why executive summary is often called the most important part of a business plan

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Why your business plan's executive summary is so important (+ how to write one)

If you plan to launch your own small business , then you'll need to write an executive summary as part of your full business plan. In this article, we'll answer all your pressing questions, including: What the heck is an executive summary, anyway? What’s the purpose of an executive summary? And how do I actually create a well-written executive summary?

Executive summaries are arguably one of the most critical sections of a business plan —and they're also one of the trickiest to write. The executive summary is the first part of your complete business plan that someone will read, so it needs to be compelling in order to convince someone to read the whole thing.

But here’s the catch: 55% of people spend less than 15 seconds actively reading content, based on data published in Time Magazine . This means the limited window of time you have to convince someone your business plan is worth their attention depends on a strong executive summary. No pressure or anything.

For that reason, it’s important to know how to draft a concise executive summary that makes an impact and communicates the goals of your small business. But have no fear, just read on to learn how!

What is an executive summary?

An executive summary is essentially an outline of your business plan. If your full business plan is a roadmap, your executive summary is your roadmap's roadmap. It gives your readers a heads up about what you'll talk about in the rest of your business plan. For all intents and purposes, your business's executive summary is your elevator pitch.

The purpose of an executive summary

If there's one section of your business plan everyone is going to read, it's the executive summary. Your business plan's executive summary exists to give readers an overview of the entire document. It should outline what they can expect to learn and motivate them to keep reading on.

“Investors will read the executive summary to decide if they will even bother reading the rest of the business plan. It’s rare for an investor or lender to read an entire business plan, at least in the initial stages of analysis and consideration for funding,” says Eric Markowitz , Inc.com Staff Writer.

Keep your goals and purpose in mind when writing your executive summary.

If your business is a startup, the purpose of your business plan (and executive summary) will likely be to get banks or investors to provide you with financing. So, when writing your executive summary, highlight the financial requirements of your business and why your business is worthy of funding.

If you're a more established business owner, then your executive summary will talk more about your achievements, evolution, and goals for the future.

How to write an executive summary for a business plan

Your business's executive summary should be as short as possible, ideally only one or two pages long.

Remember that you're vouching for yourself and your business in your executive summary, so make sure your language is confident and positive!

Bad example : We might not be the best or the most established protein powder brand, but we probably have the most passion and love out of all our competitors.

Good example: With some vegan protein powder products on the market currently, we expect mild competition and are confident we will be able to build a strong market position.

It's best practice to avoid talking about more fluffy, subjective points and cliches (like passion, hard work, etc.) so you can focus more on the practical information and facts your readers want to know about (like why they should actually invest or partner with your business). You also want to seem confident in yourself and your business, so avoid words like "might," "maybe," or "could" and opt for more definitive words, like "will"!

Remember that your executive summary should fill in the blanks for your readers. Keep your target audience in mind and try to answer their questions, rather than create new ones, or they may get confused and stop reading. Give them a reason not to go back to checking their current value of Bitcoin. 

"Put yourself in the business plan reader's shoes and think about what you would like to know in the report," Marius Thauland, business strategist at Leiekontor, told Business News Daily . "Get their attention by making it simple and brief yet still professional. It should also attract them to read the entire document to understand even the minute details."

There's no specific way to order the different sections of your executive summary, but you'll want to put the most important information or your strongest points first . The first sentence and paragraph of your executive summary is especially important, since these are what will reel your readers in.

We'll give you an idea of how to do this below.

What to include in the executive summary of your business plan

Despite being the first page of your business plan, it’s a good idea to write your executive summary section last. This trick allows you to get a clear picture of what specific material from the full business plan you need to introduce in the executive summary. So if you haven't written the rest of your business plan yet, stop, maybe check out our articles on writing a business plan (wink wink nudge nudge), and come back here once you're done.

Since the goal of a business plan is to persuade the reader to invest in your business, your executive summary needs to demonstrate why this investment would be a smart financial decision. The kicker is: you need to do all of this in 1-2 pages.

To get started, The Balance Small Business suggests including the following eight sections. Choose the topics most relevant to your business and write one or two sentences about each of them. And remember to order them from most important to least important! ‍

1. Business opportunity

What demand or need is there for your business and how will you meet this demand? Talk about a problem or a gap in the market, and why your business alone has all the answers. ‍

2. Target market

What demographic do you intend to reach as your customer base? Who's going to be buying your product? ‍

3. Business model

Use this part to give more juicy details about your business idea. What products or services will your business offer, and what makes them desirable? ‍

4. Marketing/Sales strategy

What will your methods be to create brand recognition for these products or services? You might want to consider marketing techniques like social media, paid media, or email marketing. ‍

‍ 5. Competition

Give your readers the low-down of your industry. What businesses will you compete with for market share, and what does your business offer that your competitors do not? How big and competitive is your industry? How will you stand out against other small businesses? Are there any industry trends you should bring up? ‍

6. Financial analysis

Investors and banks will be especially interested in this part. What is your plan to manage your business finances, and what is your projected revenue for the first three years of your business? You should go into detail about how you will distribute your funding and spell out what your investors will get out of it. ‍

7. Owners/Staff

In this section, you can give a brief overview of your business's history. Who are the owners and lead staff members of your business and what important skills or credentials do they bring? ‍

8. Implementation plan

What is your framework and timeline to move from a concept to launching an actual business?

Effective executive summary examples

Sitting down to start writing an executive summary and putting all the pieces together can be challenging .  

To think about it differently, you might consider grouping the above details into a few specific categories: ‍

Mission statement

What are the core values and central purpose of your business? ‍

Company information

What products or services do you offer, how long has your business been in operation, who are the owners and lead staff members, and how many business locations do you manage? ‍

Financial summary

What is the current and projected state of your finances and do you need an investor to help you expand? ‍

Future goals

What objectives or projects will this financial investment be used for?

Keep in mind that, as you write your own executive summary, you should consider the industry and market that you are entering, the customers you’ll be interacting with, and the things your business will need to succeed (financial backing, upfront costs, additional workforce, etc). Here’s an example of a good executive summary template to guide you as you embark on writing your own executive summary.

Executive summary/business plan example: Vegan Protein Blitz

Company: Vegan Protein Blitz: Animal-free protein powder ‍

Our Mission

Vegan Protein Blitz: Animal-Free Protein Powder offers 25 grams of protein per serving without any use of animal protein—similar to, and in many cases, more than, the average amount of protein in similar products. We intend to appeal to those within the fitness community who are looking for a great-tasting protein powder without compromising on the amount of protein per serving. With some vegan protein powder products on the market currently, we expect mild competition and are confident we will be able to build a strong market position.

The Company and Management

Vegan Protein Blitz: Animal-Free Protein Powder was founded in 2018 by Sarah Bailey, a certified personal trainer and former food scientist, who couldn’t find a vegan protein powder that tasted good and provided the amount she needed to fuel her fitness routine. Her kitchen is based in San Diego, California, where she employs two full-time employees and three part-time employees.

Along with Sarah Bailey, Vegan Protein Blitz: Animal-Free Protein Powder has a board of advisors. The advisors are:

• Laura Henry, partner at Food Inc.
• Kristin Smith, CEO of Just Nuts Vegan Health Bars

Our Product

We offer animal-free protein powder that is made with all-natural sugar sources and no preservatives. Our customers are health-conscious and serious about fueling their bodies with animal-free whole foods. We plan to grow quickly, with an initial goal of building a full-time marketing team of fitness advocates and professionals who understand the industry and our customers’ needs.

Our Competitive Advantages

While there are other vegan protein powders on the national market, there are none that are made with all-natural sugar and with a comparable amount of protein as that of an animal-based powder. With the expertise of our founder Sarah Bailey, we also stand out as a company that truly understands the audience. Please see our market research (Section 3) for more information on why consumers are demanding this expertise.

Financial Considerations

Our sales projections for the first year are $600,000 with a 10% growth rate over the next two years. By year three, we project 55% gross margins and will have ten full-time employees. The salary for each employee will be $60,000 USD.

Startup Financing Requirements

We are seeking to raise $250,000 in startup funds to finance the first year. The owner has invested $40,000 to meet working capital requirements, and will use a loan of $80,000 to supplement the rest.

More executive summary templates

Need more business plan examples, or ready to create your own executive summary with a template? Here are a few we found around the web:

• US Small Business Association
• Template.net

Final tips for writing an executive summary

Earning investor interest in your business is critical to getting access to the things your business will need to succeed, and a solid executive summary can help you do that. Writing your full business plan first can help you get clarity on the strongest key points of your business proposal, which you can use to build out your executive summary.

Most importantly, keep this section of your business plan straightforward and concise, making it easy for the reader to understand what you’re doing and why it matters.

Brush up on your writing skills

You're an entrepreneur, and you probably didn't start your business to write business plans . Free online editing tools and resources like Hemingway and Grammarly can help you punch up and polish your writing. Just copy and paste your executive summary into the software, and it will let you know where your writing needs to be more clear.

Get to the point

Remember what we said about keeping it short? We mean it. Even if there's a really clever sentence that you're super proud of, it's gotta go if it doesn't contribute to your summary. You don't want to give too much detail (that's what the rest of your business plan is for!) or repeat yourself.

Always proofread your work a couple of times before calling it a day! Reading your executive summary out loud can help you identify awkward phrasing and catch any typos you might have missed. Another idea is to copy and paste it into a text-to-speech program to hear what it sounds like out loud. It also helps to print out your executive summary and edit the physical document, which helps you see it from a fresh perspective. 

Get feedback

If you have a kind friend, family member, or fellow business owner, you should ask them to take a look at your executive summary/business plan and give their constructive criticism. If they understand your goals and plan and seem excited about your idea, that's a good sign! If they give your business plan back to you with a bunch of red marks and a confused look on their faces, that's probably a sign for you to make sure your executive summary flows more logically.

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Executive Summary of the Business Plan

How to Write an Executive Summary That Gets Your Business Plan Read

Susan Ward wrote about small businesses for The Balance for 18 years. She has run an IT consulting firm and designed and presented courses on how to promote small businesses.

CP Cheah / Getty Images

An executive summary of a business plan is an overview. Its purpose is to summarize the key points of a document for its readers, saving them time and preparing them for the upcoming content.

Think of the executive summary as an advance organizer for the reader. Above all else, it must be clear and concise. But it also has to entice the reader to read the rest of the business plan .

This is why the executive summary is often called the most important part of the business plan. If it doesn’t capture the reader's attention, the plan will be set aside unread—a disaster if you've written your business plan as part of an attempt to get money to start your new business . (Getting startup money is not the only reason to write a business plan; there are other just-as-important reasons .)

Because it is an overview of the entire plan, it is common to write the executive summary last (and writing it last can make it much easier).

What Information Goes in an Executive Summary?

The information you need to include varies somewhat depending on whether your business is a startup or an established business.

For a startup business typically one of the main goals of the business plan is to convince banks, angel investors , or venture capitalists to invest in your business by providing startup capital in the form of debt or equity financing .

