Executive summary (business plan)

The executive summary is a short summary of a business plan in which the most important aspects of the business idea are presented.

Definition / explanation

The executive summary takes up the most important points of a business plan and places them at the beginning of the business plan. The executive summary is intended to arouse the readers' interest in a business idea.

The executive summary is very important for the first impression of the entire business plan and should therefore be worked out with particular care. The summary should not be longer than two pages.

It makes sense to write the executive summary only after the business plan has been drawn up, as the exact content of the business plan is only then available.

What does an executive summary contain?

Basically, the executive summary is a brief summary of the entire business plan. Therefore, the most important aspects of the business plan should also be included in it. These include the actual business idea, the company's services and products, the market situation, the financial situation and the management team behind the business idea or the new product.

Formal requirements for an executive summary

The executive summary should not be longer than two pages and should not be too lengthy. The tone of the brief description of the business idea should be factual, but not contain too many special technical terms. Because the readers of the business plan or the executive summary are often unfamiliar people.

In addition, the potential of the business idea should not be exaggerated, but presented realistically. The executive summary is at the beginning of the business plan.

Summary