Earlier in Invest Engine Blog we have talked about executive summary contents and how to write executive summary. Using all this information we shall now pass to actually writing an executive summary taking restaurant business plan as an example. Writing executive summaries is among the most important business skills. The majority of investors whom you’ll address with your project will read your executive summary first. And only then will decide whether to proceed with your start up or leave it alone. So let’s get started!
1. Executive Summary Cover
Passing along a naked text is not a good idea. So do provide a cover for your executive summary. The executive summary cover page should contain: * your company logo; * the title of your project; * your contact information; * the subtitle “Executive Summary” (not to confuse this document with the full version of your business plan).
2. The Opening Statement: Who? What? When? Where? Why?
From the very first sentence it should be understood what your project is about. Showing respect to your readers’ time and attention is highly appreciated. So if you can answer the Five W’s in a single sentence, it is perfect. But sometimes it is better to break it down into smaller sentences. And DO avoid general phrases and adjectives like “great”, “unique”, “exclusive” as they make you look boastful right from the start.
From the cover page of our sample restaurant executive summary the reader knows that the project is called: “BBQ-5 – barbecue restaurant in Chicago, IL”. So the opening statement of the executive summary could be:
“BBQ-5 is a new barbecue restaurant in Chicago, IL founded by Mr.BBQ. This will be the fifth restaurant of “Mr. BBQ Family of Restaurants” – the barbecue chain founded in 2005 and is already well-known in The Great Lakes area.”
3. Brief Company ProfileYou are sure to provide some detailed information about your company