Question

Topic: Copywriting

Resources: Writing Business Plan Opening Summary

Posted by SteveByrneMarketing on 4/7/2009 at 7:42 PM ET 500 Points
I need to write a business description for a new online business that will be the opening for a business plan. This will not be a mission statement or even an executive summary per se, more of a description of the marketplace, positioning strategy and other aspects of the revenue side planning for this company. I'm looking for examples of what others companies have done and "how to write" info. Thanks
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Peter (henna gaijin) on 4/8/2009 at 1:15 AM Accepted
    Opening summary is just that - a summary of what is in the business plan. What you have in it is based on what is in the rest of the plan.

    A business plan is basically many pages. The summary should be a few paragraphs with the prime details that tells someone who reads just that one part the basics of what the business will do, why it will be a success, etc.

    There are some decent examples for various business at https://www.bplans.com/sample_business_plans.cfm
  • Posted by SteveByrneMarketing on 4/8/2009 at 2:48 AM Author
    Thanks Phil, I couldn't agree more, mission statements are usually just as you have described plus - the customer is king, the shareholders are king and the stakeholders are king. Not much differentiation.

    Thanks Peter, yes you are correct and bplans.com is very useful, I've recommended it as well on this site.

    I am looking for samples of the narrative before the "numbers and forecasts" in a simple business plan. I have written several of these as executive summaries in the past and perhaps it's as simple as that. But I'm looking for an executive summary sample with heavy emphasis on the revenue side, the marketing side of the business equation. Thank again for any input.
  • Posted by mgoodman on 4/8/2009 at 7:16 PM Accepted
    I have a few of these in my files, but they're covered by NDAs, and I would not feel comfortable sharing them literally even if they were not.

    In my experience, each one is a one-off. There is no "right way" to do it. If the business plan is largely driven by marketing, then the summary statement should say that.

    I know this isn't what you need, but I suspect a direct answer (and example) isn't going to solve your problem. I think you're going to have to figure this one out on your own, Steve. Sorry.
  • Posted by SteveByrneMarketing on 4/8/2009 at 7:26 PM Author
    Correct you are Michael. I was just being lazy, but now I'm about half way through it.

    Thanks for your input.

    Steve
  • Posted by matthewmnex on 4/10/2009 at 10:21 PM Member
    Sounds to me like you were looking more for moral support and motivation than actual advise :))

    Good look with your writing.

    My one advice would be KISS

    There is far too much time wasted on silly business plans.

    The real question is; who is the target audience for what you are writing?

    The way you write and what you include will vary enormously depending upon who you want to read it.

    Remember to fine tune for your target audience.

    I worked fo a number of years in the financial services industry and we received thousands of useless business plans looking for funding.

    ALmost all business plans of this nature forget the first and most important rul.

    THE COVER PAGE.

    Be sure to state in 3 lines on the cover page the following

    1. The Business or Industry sector
    2. Who are the people launching the business
    3. HOW MUCH MONEY ARE YOU LOOKING FOR (BE HOST RIGHT AWAY - SEEKING 10MILLION US $ AS EQUITY INFUSION OR AS LOAN OR AS VENTURE CAPITAL ETC ETC.
    4. WHAT IS THE EXPECTED RETURN AND EXIT POINT. (5 years? 10 years etc. )

    Different kinds of investors will get involved in different kinds of projects so if I am investing in engineering businesses, I have no interest to read a business plan about the internet for instance.

    That is why the cover page is so important.

    I might be investing in the internet business but when I see that you need 10M i might say, ah! too big or too small for me :)

    Each investor is looking for a very narrowly defined set of criteria.

    Grab them on the cover page and they will rad the rest.

    I hope this has been useful.

    Good luck,

    Matthew
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