In order to do so you will have to provide a solid case for your business idea which makes your executive summary all the more important. A typical executive summary for a startup company includes the following sections:

• The business opportunity. Describe the need or the opportunity.
• Taking advantage of the opportunity. Explain how will your business will serve the market.
• The target market . Describe the customer base you will be targeting.
• Business model . Describe your products or services and and what will make them appealing to the target market.
• Marketing and sales strategy . Briefly outline your plans for marketing your products and services.
• The competition. Describe your competition and your strategy for getting market share. What is your competitive advantage, e.g. what will you offer to customers that your competitors cannot?
• Financial analysis. Summarize the financial plan including projections for at least the next three years.
• Owners/Staff. Describe the owners and the key staff members and the expertise they bring to the venture.
• Implementation plan. Outline the schedule for taking your business from the planning stage to opening your doors.

For established businesses the executive summary typically includes information about achievements, growth plans , etc. A typical executive summary outline for an established business includes:

• Mission Statement . Articulates the purpose of your business. In a few sentences describe what your company does and your core values and business philosophy.
• Company Information. Give a brief history of your company —d escribe your products or services, when and where it was formed, who the owners and key employees are, statistics such as the number of employees, business locations, etc.
• Business Highlights. Describe the evolution of the businesshow it has grown, including year-over-year revenue increases, profitability, increases in market share, number of customers, etc.
• Financial Summary. If the purpose of updating the business plan is to seek additional financing for expansion, then give a brief financial summary.
• Future goals. Describe your goals for the business . If you are seeking financing explain how additional funding will be used to expand the business or otherwise increase profits.

How Do I Write an Executive Summary of a Business Plan?

Start by following the list above and writing one to two sentences about each topic (depending on whether your business is a startup or an established business). No more! 

The Easy Way of Writing One

Having trouble getting started? The easiest way of writing the executive summary is to review your business plan and take a summary sentence or two from each of the business plan sections you’ve already written.

If you compare the list above to the sections outlined in the  Business Plan Outline , you’ll see that this could work very well.

Then finish your business plan’s executive summary with a clinching closing sentence or two that answers the reader’s question, “Why is this a winning business?”

For example, an executive summary for a pet-sitting business might conclude: “The loving on-site professional care that Pet Grandma will provide is sure to appeal to both cat and dog owners throughout the West Vancouver area.”

(You may find it useful to read the entire Pet Grandma  executive summary example  before you write your own.)

Tips for Writing the Business Plan’s Executive Summary

• Focus on providing a summary.  The business plan itself will provide the details and whether bank managers or investors, the readers of your plan don’t want to have their time wasted.
• Keep your language strong and positive.  Don’t weaken your executive summary with weak language. Instead of writing, “Dogstar Industries might be in an excellent position to win government contracts,” write “Dogstar Industries will be in an excellent position.”
• Keep it short–no more than two pages long . Resist the temptation to pad your business plan’s executive summary with details (or pleas). The job of the executive summary is to present the facts and entice your reader to read the rest of the business plan, not tell him everything.
• Polish your executive summary.  Read it aloud. Does it flow or does it sound choppy? Is it clear and succinct? Once it sounds good to you, have someone else who knows nothing about your business read it and make suggestions for improvement.
• Tailor it to your audience.  If the purpose of your business plan is to  entice investors , for instance, your executive summary should focus on the opportunity your business provides investors and why the opportunity is special. If the purpose of your business plan is to get a small business loan , focus on highlighting what traditional lenders want to see, such as management's experience in the industry and the fact that you have both collateral and strategies in place to minimize the lender's risk.
• Put yourself in your readers’ place. And read your executive summary again. Does it generate interest or excitement in the reader? If not, why? Also try giving it to a friend or relative to read, who is not engaged in the business. If you've done a good job on the executive summary, an impartial third party should be able to understand it.

Remember, the executive summary will be the first thing your readers read. If it's poorly written, it will also be the last thing they read, as they set the rest of your business plan aside unread.

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. " Business Plan Guidelines ," Page 2.

Corporate Finance Institute. " Executive Summary ."

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. " How to Prepare Your Business Plan ," Page 167.

Iowa State University. " Types and Sources of Financing for Start-up Businesses ."

U.S. Small Business Administration. " Write Your Business Plan ."

Clute Institute. " Using Business Plans for Teaching Entrepreneurship ," Page 733.

Everything you need to write a killer executive summary for your business plan

What is Executive Summary—and Why Should You Care?

Executive Summary is the first and most important section of a business plan, providing a snapshot of the overall plan with the aim to compel the reader to continue reading the full document by highlighting its most important components and strengths .

Keep reading for insider tips from a professional business writer on how exactly to write a captivating executive summary that will maximize the impact and success of your business plan.

You’ll discover:

• Why: Critical importance of an executive summary
• What: The key elements you need to include
• How: The best structure—length, layout and components

Importance: Why is Executive Summary Important in a Business Plan?

Executive summary is the most important part of a business plan because it is the first and only opportunity to grab readers’ interest as they review this section prior to deciding whether or not to read the rest of the document.

No matter how excellent your business idea, it is the executive summary alone that persuades a reader to spend more time with the plan to find out more about your venture.

Some financiers receive hundreds of business plans every month. Understandably, they do not read them all . Instead, they can tell in a couple of paragraphs if it is something they may be interested in.

The Executive Summary is so important, in fact, that some investors and lenders prefer to receive just the summary and financials before requesting the full business plan. So if you can hook your readers here, they will ask for more.

Similarly, senior decision-makers on many company or bank boards and committees will often read nothing else than an executive summary when approving a decision to back a business.

In other words, your Executive Summary is the  first impression  many readers will get of your business. Make sure it is a great one. Only a  clear ,  concise , and  compelling  summary of your business right up front twill persuade readers to wade through the rest of the plan.

Contents: What Should an Executive Summary for a Business Plan Include?

Executive summary brings the separate parts of a business plan together to sum up what the business is, where it is going, why it will be successful – and why it is worthy of backing . Highlight the most important and impressive facts about the company , management , offering , market , strategy and financials .

When completed, your executive summary will answer these questions for your readers:

• What is your business all about ?
• What are the most compelling qualities?
• Is the business likely to succeed and why?

Executive summary is an introduction to your business, which provides a brief snapshot of your plan as a whole. To that end, concisely highlight the most important concepts and impressive features from each section of your completed plan, addressing the following areas:

Essentially, you should make it crystal clear to the that a compelling market opportunity exists for your product/service and demonstrate that your business is well-positioned to exploit it .

Remember to be brief and concise . Organize the information in a way that gives the best impression of your business to your target reader. Combine related topics if that improves the flow of the document.

If the readers of your executive summary conclude that the above elements exist in your business, they are likely to commit to reading the rest of your business plan.

So, let’s examine each of the key elements in more detail to make the reader excited about the potential of your business plan and interested to read further:

Mission Statement

Answer this question for your readers:

• What is your business on a mission to create and why?

Aim: Convince the reader that your basic business concept makes sense.

Give a concise overview of your business idea, purpose and goals. Summarize why you have created this company and what your business is all about in one or two sentences, but no more than a paragraph.

Products and Services

Answer these questions for your readers:

• What product(s) and/or service(s) does your business provide?
• What problems are you solving for your target customers and how?
• What makes your product/service different and compelling for the customers to buy?

Aim: Demonstrate to the reader that your product/service solves a real problem in the market and that the problem is worth solving.

Briefly describe the products and services your company provides and what problems you solve for your target customers, making the case for why your product will be successful:

Description:

List the products or services your company sells or plans to sell.

Problem & Solution:

Explain the need for the products or services:

• Problem: Summarize the problem your product/service solves and why it is worth solving. In other words, what is it that your customers need and cannot find elsewhere.
• Solution: Summarize how you will solve the problem that your customers face.

Value Proposition:

Outline why your product or service will be valuable to your customers and the advantages that will make it compelling enough for them to purchase.

Market Opportunity

• Who are your (ideal) target customers?
• Is there a real market demand for your product/service?
• What is the size of the market opportunity?

Aim: Convince the reader that large and compelling market demand opportunity exists for your product/service.

List the target market you intend to reach and explain why you chose it:

Target Market:

Provide a brief description of your ideal customers and how do they break down into recognizable types or segments.

Market Analysis:

Indicate that you have done thorough market analysis by providing a summary of your market research results, including:

• How many potential customers are there for your solution (target market)
• What proportion of the market your company can reasonably capture (market share)
• Forecast estimating what the future holds for the industry and market demand

Competitive Advantage

• Who are your competitors?
• How is the market currently divided?
• What advantages does your company have over the competition?

Aim: Convince the reader that your business has a significant competitive edge to succeed in your target market.

This section is where you describe the gap in your target market, how your solution can fill it, and the competitive advantages that will enable you to exploit this market gap.

Hence, include information about your competition and what differentiates your business:

Competitors and Market Distribution:

Who are you up against? What other options do your customers have to address their needs? Indicate the nature of your competition and how the market is currently divided.

Competitive Advantage:

What comparative advantage does your product/service have?

Show your conclusions on your company’s competitive position and why your company will be able to compete successfully. Remember to list any important distinctions, such as patents, major contracts, or letters-of-intent.

Unique Selling Proposition:

What unique selling proposition will help your business succeed?

What makes your solution better for your customers compared to the competition?

Is competition going to get tougher?

Summarize your conclusions on whether competition is going to intensify going forward.

Company Description

Company information:.

• Is the management team capable?
• What are the basic details of your business?
• What is the company’s current stage of development?
• What are some of the milestones you’ve met?

Aim: Convince the reader that your business has the right structure and capable management team in place to succeed.

Your goal is to demonstrate that you are well-positioned to exploit the market opportunity by highlighting the positive factors in your company’s management, structure and history.

Company Details:

Include a short statement that covers the basic company details, such as the company name, when your business was formed, the names of the founders and their roles, number of employees, business location(s), and legal status.

Stage of Development:

State whether your company is a startup or continuing business, when it was founded, how far along the product or service is in its creation, and if you’ve already made sales or started shipping.

Track Record:

• If you are an established business, provide a brief history of the company’s trading activity to date, including financial and market growth highlights.
• If you are just starting a business, you won’t have as much information as an established company. Instead, focus on your experience and background as well as the decisions that led you to start this particular enterprise.

Management:

Briefly describe the bios of the key members of your management team , particularly those of company founders/owners , as well as the key professional advisors .

What do they bring to the table that will position your company well to take advantage of the market opportunity and make the business a success?

Highlight management’s vision and passion , along with the relevant skills , experience , qualifications , subject-matter expertise , business acumen , industry connections and other capabilities as they relate to the venture.

Operations:

Showcase the key operational features that will give the business a competitive edge.

This could include anything from an advantageous location, through innovative manufacturing technology and processes, to preferential supplier and distribution agreements – and anything in between.

Outline the strategy to achieve the company’s goals and continuously strengthen its competitive position.

Next, indicate the keys to success that you intend to use in order to implement that strategy, such as:

• Marketing and Sales: Briefly describe the methods you will utilize to reach your target customers to market your offering and secure sales.
• Operations and Resources: Summarize the most important resources and operational features your company will deploy to implement its strategy.

Address your plans for where you would like to take your business in the future.

Spell out the objectives you have for the company, what you plan to do:

• Where do you expect the business to be in 1 year, 3 years, 5 years ?
• What are some of the key milestones you plan to meet?
• What are your long-term goals ?
• What is your potential exit strategy ?

Make an educated projection for the expected performance of your business, including:

• Sales volume and value
• Cash flow position
• Profitability
• Number of employees
• Number of locations
• Market share
• New products

Financial Forecast

Summarize the expected financial outlook and performance for your business, answering the following questions for your readers:

• How much do you expect to make in the first year of your business?
• What kind of growth do you expect to see in the following years?
• If you do not expect your business to be profitable , do you have a strategic reason for running at a loss?
• What are the key metrics that you need to watch?
• Will your backers (if any) be able to get their money back and when ?
• Are your financial projections realistic ?

