How to Write

In the most common form of a business plan, the executive summary is that which comes first. It contains a summary or an overview of what people can expect to read in the succeeding pages. But even if the executive summary comes first in the printed business plan, it is usually the last to be written. Why? Because you can’t write a summary without having the detailed information first (of course!).

As an introduction, the executive summary will fire the first shot in selling your business to potential customers. If you don’t grab their attention at this point, chances are slim that they will even bother to read the rest of the business plan. Because of that, we’ve come up with a guide in writing your executive summary.

• The language that you use in the executive summary should be positive. If there’s a hint of hesitation in the summary, the readers wouldn’t be convinced in buying the product that you’re selling them.
• And since you’re just writing a summary, don’t waste your readers’ time by bombarding with the same information that they’ll read later on in the business plan.
• Keep your summary short. It is recommended that it should be written in 2-3 paragraphs. But if you cannot do that, keep it to one page at least. Again, time is of the essence here so give your readers what they need in the shortest time possible.
• If your industry is technical in nature, be able to translate your jargon into laymen’s language. You don’t want them scratching their heads after they read your summary.
• Another challenge in writing an executive summary is that you should be able to show how you arrived at your conclusions in such a short space. So make the best of it and be sure to convince potential investors well!

 How to Write an Executive Summary

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