - exact, accurate, specific, particular, clear-cut, defined, strict and fixed. Some of these words would fit the sentence. Some would not. And that’s just in Microsoft Word. A large thesaurus will likely offer many more word options.
When using a thesaurus, it’s never a good idea to just pick the word with the coolest sound and assume that it carries the same meaning as the word that is being replaced. This can change the meaning of the sentence entirely.
The word “walk” returns a list of words, including saunter, march, and stagger. These three words call to mind very different images.
If you do not know the meaning of a word for sure, always double check the definition in a dictionary. Don’t count on a thesaurus to define a word.