In general, it is customary to indicate financial information for years one through three or five , depending on the requirements of the business plan reader. Typically, this includes Year 1 and Year 3 / 5 results; and Year 10 / long-term goals.

However, your readers can find the detail of the projected financials further on in the plan. In this section, only provide the highlights of your forecast and encourage the reader to keep reading to learn more about your company.

Funding Requirements

How will you fund your business to get it started and grow it to the next level?

• Is it already self-sufficient?
• Do you plan to invest your own money?
• Do you seek outside financing?

If the business does not require any outside financing, you can note that here or just remove this section from your plan altogether.

When you are using the business plan for financing purposes, explain how much money is needed, from whom, and how you will utilize it to grow your business, hinting at an exit opportunity:

• Existing Source of Funds: Include information about your current lenders and investors, if any.
• Funding Requirements: Indicate how much money you are seeking, from what sources, and perhaps even under what conditions.
• Use of Funds: Specify how the raised funds will be used.
• Exit Strategy: Hint at how the backers will get their money out, with the expected timing and returns.

Tips: How Do You Write an Executive Summary?

Writing an executive summary is arguably the most fun – and important – part of writing a business plan.

You have already completed all the research, thinking and writing about market demand, competition, strategy, operations and financials.

All that is left to do now is to summarize the key conclusions into a coherent narrative , answering the million-dollar question:

Why is your plan worthy of backing?

Here are 7 tried and tested tips to prepare a compelling summary of your business that will convince the readers to read through the rest of your plan:

Target Audience (Tip #1)

Ask yourself: “Who will be reading my business plan?”

Since the summary is what the reader reads first, and may be the only section read at all, you can significantly improve your chances of a positive reception if you know the answer to that question before you prepare your executive summary.

Remember, your reader is only going to spend a few minutes , or even seconds , on your executive summary. This is especially true if you are targeting busy investors or lenders for whom it is not unusual to review more than 1,000 each year.

Naturally, the readers are going to focus on the issues that interest and concern them most . If you understand their priorities, you will be better able to craft the summary to “push the right buttons”. For example:

• Bankers are likely to look for aspects of your business that minimize risk to make sure the loan is secure and they will get their money back.
• Investors are focused on aspects that maximize the potential of your company scaling significantly and rapidly, because they will receive a share of that success.
• Management may be interested in accessing new markets for the company.

Do your homework to discover the interests and concerns of your most likely business plan recipients, and then write and organize the summary in a way that most appeals to your target audience:

• Place the issues most important to the reader near the top of your summary.
• Order the sections in any way that gives the best impression of your business to your target reader.
• In the text itself, give more emphasis to those aspects that concern your reader most.

If you are not able to identify the specific person who will read your plan, just focus on the general type of a person that is most likely to receive it and their concerns. 

However, it is not a good idea to tailor the executive summary for just one specific person or organization, especially if your plan is likely to end up in the hands multiple and/or unknown recipients.

To be on the safe side, target your summary to address general institutional concerns rather than individual preferences.

Insider Tips: Writing a Winning Executive Summary

Convey your enthusiasm (tip #2).

The Executive Summary enables the readers to quickly understand the highlights of your business and decide whether to commit more of their time to reading the full plan.

To that end, you need to motivate and entice the readers by your own optimism about how well-positioned your business is to exploit a compelling market opportunity, conveyed in a dynamic , positive and confident tone.

Write Executive Summary Last (Tip #3)

Your executive summary will be the last chapter of the business plan that you prepare.

Even though the executive summary always appears first in the completed document, it is usually crafted last after you have had a chance to carefully consider all key aspects of your business throughout the rest of the plan.

The executive summary is the place where you bring all your planning together and sum up the separate parts of your business proposal to provide an overall outline and highlight the strengths of your entire plan.

Therefore, you will find it much easier and faster to come back and produce this section once you have completed the rest of your business plan.

That way, you will have thought through all the elements of your business, work out the details, and be prepared to summarize them. This approach will not only increase the consistency and accuracy of the plan, but also help make it more compelling .

So, if you have not yet finalized the other sections of your plan, proceed to the next section, and return to the executive summary when you have completed the rest of your plan.

Once finished, the executive summary will become “ Chapter 1 ” of your business plan document.

Summarize Highlights (Tip #4)

A good summary contains highlights from all of the subsequent sections of the business plan.

To achieve that, select the key points from each section of your completed plan by summarizing conclusions you have reached in each area. Remember to focus only on the most important and impressive features of your business.

What sets your business apart from the competition? Early on in your summary, showcase your distinguishing qualities and make sure you describe your winning concept in a way that any reader can easily grasp .

Use logical writing to tell a story, freely changing the order of sections and combining related topics if that helps to improve the flow and make a good impression.

Make Each Word Count (Tip #5)

The executive summary provides a brief snapshot of your business, casting a spotlight on the most important facts and concepts from your entire business plan.

As a result, this section should be clear , concise and to the point. Make each word should count.

Avoid Jargon (Tip #6)

In case the summary read by people unfamiliar with your industry, avoid any technical jargon or provide sufficient explanatory notes .

Edit, Edit, … And Edit Some More (Tip #7)

By the time you reach the executive summary, you may be tired from all the planning and writing. However, remember that this really is the most important section of the business plan.

The best investment you can make is to spend sufficient time to perfect the summary, including ruthless editing . There are professional editors who can help you make it flawless.

Design: How Do You Design an Executive Summary?

Looks matter. Your business plan will be well researched, analysed and written, but it must also be well presented. While your plan will ultimately be judged on the quality of your business concept and strategy, you also want to make sure it gives the best first impression possible.

And nowhere is presentation more important than in the executive summary, because for all readers it will be the first page(s) they read – and some will read nothing else.

The key advice here is: Break it Up . Large, dense blocks of text intimidate readers.

Dividing the Summary text with paragraph headings, bullet points and white space makes the information on a page more inviting and appealing:

• Paragraphs: Break up the Summary into paragraphs that roughly mirror the sections of your business plan
• Brief: Keep each topic as brief as possible
• Subheads: Insert informative topic headings at the beginning of each paragraph to help readers’ quick comprehension
• Bullets: Use bullet points to highlight the most compelling information
• Numbers: Use numbers instead of words where appropriate
• Visuals: Include a (small) chart or graph if it helps to clarify an important point
• Spacing: Use white space to break up the text to make the page look less intimidating. Single space text, but leave an extra line of space between paragraphs.

Because you are limited to so few pages, it may seem counterintuitive to give up space for visual considerations, but these effective techniques make your Summary much more accessible to the business plan readers.

The way you prepare and present the executive summary is an indicator of your professionalism. A polished Summary sheds a favourable light on your business. A sloppy one works against you.

Length: How long is an executive summary?

The executive summary in a business plan should be no more than 2-3 pages in length, with 1 page being perfectly acceptable and often preferable. The advantage to the busy business plan reader is that they are able to skim through this short summary in a few seconds and read it in full in less than 5 minutes .

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How to Write an Executive Summary in 6 Steps

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When you’re starting a business, one of the first things you need to do is write a business plan. Your business plan is like a roadmap for your business, so you can lay out your goals and a concrete plan for how you’ll reach them.

Not only is a business plan essential for any business owner, but it’s also a requirement if you decide to apply for small business funding or find investors. After all, before a bank or individual hands over any money, they’ll want to be sure your company is on solid ground (so they can get their money back).

A business plan consists of several pieces, from an executive summary and market analysis to a financial plan and projections. The executive summary will be the first part of your business plan.

If wondering how to write an executive summary has kept you from completing your business plan, we’re here to help. In this guide, we’ll explain what an executive summary is and provide tips for writing your own so your business plan can start strong.

What is an executive summary?

An executive summary is a short, informative, and easy-to-read opening statement to your business plan. Even though it’s just one to two pages, the executive summary is incredibly important.

An executive summary tells the story of what your business does, why an investor might be interested in giving funds to your business, why their investment will be well-spent, and why you do what you do. An executive summary should be informative, but it should also capture a busy reader’s attention.

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Once we uncover your personalized matches, our team will consult you on the process moving forward.

Why write an executive summary?

Anyone you’re sending your executive summary and business plan to is likely busy—very busy. An entire business plan is long, involved, and deals with a lot of numbers.

Someone busy wants to get an understanding of your business, and they want to do it quickly, which is to say not by diving into a complicated, 80-page business plan. That’s where your executive summary comes in.

An executive summary provides just the opportunity to hook someone’s interest, tell them about your business, and offer a clear selling point as to why they should consider investing in your business.

Your executive summary is your chance to sell your business to potential investors and show them your business is worth not only their money but also their time.

What to include in an executive summary

By its nature, an executive summary is short. You must be able to clearly communicate the idea of your business, what sets you apart, and how you plan to grow into a successful enterprise.

The subsequent sections of your business plan will go into more detail, but your executive summary should include the most critical pieces of your business plan—enough to stand on its own, as it’s often the only thing a prospective investor will read. Here’s what your executive summary should include—consider it an executive summary template from which you can model your own.

1. The hook

The first sentence and paragraph of your executive summary determine whether or not the entire executive summary gets read. That’s why the hook or introduction is so important.

In general, a hook is considered anything that will get a reader’s attention. While an executive summary is a formal business document, you do want your hook to make you stand out from the crowd—without wasting time.

Your hook can be sharing something creative about your company, an interesting fact, or just a very well-crafted description of your business. It’s crucial to craft your hook with the personality of your reader in mind. Give them something that will make your company stand out and be memorable among a sea of other business plans.

Grab their attention in the first paragraph, and you’re much more likely to get your executive summary read, which could lead to an investment.

2. Company description summary

Now that you’ve hooked your reader, it’s time to get into some general information about your business. If an investor is going to give you money, after all, they first need to understand what your company does or what product you sell and who is managing the company.

Your company description should include information about your business, such as when it was formed and where you’re located; your products or services; the founders or executive team, including names and specific roles; and any additional details about the management team or style.

3. Market analysis

Your market analysis in the executive summary is a brief description of what the market for your business looks like. You want to show that you have done your research and proven that there is a need for your specific product or services. Some questions you should answer:

Who are your competitors?

Is there a demand for your products or services?

What advantages do you have that make your business unique in comparison to others?

To reiterate, stick to the highlights of your market analysis in your executive summary. You’ll provide a complete analysis in a separate section of your business plan, but you should be able to communicate enough in the executive summary that a potential investor can gauge whether your business has potential.

4. Products and services

Now that you’ve established a need in the market, it’s time to show just how your business will fill it. This section of your executive summary is all about highlighting the product or service that your company offers. Talk about your current sales, the growth you’ve seen so far, and any other highlights that are a selling point for your company.

This is also a good time to identify what sets your business apart and gives you a competitive advantage. After all, it’s unlikely that your business is the first of its kind. Highlight what you do better than the competition and why potential customers will choose your product or service over the other options on the market.

5. Financial information and projections

In this section of your executive summary, you want to give the reader an overview of your current business financials. Again, you’ll go more in-depth into this section later in your business plan, so just provide some highlights. Include your current sales and profits (if you have any), as well as what funding you’re hoping to acquire and how this will affect your financials in the next few years.

