Business Plan Executive Summary

Summarize Written Plan to Highlight Business' Strengths, Differences

Jun 12, 2008

Executive summaries often get short shrift in the business planning process, but they determine whether or not the business plan is ever even read by its target audience.

The executive summary of a business plan is the first section that will be seen, and must impress upon the reader a clear idea of how the business is both similar to, and different from, its competition. Written last so it can draw upon all the information in the plan, the executive summary is the easiest section to overlook in a business plan, and at the same time the most important part of it.

Summary Confirms Business Plan's Completeness

Writing the executive summary confirms that all appropriate areas of the business plan have been completed satisfactorily. A thorough plan should make it easy to answer, in the executive summary, the following questions:

Similarity. What kind of business is this? What kinds of businesses should the reader compare it to in order to gain a better understanding?
Differences. Similarities define competition. What sets this business apart from that competition? Does the company have a mission statement that articulates these differences?
Marketing. How does the business tell the world about its products and services? Who is the target market? Are there changes planned for marketing?
Operations. What goes on behind the scenes to ensure that customers get what they paid for?
Finances. Has the business made money in the past? What are the projections for the future?

By waiting until the end of the business planning process to write the executive summary, the business planner can draw upon each section of the plan to build the summary. This serves two purposes: it ensures that the summary is a meaningful guide to the plan, and it confirms that the plan itself contains everything that it was intended to include.

Use Concise, Focused Writing

The executive summary is just that, a summary, and should not be longer than a page. Each section of the business plan should be touched upon in two or three sentences. Much like the cover letter of a resume, the executive summary of a business plan must put the business' best foot forward - if the summary is not engaging, the rest of the business plan may never be read.

Consider the Audience

A business plan may not be written for an outside party (such as an investor or lender), but an internal audience is just as important as an external one. A compelling executive summary can make the difference between a bold business strategy for the future and a handsomely bound, expensive dust collector. A business plan is only effective if it is implemented.

Susan Ward (About.com Guide for Small Business: Canada) wrote a very helpful executive summary example that illustrates how the elements fit together. Note how Ward's example successfully addresses each of the questions listed above.

The copyright of the article Business Plan Executive Summary in Writing Reports is owned by Terence P Ward. Permission to republish Business Plan Executive Summary in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.