How to Write an Executive Summary for Your Business Plan
An executive summary should condense your business plan down to its most essential form.
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Updated · 7 min read
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When you’re starting a business, one of the first things to do is write a business plan. A business plan has several pieces, beginning with an executive summary.
What is an executive summary?
An executive summary is the opening statement to your business plan. It should be short (one to two pages), informative, and easy to read. Most of all, it needs to capture a busy reader's attention
An executive summary should tell the story of your business, highlighting:
- What your business does.
- Why you do what you do.
- Why the reader should invest in your business.
- Why that investment will be well spent.
Why write an executive summary?
An executive summary lets investors get a quick understanding of your business. You can hook their interest and offer a clear selling point for why they should invest.
Your executive summary shows your business is worth a investor's money and time. Investors are busy. You summary gives them a reason to keep reading your entire business plan.
How long should an executive summary be?
An executive summary should be as short as you can get it. In general, that's likely one to two pages in length. But there’s no firm rule.
The right length depends on how long and complex your business plan itself is. The goal is to get your reader to grasp its main ideas.
Don't fudge the length by doing things like adjusting margin or font size. Readers can spot those tricks. If your summary is too long, trim it further. Not sure what to cut? Ask a third-party (a friend, fellow business owner or LLM tool) to help.
What to include in an executive summary
You executive summary must communicate a lot in a little space. It should hit the most critical pieces of your business plan. After all, it might be the only thing a prospective investor read.
Here’s what to include in your executive summary. Keep in mind that the later sections of your business plan will go into more detail.
1. The hook
Your first sentence and paragraph will determine if an investor keeps reading. That’s why the hook or introduction is so important.
In general, a hook is anything that gets a reader’s attention. An executive summary is a formal business document. But your hook should make you stand out — without wasting time.
Potential hooks could be:
- Something creative about your company.
- An eye-catching industry fact.
- A well-crafted description of your business.
Craft your hook with the personality of your reader in mind. Show them you've done your research, about them and this business opportunity.
2. Company description
Once you’ve hooked your reader, get into some general information about your business. If an investor is going to give you money, they'll want to understand:
- What your company does.
- What product you sell or service you provide.
- When you formed your business.
- Where it's located.
- Who founded and manages the company (names and specific roles).
- Any extra details about the management team or style.
3. Market analysis
This is a brief description of the market for your business. Show that you have done your research and there is a need for your specific product or services.
Some questions you should answer:
- Who are your competitors?
- What is the demand for your products or services?
- What advantages do you have that make your business unique versus others?
Stick to the highlights for your executive summary. You’ll provide a complete analysis in a separate section of your business plan. But communicate enough to help an investor gauge your business's potential.
4. Products and services
This section of your executive summary highlights your products or services. Talk about your current sales, the growth you’ve seen and any other selling point for your company.
This is also a good time to identify your competitive advantage and what you do best. Emphasize why potential customers will choose you over the competition.
5. Financial information and projections
Give the reader an overview of your current business financials. Again, you’ll go more in-depth later, so just provide some highlights, like:
- Your current sales and profits (if you have any).
- What funding you’re hoping to get.
- How that money will affect your financials in the next few years.
You can also explain what funding, if any, you’ve received in the past. If you paid back your loan on time, that's a strong selling point for potential lenders.
6. Future plans
Outlining the funding you need is essential, but you’ve also got to make clear what you plan to use that funding for. That's what this final section should do.
Are you hoping to open another location? Expand your product line? Invest in your marketing efforts? Detail where you want your business to go — and drive home how the funding will help you get there.
Tips for writing an executive summary
How you write an executive summary is as important as what you write in it. You need to strike a balance between formal, personable, confident and humble. Here's are some tips.
1. Write it last
An executive summary should touch on everything in your business plan. You may not know all that entails until you finish that plan, though.
Instead of staring at a blank screen trying to perfect your intro, put together the rest first. Then, go through your business plan to find the most important points.
2. Be concise
Writing a concise executive summary is no easy task. But you need to cover a lot in a little space. Make every word count.
To do that, read through your business plan and pull out single lines for potential inclusion. Don't be picky. Once you've finished, delete any bullets that aren't necessary to understanding your business.
Once you have your list, start writing your executive summary. Remember, only include 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.
3. Use bullet points
One simple way to make your executive summary more readable is to use bullet points. Extra whitespace makes content faster and easier to read. They make your main points pop to skimmers, too.
In general, bullet points (as well as short paragraphs and short sentences) help in this regard. If important numbers and convincing stats jump out at the reader, they’re more likely to keep reading.
4. Speak to your audience
An effective executive summary captures attention. To do that, see if you can personalize your text to the personality and interests of the person reading it.
An executive summary is generally formal. But different industries may be OK with more creativity. Personalizing might come in the form of:
- Using the reader's name in a salutation.
- Sharing details in a way you know the reader likes.
- Matching your tone to the reader's style — whether that's deferential, informal or otherwise.
Keep in mind: It is OK to write different executive summaries for different audiences.
Also, don't harp on investment. You and your reader know that's the end goal. The point of the executive summary is to get them to keep reading. Ideally, it ends with scheduling a meeting with you to talk more.
5. Get a test reader
A test reader can give you an honest opinion of your executive summary. Someone in your industry or another business owner can be a great choice. But see if you can also get a test reader with limited knowledge of your business and industry.
Your executive summary should be so clear that anyone can understand it. Having a variety of test readers can help identify any confusing language.
Have them look for clichés, superlatives and claims you don't back up by fact as well. Your executive summary isn’t marketing material. It should be straightforward and clear.
6. Consider LLM tools
LLM tools like ChatGPT can streamline much of the executive summary process. It can even write the summary for you. But it can do the same for other entrepreneurs too. That means differentiation will remain important.
Consider starting with a tool of your choice. You can prompt it to:
- Create a first draft based on bullet points you provide.
- Update that draft's tone to match your audience's needs.
- Evaluate your text as if it's an expert or novice on the subject.
From there, make the text your own. It should sound like "you," not AI slop. Ensure your voice and passion come through. Once you like what you have, an LLM tool can proofread for spelling, grammar and readability.
This article originally appeared on JustBusiness, a subsidiary of NerdWallet.
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