This is also where you can explain what funding, if any, you’ve received in the past. If you paid back your loan on time, this is an especially bright selling point for potential lenders.

6. Future plans

While asking for what funding you need is essential, you’ve also got to make clear what you’re going to use that funding for. If you’re asking for money, you want the person to know you have a plan to put those funds to good use.

Are you hoping to open another location, expand your product line, invest in your marketing efforts? This final section of your executive summary should detail where you want your business to go in the future, as well as drive home how funding can help you get there.

Tips for writing an executive summary

Even if you include each part of a good executive summary, you might not get noticed. What is written can be just as important as how it’s written. An executive summary has to strike a delicate balance between formal, personable, confident, and humble.

1. Be concise

An executive summary should include everything that’s in your business plan, just in a much shorter format. Writing a concise executive summary is no easy task and will require many revisions to get to the final draft. And while this is the first section of your executive summary, you’ll want to write it last, after you’ve put together all the other elements.

To choose your most important points and what should be included in the executive summary, go through your business plan, and pull out single-line bullet points. Go back through those bullet points and eliminate everything unnecessary to understanding your business.

Once you have your list of bullet points narrowed down, you can start writing your executive summary. Once it’s written, go back in and remove any unnecessary information. Remember, you should only be including the highlights—you have the rest of your business plan to go into more detail. The shorter and clearer your executive summary is, the more likely someone is to read it.

2. Use bullet points

One simple way to make your executive summary more readable is to use bullet points. If someone is reading quickly or skimming your executive summary, extra whitespace can make the content faster and easier to read.

Short paragraphs, short sentences, and bullet points all make an executive summary easier to skim—which is likely what the reader is doing. If important numbers and convincing stats jump out at the reader, they’re more likely to keep reading.

3. Speak to your audience

When writing your executive summary, be sure to think about who will be reading it; that’s who you’re speaking to. If you can personalize your executive summary to the personality and interests of the person who will read it, you’re more likely to capture their attention.

Personalizing might come in the form of a name in the salutation, sharing details in a specific way you know that person likes and the tone of your writing. An executive summary deals with business, so it will generally have a formal tone. But, different industries may be comfortable with some creativity of language or using shorthand to refer to certain ideas.

Know who you’re speaking to and use the right tone to speak to them. That might be formal and deferential, expert and clipped, informal and personable, or any other appropriate tone. This may also involve writing different versions of your executive summary for different audiences.

4. Play to your strengths

One of the best ways to catch the attention of your reader is to share why your business is unique. What makes your business unique is also what makes your business strong, which can capture a reader’s interest and show them why your business is worth investing in. Be sure to highlight these strengths from the start of your executive summary.

5. Get a test reader

Once you’ve written and edited your executive summary, you need a test reader. While someone in your industry or another business owner can be a great resource, you should also consider finding a test reader with limited knowledge of your business and industry. Your executive summary should be so clear that anyone can understand it, so having a variety of test readers can help identify any confusing language.

If you don’t have access to a test reader, consider using tools such as Hemingway App and Grammarly to ensure you’ve written something that’s easy to read and uses proper grammar.

How long should an executive summary be?

There’s no firm rule on how long an executive summary should be, as it depends on the length of your business plan and the depth of understanding needed by the reader to fully grasp your ask.

That being said, it should be as short and concise as you can get it. In general, an executive summary should be one to two pages in length.

You can fudge the length slightly by adjusting the margin and font size, but don’t forget readability is just as important as length. You want to leave plenty of white space and have a large enough font that the reader is comfortable while reading your executive summary. If your executive summary is hard to read, it’s less likely your reader will take the time to read your business plan.

What to avoid in an executive summary

While the rules for writing a stellar executive summary can be fuzzy, there are a few clear rules for what to avoid in your executive summary.

Your executive summary should avoid:

Focusing on investment. Instead, focus on getting the reader to be interested enough to continue and read your business plan or at least schedule a meeting with you.

Clichés, superlatives, and claims that aren’t backed up by fact. Your executive summary isn’t marketing material. It should be straightforward and clear.

Avoiding the executive summary no-nos is just as important as striking the right tone and getting in the necessary information for your reader.

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The bottom line

While an executive summary is short, it’s challenging to write. Your executive summary condenses your entire introduction, business description, business plan, market analysis, financial projections, and ask into one to two pages. Condensing information down to its most essential form takes time and many drafts. When you’re putting together your business plan’s executive summary, be sure to give yourself plenty of time to write it and to seek the help of friends or colleagues for editing it to perfection.

However, some tools make crafting a business plan, including your executive summary, a simpler process. A business plan template is a great place to start, and business plan software can especially help with the design of your business plan. After all, a well-written executive summary can make all the difference in obtaining funding for your business, so you’ll want all the help you can get.

This article originally appeared on JustBusiness, a subsidiary of NerdWallet.

On a similar note...

How to Write an Executive Summary

9 min. read

Updated December 13, 2023

An executive summary isn’t just the beginning of your business plan – it’s your opening act, your first chance to impress potential investors, banks, clients and other stakeholders.

An effective executive summary gives decision-makers critical information about your business instantly.

Creating an executive summary is more than just a writing exercise. It requires careful crafting and strategic thinking, as well as an ability to balance the needs to be both succinct and comprehensive.

• What is an executive summary?

The executive summary is a brief introduction and summary of your business plan. It introduces your business, the problem you solve, and what you’re asking from your readers. Anyone should be able to understand your business by simply reading this section of your plan.

While structurally it is the first chapter of your plan—you should write it last. Once you know the details of your business inside and out, you will be better prepared to write this section.

• Why write an executive summary?

The business plan executive summary provides quick access to critical information from your more detailed business plan.

It is essential for informing anyone outside of your business. Many people—including investors and bankers—will only read your summary. Others will use it to decide if they should read the rest. For you, it is a snapshot of your business to reference when planning or revising your strategy.

Now if you’re writing a business plan solely for internal use you may not need an executive summary. However, some internal plans may necessitate writing an executive summary for assignment—such as for an annual operations plan or a strategic plan .

It takes some effort to do a good summary, so if you don’t have a business use in mind, don’t do it.

• How long should it be?

Business plan executive summaries should be as short as possible. Your audience has limited time and attention and they want to quickly get the details of your business plan.

Try to keep your executive summary under two pages if possible, although it can be longer if absolutely necessary. If you have a one-page business plan, you can even use that as your executive summary.

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• Executive summary outline

Two pages isn’t a ton of space to capture the full scope of your vision for the business. That means every sentence of your executive summary counts.

You will want to immediately capture the reader’s attention with a compelling introduction. Without getting too lengthy, present who you are as an organization, the problem you are seeking to solve, your skills, and why you are the best entity to solve the problem you’ve outlined.

It’s crucial to establish the need or problem your business is solving in a clear manner, in order to convince your audience that it must be addressed. Following that, recommend the solution and show its value. Be clear and firm in your recommendation, making sure to justify your cause and highlighting key reasons why your organization is the perfect fit for the solution you’re proposing. Finally, a strong conclusion is needed to reiterate the main points and wrap up the executive summary.

What to include in your executive summary

1. business overview.

A one-sentence description that explains what you do, why you do it, and how you do it.

Summarize the problem you’re solving in the market and reference any data that solidifies that there is a need.

3. Solution

Describe your product or service and how it addresses the problem you identified.

4. Target market

Who is your ideal customer? Describe who they are, how they’ll benefit, and why they’re an attainable customer base.

5. Competition

Who are your competitors? List out any primary competition as well as alternatives that your customers may consider. Include key details about their current offerings, promotions, and business strategy.

6. Your team

In your executive summary, outline your organizational structure and current team. List out brief explanations of who you and your team are, your qualifications, and what your function will be within the business. It may be valuable to also highlight any gaps in your team and how you intend to fill them. If you have potential partners or candidates in mind, briefly mention them and expand on their qualifications within your full business plan.

7. Financial summary

Highlight key aspects of your financial plan that address sales, expenses, and profitability. Try to keep these in chart or graph form to ensure the information is easy to consume and resonates visually.

8. Funding requirements

This section is only necessary if you’re seeking out funding or pitching to investors. Be sure to throw out your financing number and reasoning upfront, rather than hiding it later on in your plan. It helps investors understand your position, what you’re asking for, and how you’ll use it.

9. Milestones and traction

Add initial sales, pre-sales, newsletter sign-ups, or anything else that showcases customer interest. Outline what steps you’ve already taken to launch your business, the milestones you’ve hit, and your goals and milestones for the next month, six months, year, etc.

Executive summary vs introduction

A common mistake some people make when starting an executive summary outline is thinking it performs the same function as the introduction to their business plan. In fact, the two serve different purposes and contain different types of information, even though they are both essential.

As we’ve discussed, the executive summary is a high-level overview of the entire business plan. The introduction, by contrast, dives deeper into your business, providing information about the nature of your business, the history of your company, your mission statement, products or services, and the specific problem that your business solves.

The introduction is more detailed, and usually comes right after the executive summary.

On the other hand, the introduction gives investors or lenders – anyone reading your business plan – a sense of why they should continue reading. Think of it more as the space to tell stakeholders why you are speaking to them. An executive summary can also serve this purpose, but the introduction is meant to speak more directly to your target audience, while an executive summary could give a larger audience a general overview of your business.

Tips for writing an effective executive summary

Here are a few best practices to make writing your executive summary easier, and ultimately more effective. 

1. Think of an executive summary as your pitch

The executive summary is like an elevator pitch. You’re selling someone on reading your full plan while quickly summarizing the key points. Readers will expect it to cover certain areas of your business—such as the product, market, and financial highlights, at the very least.

While you need to include what’s necessary, you should also highlight areas that you believe will spark the reader’s interest. Remember, you’re telling the brief but convincing story of your business with this summary. Just be sure that you’re able to back it up with the right details with the rest of your business plan. 

2. Write it last

Even though the executive summary is at the beginning of a finished business plan, many experienced entrepreneurs choose to write it after everything else. In theory, this makes it easier to write since all of the information is already written out and just needs to be condensed into a shorter format. 

Now, if you’ve started with a one-page plan, this process is even easier. Just use your one-page plan as a starting point and add additional details to any sections that need it. You may even find that no changes are necessary.  

3. Keep it short

Ideally, the executive summary is short—usually just a page or two, five at the outside—and highlights the points you’ve made elsewhere in your business plan. Whatever length you land on, just focus on being brief and concise. Keep it as short as you can without missing the essentials. 

4. Keep it simple

Form follows function, so don’t overcomplicate or over-explain things. The best executive summaries are a mixture of short text, broken up with bullets and subheadings, and illustrations, such as a bar chart showing financial highlights. 

Run through a legibility test after writing your summary. Is it easy to skim through? Are the right pieces of information jumping out? If the answer to either of those questions is no, then work back through and try breaking up information or adjusting the formatting.

5. Create an executive summary outline based on importance and strengths

Organize your executive summary outline so that the most important information appears first. While there are specific components to include, there is no set order of appearance. So, use the order to show emphasis.

Lead with what you want to get the most attention, and add the rest by order of importance. For example, you may start with the problem because that can add drama and urgency that tees up the solution you provide.

Additional resources to write a great executive summary

Need more information and guidance to craft a convincing executive summary? Check out these in-depth resources and templates.

