The Ernst & Young Business Plan Guide, Third Edition

Chapter Six. Executive Summary

Ten Little Rules that will Serve You Well!

1. Be different—everyone is looking for the next idea or a way to solve an age-old problem.

2. While you must have a grand vision, focus on the things you can do.

3. Be clear in what you want to accomplish; don’t make the business plan merely an exercise in raising money.

4. Capitalize on past achievements; do not reinvent things.

5. Learn from your and others’ mistakes.

6. Check out your ideas with skeptics; the more your ideas are challenged, the better they will be when they are fully formed.

7. Enlist the help of experts in the field of your venture.

8. Network! Network! Network! You cannot have a network that is too big.

9. A business is like a stew. Load your mind with a great deal of information, then let your business idea simmer before finalizing it.

10. Look forward and never give up!

An executive summary is prepared for most business reports. Such a summary is particularly appropriate for a business plan.

An executive summary captures and presents succinctly the essence of the report. It is, in effect, a micro version of the entire plan. The executive summary is not simply a background statement, nor is it an introduction.

People who speak in public or write essays have long been taught to “tell ’em what you are going to tell ’em, tell ’em, then tell ’em what you just told ’em.” The executive summary fulfills the first role—“telling ’em what you are going to tell ’em.”

Many business plan reviewers are inundated with proposals. As a consequence, ...