Kimberlee Leonard has 22 years of experience as a freelance writer. Her work has been featured on US News and World Report, Business.com and Fit Small Business. She brings practical experience as a business owner and insurance agent to her role as a.
Kimberlee Leonard Small Business Expert WriterKimberlee Leonard has 22 years of experience as a freelance writer. Her work has been featured on US News and World Report, Business.com and Fit Small Business. She brings practical experience as a business owner and insurance agent to her role as a.
Written By Kimberlee Leonard Small Business Expert WriterKimberlee Leonard has 22 years of experience as a freelance writer. Her work has been featured on US News and World Report, Business.com and Fit Small Business. She brings practical experience as a business owner and insurance agent to her role as a.
Kimberlee Leonard Small Business Expert WriterKimberlee Leonard has 22 years of experience as a freelance writer. Her work has been featured on US News and World Report, Business.com and Fit Small Business. She brings practical experience as a business owner and insurance agent to her role as a.
Small Business Expert WriterCassie is a deputy editor collaborating with teams around the world while living in the beautiful hills of Kentucky. Focusing on bringing growth to small businesses, she is passionate about economic development and has held positions on the boards of.
Cassie is a deputy editor collaborating with teams around the world while living in the beautiful hills of Kentucky. Focusing on bringing growth to small businesses, she is passionate about economic development and has held positions on the boards of.
Written ByCassie is a deputy editor collaborating with teams around the world while living in the beautiful hills of Kentucky. Focusing on bringing growth to small businesses, she is passionate about economic development and has held positions on the boards of.
Cassie is a deputy editor collaborating with teams around the world while living in the beautiful hills of Kentucky. Focusing on bringing growth to small businesses, she is passionate about economic development and has held positions on the boards of.
Brette Sember, J.D. contributorBrette Sember is a retired attorney who has been writing and editing law and legal topics for more than 25 years. She is the author of more than 40 books, is a nationally recognized expert on divorce and family law and has a depth of experience that.
Brette Sember, J.D. contributorBrette Sember is a retired attorney who has been writing and editing law and legal topics for more than 25 years. She is the author of more than 40 books, is a nationally recognized expert on divorce and family law and has a depth of experience that.
Brette Sember, J.D. contributorBrette Sember is a retired attorney who has been writing and editing law and legal topics for more than 25 years. She is the author of more than 40 books, is a nationally recognized expert on divorce and family law and has a depth of experience that.
Brette Sember, J.D. contributorBrette Sember is a retired attorney who has been writing and editing law and legal topics for more than 25 years. She is the author of more than 40 books, is a nationally recognized expert on divorce and family law and has a depth of experience that.
Updated: Jun 3, 2024, 1:03pm
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A business plan is a document that you create that outlines your company’s objectives and how you plan to meet those objectives. Every business plan has key sections such as management and marketing. It should also have an executive summary, which is a synopsis of each of the plan sections in a one- to two-page overview. This guide will help you create an executive summary for your business plan that is comprehensive while being concise.
The executive summary should mimic the sections found in the business plan. It is just a more concise way of stating what’s in the plan so that a reader can get a broad overview of what to expect.
State the company’s mission statement and provide a few sentences on what the company’s purpose is.
This section describes the basics of where the company is located, how long it has been in operation, who is running it and what their level of experience is. Remember that this is a summary and that you’ll expand on management experience within the business plan itself. But the reader should know the basics of the company structure and who is running the company from this section.
This section tells the reader what the product or service of the company is. Every company does something. This is where you outline exactly what you do and how you solve a problem for the consumer.
This is an important section that summarizes how large the market is for the product or service. In the business plan, you’ll do a complete market analysis. Here, you will write the key takeaways that show that you have the potential to grow the business because there are consumers in the market for it.
This is where you will summarize what makes you better than the competitors. Identify key strengths that will be reasons why consumers will choose you over another company.
This is where you estimate the sales projections for the first years in business. At a minimum, you should have at least one year’s projections, but it may be better to have three to five years if you can project that far ahead.
This states what it will cost to get the company launched and running. You may tackle this as a first-year requirement or if you have made further projections, look at two to three years of cost needs.
The executive summary is found at the start of the business plan, even though it is a summary of the plan. However, you should write the executive summary last. Writing the summary once you have done the work and written the business plan will be easier. After all, it is a summary of what is in the plan. Keep the executive summary limited to two pages so that it doesn’t take someone a long time to peruse what the summary says.
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It might be easier to write an executive summary if you know what to expect. Here is an example of an executive summary that you can use as a template.
Writing an executive summary doesn’t need to be difficult if you’ve already done the work of writing the business plan itself. Take the elements from the plan and summarize each section. Point out key details that will make the reader want to learn more about the company and its financing needs.
An executive summary should be one to two pages and no more. This is just enough information to help the reader determine their overall interest in the company.
The executive summary uses keywords to help sell the idea of the business. As such, there may be enumeration, causation and contrasting words.
If you have business partners, make sure to collaborate with them to ensure that the plan accurately reflects the goals of all parties involved. You can use our simple business plan template to get started.
When writing out a business plan, you want to make sure that you cover everything related to your concept for the business, an analysis of the industry―including potential customers and an overview of the market for your goods or services―how you plan to execute your vision for the business, how you plan to grow the business if it becomes successful and all financial data around the business, including current cash on hand, potential investors and budget plans for the next few years.
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Small Business Expert WriterKimberlee Leonard has 22 years of experience as a freelance writer. Her work has been featured on US News and World Report, Business.com and Fit Small Business. She brings practical experience as a business owner and insurance agent to her role as a small business writer.
Cassie is a deputy editor collaborating with teams around the world while living in the beautiful hills of Kentucky. Focusing on bringing growth to small businesses, she is passionate about economic development and has held positions on the boards of directors of two non-profit organizations seeking to revitalize her former railroad town. Prior to joining the team at Forbes Advisor, Cassie was a content operations manager and copywriting manager.
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