Key mistakes to avoid when writing an executive summary

Here are the critical mistakes you should avoid when writing your executive summary.

How to write your executive summary for specific audiences

The executive summary should tell your audience exactly what your business is, what it does, and why it’s worth their time. Here’s how you can take it a step further and fine-tune it for specific people.

How to develop a mission statement

Learn to put a heart behind the business and create an easy-to-understand narrative by writing a mission statement.

Executive Summary FAQ

What is in an executive summary?

The executive summary of a business plan is a brief introduction and summary of your business strategy, operations, and goals.

What is the purpose of an executive summary?

An executive summary is typically written to convince someone to read your more detailed plan. For investors, it may be the only thing they look at when deciding if they’d like to hear your pitch. Loan officers may review it to determine if your business seems financially sound. And partners, mentors, or anyone else may use it to determine if they want to be involved with your business.

How do you start an executive summary?

While there is no required order for an executive summary, it’s often recommended that you lead with the problem you’re solving or the purpose of your business. This will help frame your intent for the reader, and ideally make them more interested in learning more.

How do you write a good executive summary?

A good executive summary is brief, convincing, and easy to read. Focus on keeping things short and concise, only including necessary information. Be sure to lead and highlight anything that is especially interesting or important about your business. And after writing, spend some time reviewing and reformatting to make your summary as attractive to read as possible.

See why 1.2 million entrepreneurs have written their business plans with LivePlan

Tim Berry is the founder and chairman of Palo Alto Software , a co-founder of Borland International, and a recognized expert in business planning. He has an MBA from Stanford and degrees with honors from the University of Oregon and the University of Notre Dame. Today, Tim dedicates most of his time to blogging, teaching and evangelizing for business planning.

Table of Contents

• What to include
• Writing tips
• Additional resources

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What’s a Business Plan Executive Summary & How to Write It

What is an executive summary in a business plan? It’s what investors use to decide whether to review your business plan or not. Learn how to make it work.

6 minute read

helped business professionals at:

Short answer

What is an executive summary in a business plan?

An executive summary in a business plan is the opening section of the business plan that distills the essence of your plan into a compelling overview. The purpose of the executive summary is to convince the reader to invest the time required to review your business plan in full.

What does a business plan executive summary look like?

An executive summary within a business plan is traditionally just text or a table, but modern business plans offer a much more engaging and aesthetic way of doing it, with running numbers, live data, and even videos.

Why not? It’s how we all consume content these days.

Here’s what a modern business plan executive summary looks like:

Most business plan executive summaries don’t invite further reading

CEOs, investors, and customers are always short on time. That’s why, to put across your case effectively, you’ll need an executive summary that makes them want to invest the time and effort in reviewing your business plan.

A business plan executive summary is like a pretty face - it makes you want to know more and makes it more likely you’ll dedicate the time.

But is your executive summary a pretty face? Most are not. Most are dull and generic.

To grab attention and peak someone’s interest, you’ll need to make your summary into a snappy story that makes a bold promise and invites the reader to learn how it will unfold.

I’ll teach you how.

Now, let’s dive into writing an effective executive summary for your business plan!

What to include in an executive summary of a business plan?

A great business plan executive summary includes key selling points, competitive advantages, and unique aspects of the business model. Let’s get into more detail.

1) Introduction:

Your executive summary should begin with a hook that captures the reader's interest and clearly states the purpose of the business plan.

Tell your story of why it’s important to you, what’s in it for the reader, and why you’re the right person for the job (and do it all in a couple of sentences 🙂 - easy peasy).

But essentially this section should answer the question "What does your business do?" It must help potential investors, partners, and customers understand your business's practical application and potential impact.

2) Market analysis:

Summarize the target market and competitive landscape by highlighting key opportunities and customer needs that the business uniquely addresses.

3) Business model:

This section primarily shares how your product fetches revenue. Include pointers that share your pricing strategy, sales pipeline, and distribution channels.

What’s your pricing strategy? Are you planning a value-based pricing or a competitive pricing?

Further, what’s your plan for streamlining the sales process? Will you be using CPQ software to manage complex sales transactions? Or investing in sales force automation to better identify high-quality leads and improve your close ratios?

NOTE: Any information that shows how your venture will make money should be included in the business model section.

4) Financial summary:

Give a high-level overview of financial projections, funding needs, and future profitability. This will guide the reader through the maze of numbers and data and the venture’s assets and liabilities.

What’s the objective of the business plan executive summary

A business plan executive summary should drive a positive snap judgment of the business plan's viability. It should ensure that the reader grasps the essence of the business idea without getting mired in details.

3 main objectives of the business plan executive summary:

1) Outlining business vision and mission

The executive summary succinctly articulates the core vision and mission of the business. It distills the essence of the business's aim and its underlying ethos, setting the tone for the entire document.

2) Defining the purpose

The purpose of the executive summary is to provide a clear and engaging overview of the business plan. It should grab the reader's attention and offer a compelling snapshot of the business idea, its market potential, and how it plans to succeed.

This section should be informative enough to stand on its own, offering a complete but brief view of the whole plan.

3) Aligning with stakeholders’ interests

Customize the executive summary to stakeholders' interests to help understand their priorities. Investors typically prioritize return on investment, market potential, and management credibility.

Therefore, the executive summary should include details about the business model, operational strategies, and market positioning.

How to write a business plan executive summary

Writing an effective executive summary is both an art and a science that needs a balance of comprehensive detail and persuasive brevity.

1) Get to know your target audience deeply

A target audience is a specific group likely to be interested in a company's products or services. This requires including demographics, behaviors, and preferences to define this group.

Substantial evidence indicates that businesses that fail to effectively identify and understand their target audience fail more often.

For instance, CB Insights reports that one of the top 12 reasons startups fail is a lack of market need, which can often be traced back to not properly defining or understanding the target audience.

2) Tailor the executive summary for specific stakeholders

The executive summary should be tailored to resonate with various stakeholders, including potential investors, partners, and the target audience.

For investors, the focus should be on the market size and revenue potential.

For partners, emphasize synergy and collaboration opportunities.

Understanding the target group is crucial in highlighting how your product or service uniquely satisfies their needs or solves their problems.

3) Identify the target market and focus on solving their needs

Leverage the insights on your target audience that help sharpen the focus and clarity of your executive summary.

This involves showcasing how your business is uniquely positioned to meet your audience's specific needs and preferences, thereby increasing the relevance and impact of your message.

Identifying and mentioning your audience in the executive summary helps with product development, marketing strategies , and customer engagement.

This paves the path for tailored value propositions that resonate with customers, ensuring customer success and building a community of brand advocates.

Make sure you highlight the most relevant and appealing benefits and outcomes that your product will fetch for each buyer persona.

Secondary business plan summaries

Some business plans could benefit from a secondary summary that focuses on a critical part of the business plan.

This could be a revolutionary but technically complex product, a large and multifaceted project that requires large-scale funding or complex business integrations, etc.

1) Products and services overview

A product executive summary should briefly communicate what your business offers and its unique position in the market, any technical barriers for entry to keep copycats at bay, and any legal protection such as patents.

Highlight unique value propositions and innovations

Clearly state your product or service and the problems it solves or needs it fulfills.

Emphasize what makes your offering unique. Does a particular feature, technology, or approach set it apart from competitors?

Use concise language to describe how your product or service improves upon existing solutions or addresses unmet needs in the market.

If your business has proprietary technology or innovative processes, explain briefly how these contribute to the value of your offering.

Outline the roadmap for product development and rollout

Ensure your executive summary has a snapshot of your product or service's current development cycle. Is it in the concept stage, under development, or ready to launch?

Outline key milestones and plans for your offering, including future versions, expansions, or enhancements.

If applicable, mention any beta testing, pilot programs, or early customer feedback that validates your product or service.

Keep this section forward-looking but realistic to offer readers a sense of your product’s journey and future potential.

2) Funding and budget allocation overview

The funding and budget allocation summary should directly address the business's financial requirements, its viability, and its strategic planning.

It should demonstrate the immediate financial needs and give insight into how well the business manages its resources and plans for growth.

This information is particularly important for potential investors and stakeholders when faced with a complex and costly endeavor.

Outline financial needs and proposed budget allocation

Be specific and realistic: Give specific numbers regarding the capital required to start or expand the business. Try breaking down the fund allocation into key areas such as product development, marketing, operations, etc.

Showcase financial planning: Demonstrate how you allocate the budget effectively to achieve your business goals. This includes resources, personnel, marketing, and other operational expenses.

Highlight financial projections: Give an overview of your projected revenue, profits, and cash flow for the next few years. Make sure this aligns with your business plan .

Elaborate on funding strategies and ROI expectations

Detail your funding strategy: Mention your strategy for securing the necessary funding. This could include seeking investors, loans, grants, or other funding sources.

Discuss Return on Investment (ROI): Include a realistic expectation of ROI, explaining how and when investors can expect a return. This should be based on detailed financial projections and market analysis.

Link operations to financial performance: Demonstrate how your operational strategies will lead to financial success. Explain how processes and operations have been designed to run the business efficiently and contribute to a strong ROI.

Business plan presentation templates

You can start working on your business plan executive summary right away if you like. Grab one of our interactive business plan presentation templates and give your plan a beautiful form - easy as pie.

Within the templates, you can also enlist the help of our AI writing assistant (based on ChatGPT). Try and see how writing your summary just got a lot easier.

Grab a template!

Carl Torrence is a Content Marketer at Marketing Digest. His core expertise lies in developing data-driven content for brands, SaaS businesses, and agencies. In his free time, he enjoys binge-watching time-travel movies and listening to Linkin Park and Coldplay albums.

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What is an executive summary in a business plan?

Including an executive summary in your business plan can grab attention and help communicate key information quickly.

What is a business plan?

A business plan is the blueprint for how your business will run. It describes your product or service, identifies your customer and the problem they face, and explains how you’ll succeed in fixing that for them.

Your business plan also helps other people understand what you do and how you do it. Groups like banks and investors will want to see your business plan before deciding to put money into your business, for example. Your accountant should also be able to easily understand what your business idea is and how you’ll make money from it.

It’s a living document that can help you clarify your ideas and maintain a clear direction as you grow. It shouldn’t be just a one-off document – you can return to it at any time and add to it or change it as your business changes.

Looking for help to build your business plan? Download our free business plan templates to get started.

The executive summary is the elevator pitch for the rest of your business plan. Use it to highlight what you do, why you do it and how you’ll succeed.

It’s often the first section that a person will read in your business plan, so this is your opportunity to "sell" your idea and its potential for success.

It should explain enough that a reader could understand the key information about your business without having to read the whole document – this is especially helpful for readers who are pushed for time. However, a compelling executive summary will also grab someone’s attention enough to make them want to keep reading.

While it’s a helpful section for rushed readers, you may feel an executive summary isn’t absolutely necessary just yet. Think about your audience and the complexity of your business plan when weighing up the benefit of having an executive summary.

How does an executive summary differ from a mission statement or business objective?

A mission statement outlines the overall purpose and vision of your business, and a business objective is a specific goal or target you’ll aim for to help you achieve that vision.

The executive summary could include both your mission statement and business objectives. However, it should ultimately be a high-level overview of your whole business plan.

What to include in an executive summary

Treat your executive summary as the one and only section someone may read in your business plan. What must they know in order to understand your business?

