How to write a business plan, part 2 – the executive summary

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.