The What, Why and How of Executive Summaries for Lifestyle Businesses
What is an Executive Summary?
In general, an Executive Summary is a short document - usually 1 - 2 pages - that summarizes a larger document or plan, so that an interested party can quickly review highlights without having to read the entire document. An Executive Summary can be included with many types of documents including research, reports and more, but on this page, we’re going to be talking about Executive Summaries for Business Plans - specifically the types of Business Plans we see in our business growth programs.
Why does my business need an Executive Summary?
My business has a website, and is on social media, so why do I need an Executive Summary? If someone is interested in learning more about my Business, won’t they just look my business up online? We hear these questions a lot. An Executive Summary is a document highlighting your more “behind the scenes” business details that aren’t generally included on your customer facing website or social channels. Information like financial forecasts, product margins, internal team, future growth plans, etc. If your website summarizes everything a customer needs to know about your business, your Executive Summary covers what a potential Strategic Partner or Investor would want to know about your business. Executive Summaries are often used as part of an introduction, or as background before setting up a meeting.
How do I create an Executive Summary for my Business?
Executive Summaries don’t have to include fancy design, it’s mostly about presenting the highlights of your business plan in an easy to digest format. You’ll want to include paragraph headers and leverage things like bullet points, graphics and charts to make your summary simple to quickly read. Some parts of your business plan you should think about including are:
Business Logo
Concise description of what your business does
Business model - How your business makes money. Are you selling direct to consumer? Retail? B2B?
Problem your product or service solves, or opportunity it addresses - Why is your product or service needed?
Market or customers - Who needs your product or service
Competitive Advantage - Why your product or service has longevity
Go to Market or Marketing Strategy - How your customers will find you
Milestones - Notable markers in your business such as applying for, or being awarded IP, gaining financing, reaching sales milestones, launching new products, etc.
Financial Highlights - Particularly key indicators like margins, burn rate, and future projections
Executive team, including any key advisors - If you’re a solo-preneur you can include some information about your background to validate why you’re the best person to be executing on your idea.
Any asks (If you’re raising money or seeking a specific partner for example)
Business contact information - Including website and individual point of contact
The list above is not exhaustive of everything you may find in an executive summary, and we encourage companies to get creative and make this document a good representation of your businesses brand. Because Executive Summaries contain so much confidential business information, it’s tough to find a good example to share. At SDSI, we never publicly expose inside business details of our member companies or mentor program participants, so the example you can access below is not from the Sports and Active Lifestyle Industry. In fact, the example is a bit dated in it’s graphics - however the content and layout are an excellent example of how to include highlights about your business and turn a 20+ page business plan, into a 2 page, easy to skim summary.
**Keep in mind, your Executive Summary doesn’t have to follow the same format as the example we’ve provided and the information that’s important to include for your business may be different. Stay focused on providing the top highlights of your business and keeping everything concise and easy to read.