Pull the key high-level information from other parts of your business plan, including:

• what your business does and why you do it
• your mission statement, if you have one
• your target customers, the problem they face and how you solve it for them
• the product or service you’re selling
• any key information from competitor or market research that helps tell your story
• a schedule to launch, or steps to implement your business plan

If you’re approaching lenders or investors for financing, include key financial information and your plans for growth in your executive summary too.

How to write an executive summary

It’s a good idea to fill in the other sections of your business plan first, before deciding what goes in an executive summary. This way, you have complete information for you to draw from.

Aim to summarize the key sections of your business plan in a few sentences using plain language that’s easy to understand. Include any important data or information that backs up your ideas, and leave out personal opinions.

Beware of copying and pasting information from other parts of your plan; the executive summary should be as specific and concise as possible. An executive summary that’s too general, or padded with unnecessary detail might lose the reader’s interest.

Think about who will read your business plan, and what they’ll be interested in. For example, if you want to connect with lenders or investors, promote the size of the opportunity for your business, and how much money you’ll need to make it a success.

There’s no strict rule about length, but it should remain clear and engaging the whole way through. Keeping to one page is a good general guide to maintain your reader’s attention without overwhelming them.

Ultimately, an executive summary should benefit your business plan by laying out critical information clearly and simply upfront. An engaging, informative summary will help key people understand your plan and your needs, so they can offer guidance and support your success.

You can find tips on business planning and more in How to start a business

Xero does not provide accounting, tax, business or legal advice. This guide has been provided for information purposes only. You should consult your own professional advisors for advice directly relating to your business or before taking action in relation to any of the content provided.

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• Writing Tips

How to Write an Executive Summary for a Business Plan

3-minute read

• 19th November 2023

An executive summary is the part of a business plan that gives an outline of the main plan. So to write an executive summary, we first need to read the business plan carefully and understand its key points. These key points are what we will condense to form the executive summary. It’s important to ensure that the executive summary can stand alone because plenty of users will read only that and not the main business plan. We could say that the business plan is the original TL;DR (too long; didn’t read)!

But first, let’s take a quick look at what goes into a business plan so we can focus on the sections we need for our executive summary.

What Is a Business Plan?

A business plan is a document that sets out a business’s strategy and the means of achieving it. The business plan usually contains the following sections:

How to Write an Executive Summary

The executive summary covers the same headings as the main business plan but not in so much detail. This is where our editing skills come to the fore!

The following six steps explain how to approach writing the executive summary.

Consider the Audience

Who will be using the summary? The business plan might be issued only to a very specific group of people, in which case, their needs are paramount and specialized. If the business plan is going out on wider release, we need to think about what a general reader will want to know.

Check That It Makes Sense on Its Own

Make sure the summary can be read as a stand-alone document for users who won’t read the whole plan.

Use Formatting Effectively

Make good use of formatting, headings, numbering, and bullets to increase clarity and readability.

Keep It Brief

One page (or around ten percent of the total word count for a large document) is great.

Avoid Jargon

Try to avoid jargon and use straightforward language. Readers of the executive summary might not have business backgrounds (for instance, if they are friend and family investors in a small start-up business).

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Proofread the Executive Summary

The executive summary will very likely be the first – and perhaps the only – part of the business plan some people will read, and it must be error-free to make a professional impression.

●  Consider the audience .

●  Ensure that the executive summary can stand alone.

●  Use formatting tools to good advantage.

●  Keep it brief.

●  Keep it simple.

●  Proofread it.

If you’d like an expert to proofread your business plan – or any of your writing – get in touch!

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First Steps: Writing the Executive Summary of Your Business Plan This quick guide offers tips that will help you create the executive summary for your business plan.

By The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc. • Jan 4, 2015

In their book Write Your Business Plan , the staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc. offer an in-depth understanding of what's essential to any business plan, what's appropriate for your venture, and what it takes to ensure success. In this edited excerpt, the authors outline what to include in your business plan's executive summary and why.

The first part of your business plan that anybody will see is the executive summary. It's a brief look at the key elements of the whole plan—and it's critical.

The executive summary should be only a page or two. In it, you may include your mission and vision statements, a brief sketch of your plans and goals, a quick look at your company and its organization, an outline of your strategy, and highlights of your financial status and needs. Your executive summary is the CliffsNotes of your business plan.

The summary is the most important part of your whole plan, so you want it to be as strong as possible because it's the first thing people read in your plan, and we all know the power of a strong first impression. This is where you want to wow people and make them think.

The executive summary has to perform a host of jobs. First and foremost, it should grab the reader's attention. It has to briefly hit the high points of your plan. It should point readers with questions requiring detailed responses to the full-length sections of your plan where they can get answers. It should ease the task of anybody whose job it is to read it, and it should make that task enjoyable by presenting an interesting and compelling account of your company.

Here's a suggested format for an executive summary:

1. What's the business idea, what problem does it solve and how does it fit into the marketplace?

You'll need to explain why your idea has merit and how it can solve a common problem by making things easier, faster, or cheaper for the prospective customer(s). No matter how brilliantly crafted, written and presented your business plan is, it will be difficult to win your investors, and later customers, with a bad idea. Therefore, you want to wow them first with your idea! If they're not interested, no matter what your financials are, they won't help.

2. How much will it cost, and how much financing are you seeking?

Provide a short explanation of how you'll use any financing you seek. Tell investors why you need the money. Nobody wants to lend you money if they don't know exactly why you need it. It's not necessary to get into much detail here—just make it clear that you need it for x, y and z. You should also let the reader know how the investment will help the company grow and/or increase its profits. Why else would you be seeking funding? The best use of somebody else's money is to buy or build something that will make more money, both for you and for that person.

3. What will the return be to the investor? Over what length of time?

In your executive summary, consider the following:

• Friends and family want to get their money back someday but are not very interested in timing and returns.
• Bankers look for free cash flow to pay back the principal and interest of their loan. They also look closely at management experience and marketing. They may ask for collateral. By law they have to be conservative, that is, risk averse, so they are not great candidates for risky financing.
• Angel investors look for moderate rates of return, usually above the prime rate, plus some capital appreciation. They sometimes want to be involved at a hands-on level.
• Venture capitalists seek annual compound rates of return in the area of 35 to 50 percent per annum. They seldom want to go longer than three to five years to cash out. They always want to know what the exit strategy is.

Don't forget yourself: It's a rare company that doesn't have any investment from the entrepreneur or entrepreneurs who started it.

4. How will the ownership be divided?

When a business starts generating profits and plowing them back into the firm, value can build rapidly. Even if you aren't in an industry likely to purchase buildings or patent valuable technology, the business derives value from the fact that it can generate profits into the future.

Spell out who owns what. If you have many equity investors coupled with a pile of creditors, this can get pretty complicated. For the summary section of your plan, a basic description such as "Ownership of the company will be divided so that each of the four original partners owns 25 percent" will suffice. If you have to negotiate details of exactly what any equity investors will get, there's time to do that later. For now, you just want to give people an idea of how the ownership will be divided.

Additional questions you may want to consider answering in your executive summary include:

• What is the management team?
• What are the product and competitive strategies?
• What is your marketing plan?
• What is your exit strategy?

Give It a Happy Ending

The summary is the place to put your best foot forward, to talk up the upside and downplay the downside. As always, accentuating the positive doesn't mean exaggeration or lying. If there's a really important, unusual risk factor in your plan—such as that one certain big customer has to make a huge order for the whole plan to work—then you'll want to mention that in your summary. But run-of-the-mill risks like unexpected competition or customer reluctance can be ignored here. Paint a convincing portrait of an opportunity so compelling that only a dullard wouldn't recognize it and desire to take part in it.

The key to the executive summary is to pick out the best aspects of every part of your plan. So extract the essence of each key part, and offer your readers a highlight reel of your business.

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How to Write an Executive Summary for a Business Plan

Back to Business Plans

Written by: Carolyn Young

Carolyn Young is a business writer who focuses on entrepreneurial concepts and the business formation. She has over 25 years of experience in business roles, and has authored several entrepreneurship textbooks.

Edited by: David Lepeska

David has been writing and learning about business, finance and globalization for a quarter-century, starting with a small New York consulting firm in the 1990s.

Published on February 27, 2023 Updated on December 12, 2023

Launching a business involves countless tasks, but a crucial early hurdle is writing a business plan . Many entrepreneurs who aren’t looking for funding think they can skip this step, but that’s never a good idea . 

A sharp business plan is essentially a business owner’s commitment to and preparation for the road ahead, and the executive summary might be the most important part. Investors and lenders usually only read the executive summary, unless it succeeds in grabbing their interest. 

Thus, if you’re looking for financing, an excellent executive summary is absolutely essential. But even if you’re not, writing a strong executive summary can help gather your thoughts and lessons learned. Lucky for you, this guide shows you just how to do it. 

• What is an Executive Summary?

The executive summary opens your business plan, but it’s the section you’ll write last. It summarizes the key points and highlights the most important aspects of your plan. 

Again, often investors and lenders will only read the executive summary; if it doesn’t capture their interest they’ll stop reading, so it must be as compelling as possible, even at two pages or less. 

• What to Include in the Executive Summary

Several key points should be included in the executive summary.

1. The Business Opportunity

What problem are you solving in the market and for whom? Write a few sentences about the opportunity and your target market . This should be at the top of your executive summary after a very brief introduction of your concept and vision. 

2. The Business Idea and Model

Provide specific information about your product or service, how it solves a market problem, and how you’ll sell it. Will it be one-time sales or a subscription? Focus on your product or service as a solution, discussing how it solves the problem and why it’s better than other solutions. 

3. Company History

What have you done to this point? When you’re just getting started, this may be nothing more than coming up with the idea, choosing a business name , and forming a business entity. Highlight milestones you’ve achieved. 

4. Market Summary

Discuss the state of the industry, market size, and projected growth. Include data points with links to sources. Also, touch upon why you chose your target market and the competitive landscape of your market. Don’t go into too much detail, just mention the most intriguing elements.

5. Competitive Advantage

Write a strong statement about how your company is going to stand out in the market – why will customers choose your product over those of competitors? This is extremely important to investors, so take your time on this one after you’ve done your full competitive analysis . 

6. Objectives

Write a short list of specific goals that you plan to achieve in the short term, such as developing your product, launching a marketing campaign, or hiring a key person. 

7. Management team

Provide a summary of your management team, their roles, and the relevant experience that they have to serve in those roles. Don’t be overly self-promotional here; just state the facts in a positive way. 

8. Financial Highlights

Provide a summary of your financial plan including revenue and profit projections (best in bullet form) for at least three years and a break-even analysis in a simple chart form. If you’ve already made some sales, include your revenue numbers.

9. The “Ask”

Your “ask”, if applicable, is what you’re requesting from the investor or lender. You’ll include the amount you’d like and how it will be spent, such as “We are seeking $50,000 in seed funding to develop our beta product”.  

It’s best not to specify the terms of funding you’re requesting, such as stating an equity offer. That will be a matter of negotiation.

10. Other Compelling Points

If there are any other points from your business plan that illustrate how your business will be unique and successful, be sure to include those as well. The executive summary should be as persuasive as possible. 

If you finish your executive summary and it’s more than two pages long, cut it down. Investors and lenders aren’t looking for a long read; they want you to get to the point and to be “wowed” by your vision. That will persuade them to dig into your full plan. 

So take all the time you need to write an excellent summary, then have somebody you trust review it to make sure it delivers. The future of your business could depend on it.

