This article provides you with a sample executive summary that would assist you in writing one for your own business needs. Have a look…
Whether you are starting a small business or a big one, a well-drafted business plan is essential. It later acts as benchmark for your business growth, but first it acts as a tool that exhibits your professionalism and potential to become a successful entrepreneur. When you approach lenders and investors, you have to provide them with a business plan, so that they can judge the viability and success chances of the business.
But do you really think that a reader will go through an entire big fat business plan document? And even if he does, will he understand all the technicalities? Well, rarely. That is why a business plan has a very important section known as executive summary, which is a brief and comprehensive account of an entire business venture you are planning out.
Sample Executive Summary
Introduction
It is important for the reader to know your identity. So you must introduce yourself first. You do not have to mention all the details about yourself, but brief information, including your name and designation, is mandatory. After introducing yourself you should also write in brief about the history of your company, including when it started and its achievements, etc.
Aims and Objectives
Once you have explained your past, you must tell the reader about your future plans. In short, you should write about your aims and objectives with regard to the new business venture you are planning. It also helps a reader to anticipate the growth rate and progress of your business.
Business Idea
Now you must come to the point and talk business. Explain to the reader about the new business idea. You have to provide the reader with details including how did you think of this idea, what research you conducted, how viable the idea is, etc. You should describe your business model as well.
Goods and Services
Once you explain the business idea the reader is certainly excited to know about the goods and/or services your company provides. So you should enlist and explain about all the goods manufactured and services provided by your company. This helps the reader judge if your business idea is compatible with the goods and services.
Market Research
You must also describe precisely about your consumers or target market. You should convince the reader why a certain market is a chosen target for your goods and services. For this you have to provide the reader with facts and figures you gathered through the market research conducted by your company.
Executive Team
Here you must write about the manpower and other resources you have and how you will execute and carry out or run a business. This is an important aspect of any executive summary outline. You should also include information about the management team of your company, including name of the key personnel, and their duties and responsibilities.
Budget
Now this is again a crucial part of any executive summary format. You should provide the reader with overall comprehensive financial condition of your company. You should present the budget in a break down format where all the different categories, including pay roll, travel allowance, office maintainable, etc. are mentioned along with budget allotted to them.
Conclusion
Many people do not think that conclusion is an essential part of executive summary. But you must write the conclusion at the end. Here you can assure the reader that his investment in your company will gain him higher returns in the future. And also express your gratitude to the reader for considering your business plan worth a glance.
Use this sample to personalize one as per your requirements. But before you start writing one, there are certain tips that you should keep in mind.
- Though an executive summary has to be written in simple words, you must keep the tone professional throughout.
- Remember that one of the reasons behind writing this is saving the time of the reader. So, do not exceed the length of the summary for more than three to four pages.
- Make sure that you have highlighted all the positive points and strengths of your business plan.
- Proofread the document carefully before you submit it to the concerned people.
All the best!