Your executive summary provides an overview of your project, a description of your current business or business idea as well as a simple explanation of your activities.
Project objectives
What to include here:
- What is the project about?
- What are the goals of the project?
- What is the opportunity you want to capture?
- What are the key milestones?
- What are the timelines and revenue targets for your project?
Business description
What to include here:
- What solutions do you provide to your customers?
- How does your company fit within the current market?
- What are the current major initiatives of your business?
- Where is your company located?
- How long have you been around, and what's changed since you first started?
Products and services
What to include here:
- What are the products and services you offer?
- What are the benefits of your products and services?
- What are the key features of your products and services?
- What portion of overall revenues does each product or service represent?
Financing need
What to include here:
- What are the financial needs of your project?
- What are the sources of financing you are considering?
- What are the terms of the financing you are seeking?
- How do you plan on investing the money?
Key people
What to include here:
- Who are the main executives/advisors in your business?
- What experience do they bring to the role?
- What are their current responsibilities within the company?
Risk assessment and contingency plan
What to include here:
- What are your company's weaknesses, (internal), or threats, (external), that could unhinge your business plans?
- Are you facing a skilled shortage?
- Is there a risk of a competitor taking over your customers?
- Are there changes to laws or regulations that may affect your business?
- How will you monitor, measure and respond to these risks?
Provide a concise description of what you do and who you serve. Use this section to highlight your competitive position; include the size of the market, competitors, market and technological trends, and identify laws that regulate your industry.
Business description
What to Include here:
- What solutions do you provide to your customers?
- How is the company trending? Where do you fit within the industry or market?
- What are the current major initiatives of the business?
- Where is your company located?
- How long have you been around, and what's changed since you first started?
Mission, vision, values
What to include here:
- Mission statement. What does your organization do? What solution do you offer customers?
- Your vision statement describes where you want to go/future goals.
- Your values describe your company culture and offer a glimpse into what customers can expect when dealing with you.
Industry overview and trends
What to include here:
- What's happening in your industry, or in the market where you’re selling, that could have a positive or negative impact on your company?
- Have you seen an uptick in demand for a product or service?
- Is the population changing? Are your customers getting older?
- Is your current product or service at risk of becoming obsolete, forcing you to change?
- Have new competitors emerged?
- Could new regulations, tax or trade laws have an impact on your business?
Technological trends
What to include here:
- Are new technologies disrupting your industry?
- What is your plan to deal with emerging technological trends in your industry?
- What technology are you using and how do you maintain it?
- How do your suppliers and customers use technology? Is that changing?
Tip: Technology can affect your core business as well as back-end processes, hiring, supply chain and customer purchasing behaviour.
Government regulations
What to include here:
- Are there regulatory or legal changes affecting your product, service or industry?
- Have you seen anything highlighted in the news about free trade agreements or environmental protections, for example?
- Do you work in an industry that's highly regulated, like healthcare?
The market
The competition
Identify your key customers and suppliers, how you communicate with them, (sales, web, promotions, ongoing support), how you price and distribute your product or service, and customer support. Include highlights of your marketing plan here.
Customers
What to Include here:
- List and describe your key customers.
- Is your business reliant on a few primary customers?
- How have you diversified your customer base?
Suppliers
What to Include here:
- List and describe your key suppliers.
- Are you reliant on a few primary suppliers?
- How have you diversified your supplier base?
Advertising and promotion
What to Include here:
- What are your advertising and promotional strategies?
- What is your budget for advertising and promotion?
- What are your key messages?
- What are your key media channels?
Pricing and distribution
What to Include here:
- What is your pricing strategy?
- How do you distribute your product or service?
- What are your distribution channels?
- What are your sales channels?
Customer service policy and warranties
What to Include here:
- What is your customer service policy?
- What are your warranties?
- What are your guarantees?
- What are your return policies?
Detail how and where you get your work done. Include equipment and technology required to serve your customers, anticipated financial requirements to maintain and operate your business, and external environmental regulations or laws that govern your business or industry.
Business location
What to Include here:
- List your business’s locations (stores, offices, production facilities)
- Include a short description of every location
- Hours of operations
- Does the location affect your operations and sales?
- Do you own your property? Do you have a mortgage?
- Do you lease or rent? What are the terms?
Equipment
What to Include here:
- List and describe the equipment you need to run your business
- Will you have to purchase new equipment or replace/upgrade existing equipment soon?
- Do you have the right equipment to respond to changes in the market?
Technology requirements and investment needs
What to Include here:
- Do you need to purchase new technology to remain competitive and serve your customers?
- What is the anticipated cost of this new technology, including purchase, monitoring and maintenance?
Tip: Part of maintenance costs may include data storage and security.
Environmental compliance
What to Include here:
- What type of permits, monitoring and inspections do you require to ensure your business complies with environmental regulations?
- Are you subject to hazardous waste compliance, pollution monitoring or packaging regulations?
- Identify regional, national and international regulations or laws that affect your operations.
- Are there any new regulations or laws in place or impending that could impact your business?
Identify key people within your organization, along with external advisors that you rely upon to conduct your business successfully.
Description of the management team
What to Include here:
- Include name, title, short bio and itemized responsibilities of the management team.
Description of advisory team
What to Include here:
- Do you have lawyers, accountants, financial advisors, trade /distribution consultants, or external sales representatives that you engage regularly to offer advice and support your business?.
Key employees
What to Include here:
- Are there non-managerial employees who are integral to the business?
- Can you think of an employee whose absence is greatly noticed?
- Is there an individual or team of people who must be consistently present in order to ensure smooth running of the business?
Outline the goal of the project, resources required, (people and money), key milestones (including dates and measurable outcomes), and an end-date. Identify key individuals or teams responsible, external dependencies and risk management and contingencies (Plan B).
Project objectives
What to include here:
- What is your goal and your target completion date?
Resources required
What to include here:
- How much money will you require to complete the project?
- How much will you finance yourself?
- Will you require new equipment or real estate?
- Do you need to hire new people?
Action plan
What to include here:
- What are the key milestones and dates?
- What are the measurable outcomes?
- Who is responsible for each milestone?
Risk assessment and contingencies
What to include here:
- Identify any internal or external events that could trigger an adjustment in your timetable.
- Do you have the right employees and leaders in place?
- Could there be delays in product development or delivery?
- Is there anything that could affect your cash flow?
- How will you monitor and mitigate these risks?
- What is your Plan B?