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Module: Entrepreneurship

Create your business plan.

The following written guide will help you create a business plan and map out how you will start and run your business successfully. The different parts are described in the order in which they appear in a business plan.

Executive Summary

The executive summary is often considered the most important section of a business plan. This section briefly tells your reader where your company is, where you want to take it, and why your business idea will be successful. If you are seeking financing, the executive summary is also your first opportunity to grab a potential investor’s interest.

The executive summary should highlight the strengths of your overall plan and therefore be the last section you write.

Below are several key points that your executive summary should include based on the stage of your business.

If You Are an Established Business

If you are an established business, be sure to include the following information:

• The mission statement : This explains what your business is all about. It should be between several sentences and a paragraph.
• Company information : Include a short statement that covers when your business was formed, the names of the founders and their roles, your number of employees, and your business location(s).
• Growth highlights : Include examples of company growth, such as financial or market highlights (for example, “XYZ Firm increased profit margins and market share year-over-year since its foundation). Graphs and charts can be helpful in this section.
• Your products/services : Briefly describe the products or services you provide.
• Financial information : If you are seeking financing, include any information about your current bank and investors.
• Summarize future plans : Explain where you would like to take your business.

With the exception of the mission statement, all of the information in the executive summary should be covered in a concise fashion and kept to one page. The executive summary is the first part of your business plan many people will see, so each word should count.

If You Are a Start-up or New Business

If you are just starting a business, you won’t have as much information as an established company. Instead, focus on your experience and background as well as the decisions that led you to start this particular enterprise.

Demonstrate that you have done thorough market analysis. Convince the reader that you can succeed in your target market; then address your future plans.

Company Description

This section of your business plan provides a high-level overview of the different elements of your business. The goal is to help readers and potential investors quickly understand the goal of your business and its unique proposition.

What to Include in Your Company Description

• Describe the nature of your business and list the marketplace needs that you are trying to satisfy.
• Explain how your products and services meet these needs.
• List the specific consumers, organizations, or businesses that your company serves or will serve.
• Explain the competitive advantages that you believe will make your business a success such as your location, expert personnel, efficient operations, or ability to bring value to your customers.

Market Analysis

The market analysis section of your business plan should illustrate your industry and market knowledge as well as any of your research findings and conclusions.

What to Include in Your Market Analysis

• Industry description and outlook : Describe your industry, including its current size and historic growth rate as well as other trends and characteristics (e.g., life cycle stage, projected growth rate). Next, list the major customer groups within your industry.
• Information about your target market : One of the first steps in the process is determining your target market and why they would want to buy from you. Narrow your target market to a manageable size. Many businesses make the mistake of trying to appeal to too many target markets. Research and include the following information about your market:
• Distinguishing characteristics : What are the critical needs of your potential customers? Are those needs being met?  What are the demographics of the group and where are they located? Are there any seasonal or cyclical purchasing trends that may impact your business?
• Size of the primary target market : In addition to the size of your market, what data can you include about the annual purchases your market makes in your industry? What is the forecasted market growth for this group?
• How much market share can you gain? : What is the market share percentage and number of customers you expect to obtain in a defined geographic area? Explain the logic behind your calculation.
• Pricing and gross margin targets : Define your pricing structure, gross margin levels, and any discount that you plan to use.
• Competitive analysis : Ask which areas are being ignored by your competitors. Creating a niche for your business is essential. Your competitive analysis should identify your competition by product line or service and market segment. Assess the characteristics of the competitive landscape (e.g., market share, strengths and weaknesses, barriers to market entry, etc.). Don’t Become a jack-of-all-trades. Learn to strategize.
• Regulatory restrictions : Include any customer or governmental regulatory requirements affecting your business, and how you’ll comply.

Once you’ve completed this section, you can move on to the Organization and Management section of your business plan.

Organization and Management

This section should include your company’s organizational structure, details about the ownership of your company, profiles of your management team, and the qualifications of your board of directors.

Who does what in your business? What is their background and why are you bringing them into the business as board members or employees? What are they responsible for? The people reading your business plan want to know who’s in charge, so tell them. Give a detailed description of each division or department and its function.

Service or Product Line

Once you’ve completed the Organizational and Management section of your plan, the next part of your business plan is where you describe your service or product, emphasizing the benefits to potential and current customers. Focus on why your particular product will fill a need for your target customers.

What to Include in Your Service or Product Line Section

• A description of your product/service : Include information about the specific benefits of your product or service – from your customers’ perspective. You should also talk about your product or service’s ability to meet consumer needs, any advantages your product has over that of the competition, and the current development stage your product is in (e.g., idea, prototype).
• Details about your product’s life cycle : Be sure to include information about where your product or service is in its life cycle, as well as any factors that may influence its cycle in the future.
• Intellectual property : If you have any existing, pending, or any anticipated copyright or patent filings, list them here. Also disclose whether any key aspects of a product may be classified as trade secrets. Last, include any information pertaining to existing legal agreements, such as nondisclosure or non-compete agreements.
• Research and development (R&D) activities : Outline any R&D activities that you are involved in or are planning. What results of future R&D activities do you expect? Be sure to analyze the R&D efforts of not only your own business, but also of others in your industry.

Marketing and Sales

Once you’ve completed the Service or Product Line section of your plan, the next part of your business plan should focus on your marketing and sales management strategy for your business.

Marketing is the process of creating customers, and customers are the lifeblood of your business. In this section, the first thing you want to do is define your marketing strategy. You’ll learn more about this in the Marketing module of this course.

After you have developed a comprehensive marketing strategy, you can then define your sales strategy. This covers how you plan to actually sell your product. Sales is also covered later in the course.

Next, if you are seeking financing for your business, you’ll need to complete the next part of your plan—Funding Request.

Funding Request

If you are seeking funding for your business venture, use this section to outline your requirements, including the following:

• Your current funding requirement
• Any future funding requirements during the next five years
• How you intend to use the funds you receive: Is the funding request for capital expenditures? Working capital? Debt retirement? Acquisitions? Whatever it is, be sure to list it in this section.
• Any strategic financial situational plans for the future, such as: a buyout, being acquired, debt repayment plan, or selling your business.

When you are outlining your funding requirements, include the amount you want now and the amount you want in the future. Also include the time period that each request will cover, the type of funding you would like to have (e.g., equity, debt), and the terms that you would like to have applied.

Once you have completed your funding request, move on to the next part of your plan—Financial Projections.

Financial Projections

You should develop the Financial Projections section after you’ve analyzed the market and set clear objectives. That’s when you can allocate resources efficiently. The following is a list of the critical financial statements to include in your business plan packet.

Historical Financial Data

If you own an established business, you will be requested to supply historical data related to your company’s performance. Most creditors request data for the last three to five years, depending on the length of time you have been in business. Typical financial data to include are your company’s income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements for each year you have been in business. Often, creditors are also interested in any collateral that you may have that could be used to ensure your loan, regardless of the stage of your business.

Prospective Financial Data

All businesses, whether start-up or growing, will be required to supply prospective financial data. Most of the time, creditors will want to see what you expect your company to be able to do within the next five years. Each year’s documents should include forecasted income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, and capital expenditure budgets.

Make sure that your projections match your funding requests; creditors will be on the lookout for inconsistencies.

Lastly, you may want to include an Appendix to your plan.

The Appendix should be provided to readers on an as-needed basis and should not be included with the main body of your business plan. Specific individuals (such as creditors) may want access to this information to make lending decisions. The appendix can include items such as your credit history, résumés, letters of reference, and any additional information that a lender may request.Therefore, it is important to have the appendix within easy reach.

Any copies of your business plan should be controlled; keep a distribution record. This will allow you to update and maintain your business plan on an as-needed basis.

Check Your Understanding

Answer the question(s) below to see how well you understand the topics covered above. This short quiz does not count toward your grade in the class, and you can retake it an unlimited number of times.

Use this quiz to check your understanding and decide whether to (1) study the previous section further or (2) move on to the next section.

• Revision and adaptation. Authored by : Linda Williams and Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• Check Your Understanding. Authored by : Lumen Learning. License : CC BY: Attribution
• What I Do at Work. Authored by : The Scott. Located at : https://www.flickr.com/photos/thescott365/3183484673/ . License : CC BY-NC: Attribution-NonCommercial
• Create Your Business Plan. Provided by : U.S. Small Business Association. Located at : https://www.sba.gov/writing-business-plan . License : Public Domain: No Known Copyright

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WHAT IS AN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY IN A BUSINESS PLAN?

You have just finished writing the body of your business plan. Your document reflects your future business. You are assured that it will convince your banker to support you in your project. However, everything will depend on the last step of writing your business plan: the executive summary. Indeed, this is the part that will or will not make your financial partners want to read your business plan. Kind of like the back cover of a novel. To give your idea every chance of success, follow our guide to writing a compelling executive summary. It is usually 2 to 4 pages long and highlights the key features of your business plan.

DEFINITION OF EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The executive summary, or “ operational summary ” is the summary of your business plan. It allows you to quickly present the interest of your project in two minutes. Investors receive dozens of business plans every day, that’s why they can’t read them all. They, therefore, rely on this executive summary to select the business plan likely to interest them.

Purpose for readers

It illustrates the main features of your business in a way that urges the readers to learn more. It must have enough information for investors. That allows them to understand the potential behind your business, without reading your entire plan.

It is a synopsis of your whole business plan. That leaves readers with the feeling that the business is efficiently run, and has strength and passion.

Purpose for Business

It summarizes your business plan and helps to concentrate on the key issues in the development of a business plan. The executive summary consists of valuable details. So it helps you to find out which part of your entire business plan is more crucial and needs more attention. It also provides you a good base for writing the full business plan.

THE PRESENTATION OF THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The first thing to know about the operational summary is that it is placed at the beginning of the business plan. But it should be written at the end of it, just like an introduction to an essay.

This part should not exceed two pages. Keep in mind that lenders will only give it a few minutes, so it should be concise and to the point. It is best to write small paragraphs, each with a key point to make the executive summary easier to read. Using graphics or infographic will also make it easier to capture your reader’s attention.

Last but not least, remember that it has to “sell” the interest of your business plan, without overselling. You should, therefore, avoid arousing the disappointment of your reader as much as possible, if they decide to open your document.

THE CONTENT OF THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The executive summary should allow the reader to get a good general idea of ​​the business plan, without having to read it in its entirety. There are several things you need to address in your executive summary:

• The origins of your idea and the problem it will solve,
• The solution you are going to respond,
• The business model of your enterprise (how you plan to make money),
• Your competitive advantage ,
• The members of your team and their areas of expertise,
• Your three-year results projections,
• The amount of your financing needs (this is often what entrepreneurs forget in their operational summary, yet it is a crucial point).
• As you can see, it is a real exercise in style to manage to synthesize all this information in just two pages.

What to avoid?

An executive summary should be written in a fascinating way.  Don’t write them in the form of outlines, tables of contents, and list of elements. Evade using exaggeration or hype, because it can lower the confidence and credibility of your business plan. Its content should not be in cut and pasted form. Rather, it should be unique and fresh. 

Importance of Executive summary

An executive summary is an initial representation that describes your complete business plan. It provides the condensed and summarized version of your business plan. A well-written executive summary helps to grab the attention of readers. It is perhaps the most important part of the document, as in many cases, it will influence the reader’s opinion.

