Executive Summary Must Haves

The executive summary is a summary of the business plan (including operations, sales and marketing, and finance), but it is also a selling document. This means that you must answer your readers' questions if you want to sell your business concept.

Here is a short list of questions you must answer in your executive summary:

1. Does the executive summary include a description of your business (this should appear in the first or second paragraph)?
2. Does the executive summary identify the product or service along with a clear customer need for the product or service?
3. Does the executive summary identify the target market and market opportunity?
4. Does the executive summary identify the value proposition?
5. Does the executive summary identify the competitive advantage and the competitive environment?
6. Does the executive summary show that the business idea fits the owner’s distinctive competencies?
7. Does the executive summary identify how the product or service will be made or delivered?
8. Does the executive summary identify a proof of concept (not all plans have this)?
9. Does the executive summary identify describe the basic financial opportunity (this includes revenue and profit expectations)?
10. Does the executive summary describe how the company will make money with the business or revenue model?
11. Does the executive summary identify the type and amount of funding required and the ROI?

John Bradley Jackson
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