Executive Summary: Contents and Characteristics

Take highlights from each section of your completed plan and address the areas listed below. Remember to be brief and clear. Cover each topic in no more than one to three sentences. Describe only the most important and impressive features of your business. After the first two topics, Company Description and Statement of Mission, place the remaining sections in any order that gives the best impression of your business to your target reader. For the reader’s quick comprehension, use topic headings at the beginning of each paragraph (see the Sample Plan at the end of this chapter); if you’d like a Summary that seems less like a list, omit the headings. Feel free to combine related topics, such as “Target Market” and “Marketing Strategy,” to create a more fluid document.
Company Description: List the company name, type of business, location, and legal status, e.g., corporation, sole proprietorship, partnership.
Statement of Mission: Write the concise statement of company purpose you developed in Chapter 5
Stage of Development: State whether your company is a start-up or continuing business, when it was founded, how far along the product or service is in its creation, and if you’re already made sales or started shipping.
Products and Services: List the products or services your company sells or plans to sell, this can be generic for a company with many products- e.g., women’s sportswear- or specific for a company with just a few.
Target Market(s): List the markets you intend to reach and why you choose them, indicate the results of any market analysis or market research.
Marketing and Sales Strategy: Briefly describe how you intend to reach your target market(s), and the advertising, direct mail, trade shows, and other methods you will use to secure sales
Competitors and Market Distribution: Indicate the nature of your competition and how the market is currently divided.
Competitive Advantages and Distinctions: Show why your company will be able to compete