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Executive Summary: The Crucial Part Of A Business Plan

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Even the most well-written business plans fail because of poorly-written executive summaries.  The Executive Summary is the first thing that investors read.

The style is important as well. The executive summary format must be the standard layout that investors expect to see.

Read below to get to know the most important section of a business plan – the Executive Summary!

The Most Important Section of a Business Plan

Many companies think they have a plan for their business laid out, but unless this is printed on paper and organized effectively, there is no plan…just a jumble of ideas.

It is essential to put in writing the company’s mission-vision statement and goals. Even if the business plan gets revised along the way, it will serve as a steering wheel that will take the company to its desired destination.

With a business plan in place, the company knows where it is heading.

Best Part of a Business Plan

A business plan has several parts like the mission statement, company background, product description, operations, marketing plan, financial planning, competitor analysis, etc. But the most important component is the Executive Summary.

You can hook prospective investors by delivering the information contained in the executive summary in an interesting manner.

The executive summary, although found at the beginning, is an overview of the business plan’s content which is why it is advisable to write it last. The executive summary is at the beginning to provide the reader an overview of the business without having to go through the entire business plan.

Being so, it would be wise to highlight the strengths and competitive advantage of your business within the executive summary. Convince the reader why your idea will be successful. Tell them where your company is now, where it’s going and how you plan on getting it there. Deliver it in such a way that you are narrating a story but with factual information.

Why Write an Executive Summary

Financiers, bankers, investors, lenders, CEOs and managers are very busy people; your Executive Summary tells them if the rest of your business plan is worth their time. Give them a reason to keep on reading.  Keep them interested with a well-written and well-thought executive summary.

In most cases, the executive summary is probably the only thing they will ever read in your document. Only after going through the summary will they decide if the entire business plan is worth the read.

The executive summary gets your foot in the door – but can you keep people interested so they don’t slam that door in your face anyway – foot and all?

Telling a Good Story Through the Executive Summary

A story has three parts: the beginning, the middle and the end. Begin your executive summary by sharing about a need in the market which your product or service could fill. The market may not know about the need, but it is there and they will willingly patronize your product or service.

The middle of the summary should include the elements found in the other parts of the business plan beginning with the mission statement. Tell something about your company and what it’s all about. Provide a brief company profile, its growth highlights, and market potential.

Introduce your product.  Talk about what the market can gain from using it. Present a financial summary through infographic to make it easier for the investor to understand. End the executive summary by presenting your future plans. Explain what you plan to do with the money you intend to raise.

Set the Appropriate Tone

In verbal conversations, we change the pitch and intonation of our voice to convey a clearer message to our listeners.  We also use facial expressions, body language and hand gestures to do this as well. In written communication, however, this gets a little bit tricky because of the lack of the voice aspect.  So instead of our voice, we use “Tone”.

In writing, the tone is your “voice”.  It affects your readers the way your voice, facial expressions, and hand gestures would when you talk.

It is essential that you know how to set the appropriate tone, especially when writing in the business setting.  Injecting humor might be appropriate for a stand-up comic to do as he pitches an idea about a stand-up act to a producer but it might not work   the same way if you are trying to get investor funding for your startup.  

To help you set the tone of your executive summary, think about the what, why and who.  Ask yourself what you want your reader to know, who your reader will be and why you are writing it.  Keep it formal, professional and easy to understand.

Things to Remember

Here are some things to consider when writing an executive summary:

• Should be a short review of the  Business Plan

This means that the content should not be as detailed as the information outlined in the other parts of the document. Save the charts, numbers, and analysis for the report itself.

• Apply structural guidelines in the Executive Summary

Make the paragraphs short and concise. It should also make sense even without reading the entire report.

• Use graphics, bullet points, and headings

Graphics, bullet points, and headings are useful tools to summarize documents. Graphics can provide substantial information at a glance compared to reading it in words. Lengthy information can be itemized into digestible bullets. Organize the information using headings to avoid mix-up.

• Define the problem

The reason why you are presenting your business plan to investors is for them to help you solve it. Make sure to define the problem in a clear and understandable manner.

• Offer a solution

The only way you will be able to convince investors to back you up is to assure that you have the solution to the problem. Explain briefly the research you made in the market and how your product or service will be of use to your prospective customers. Back this up with data on potential earnings.

• End the summary with a paragraph bearing the heading “Why Now?”

In this part, explain why your product or service is an idea whose time has come and why the best time to act on it is now. By putting a sense of urgency, you will prevent your investors from dilly-dallying on their decision and secure their commitment ASAP.

Knowing if Your Executive Summary is Good Enough

By now you should know that an executive summary is a concise and relevant explanation of what your company does. Only when you grasp its real meaning will you be able to produce the ideal executive summary. There are a few processes to go through to make a summary including reading and rereading several times.

But here’s one way of determining that you did it right. Get a non-investor to go over your output then ask that person to explain what he/she just read. If he/she is able to verbalize your executive summary, then you’re good to go. If not, it means your work needs rewriting.

Elevator Pitch

Coming up with a well-presented business plan is not the end of it. There are times when the investors will say they don’t have time to read your plan so you’d have to verbally summarize its contents to them. And the best part to present is the executive summary.

The executive summary may seem long at a glance, but it should only take two to three minutes to read aloud. Do not read your executive summary to your investors.  They’d expect you to know what’s in your business plan and be able to tell them in your own words without having to read from it.

Reading requires looking at the document and makes you lose valuable eye contact with your listener. Use a PowerPoint presentation as a guide instead.

Business gurus call this stage the Elevator Pitch in reference to an elevator ride which could last up to two minutes. Due to the short attention span of an average person, that is the time you need to convince your prospective investors on the novelty of your idea.

Do Your Homework

Your verbal presentation must be brief and concise while highlighting the important points. You have to hook your listeners into every word you say. Cite statistics without having to look into your folder. A few seconds gap in your presentation because you had to refer to your notes could potentially lose the interest of your prospective financiers.

Be passionate when delivering your report and speak with authority. Excitement is contagious.  Be excited. Your listeners will want to know what you’re excited about and pay more attention.  Welcome their questions.  Most often than not, questions equal interest.  Be prepared to answer questions – it’s your business – own it.

I hope you find this article helpful and if you want to learn more about starting your own business, StartupJungle.com has a 21 point checklist for starting your new business . Make sure you download this if you’re serious about getting started.

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Executive Summary - The most crucial part of your business plan

The executive summary the most important part of your business plan, and perhaps the only one that will get read so make it perfect!

The executive summary has only one objective : get the investor to read the rest of your business plan.

Ok but how?

Get in the reader's shoes

Their inbox is probably full of business plans and they need to get to the bottom of it.

They are therefore very likely to scan through each business plan in less than 2 minutes and to select only the most promising projects.

How to make your executive summary stand out?

First on the formatting. Make the text easy to read by using short paragraphs rather than long blocks of text. And keep it short: 1 (ideal) or 2 (maximum) pages.

Then on the content itself: go straight to the point. Introduce in a couple of paragraphs: the idea, the team, the market, the potential in terms of profitability, and the funding requirements.

Don't try to cover everything in too many details: keep it high level and the investor will read the rest of the plan to get the details if they are interested.

The introduction of the executive summary

The investor (or the banker) will start by checking that the project matches its investment criteria:

• The idea and the funding requirements match their investment stage: seed, series A, growth, or LBO
• The sector is not over-allocated in their portfolio: investors have diversification criteria imposed by their own investors, banks by their credit committee
• The market is big enough: especially important for equity investors
• The team has the right skill-set

The introduction of your executive summary must touch briefly on all of the points above before covering them in more details in the body of the executive summary.

For example:

Created in 2011, ABC Ltd offers through its website www.abc.com an A/B testing solution and generated a turnover of £1m in 2012. The objective of this business plan is to seek a financing of £20 to grow the company's market share in the A/B testing market valued at around £2.3bn en 2012. The company is led by 3 seasoned entrepreneurs and employs 2 other people.

The body of your executive summary

The rest of executive summary must follow a progression. Start with the business description and the team, then the market and your financial highlights, and finally the funding requirements.

Business description

Try to introduce your company in a couple of sentences (legal structure, location, shareholders and management team), its activity, and the main milestones to date.

The aim is to build interest from the reader of your plan by showing that you have the right team to carry this project and some traction around the product.

If you have some skill gaps within the team you also need to address this concern by showing how you are going to fill the gap (recruitment, external advisor).

Your reader now knows:

• In what they will be investing
• Along which shareholders
• And who will lead the project

The next step is to give a brief overview of the market:

• Customers: who are they? How many are they? What is the estimated value of the market?
• Need: why will customers buy your products or services?
• Competition: who are your competitors? What sets you apart?
• Strategy: what is your market positioning? How are you going to access the market?

If you are writing your business plan for a bank , try to reassure by showing that there is a real need for your product and that you are going to generate revenues quickly.

If your business plan is for an equity investor, you also need to emphasize the market size and demonstrate that there is the potential to establish a large business.

Financial highlights

Here you need to present your key historical and forecasted financials, along with the main assumptions underlying your forecast.

Which figure should I mention? This really depends on both your sector and stage. As a minimum, try to show:

• That you are profitable: your EBITDA is positive
• That you generate cash: your operating cash flow is positive
• That you are growing: your revenues, EBITDA, and operating cash flow are growing regularly

Depending on your sector you might also want to include a few Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). For example the number of active users for a software company.

Finish your executive summary by stating the funding requirements and the use of proceeds. If needed, detail the offer (% of equity on offer, the ideal length of the loan, etc.).

If you are trying to raise equity and already received binding offers from a few investors, mention it here as this will reinforce the attractiveness of your project.

Examples of executive summary

If you're after a bit of inspiration, you can have a look at the presentation pages of our business plan templates .

Each of our template includes a complete business plan sample and you can read their executive summary on the presentation pages.

What tool should I use to write my executive summary?

If you just need to write your executive summary, any good word processor should do.

If you need to create a complete business plan including a financial forecast, it is more efficient to use our online business plan software :

There are several advantages to using specialized software to write a business plan:

• You are guided through the writing process by detailed instructions and examples for each part of the plan (including the executive summary).
• You can be inspired by already written business plan templates
• You can easily make your financial forecast by letting the software take care of the financial calculations for you.
• You get a professional document, formatted and ready to be sent to your bank or investors.
• You can easily compare your actual financial performance against your forecast, and keep it updated and relevant as time goes by.

If you're interested in using this type of solution, you can try our software for free by signing up here .

That's it, now you know how to write a great executive summary! Don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Also on The Business Plan Shop

• How to write a business plan?
• How investors analyse business plans
• Free business plan template
• Tips to write a business plan for investors
• Where to write the conclusion of a business plan
• How to write the structure and ownership section of your business plan
• How to write the location section of your business plan

Know someone who needs to wrtite an executive summary in their business plan? Share this guide with them!

Founder & CEO at The Business Plan Shop Ltd

Guillaume Le Brouster is a seasoned entrepreneur and financier.

Guillaume has been an entrepreneur for more than a decade and has first-hand experience of starting, running, and growing a successful business.

Prior to being a business owner, Guillaume worked in investment banking and private equity, where he spent most of his time creating complex financial forecasts, writing business plans, and analysing financial statements to make financing and investment decisions.

Guillaume holds a Master's Degree in Finance from ESCP Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Business & Management from Paris Dauphine University.

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