A 5 Part Series on Business Plans: Part I- The Summary

I want you to try and remember back to your days in junior high, high school and, if you attended, college. One of the things you probably dreaded most was a research paper. Do you remember doing all the reading and researching?  Writing and corrections?  The outline?

In my last blog, we discussed the importance of having a business plan and business goals. For the next several weeks we will discuss the pieces of information that should be included in a good business plan.  This week’s component is the summary-the equivalent of a research paper’s outline.

Let me start off by saying that the summary should be just that…a summary.  It should be short and to the point.  It needs to be a picture of your entire plan and what you are specifically looking for and hoping to accomplish.  The summary should be short (no more than half a page in length) and businesslike. The summary should include information on the business itself and its concept (a who, what, when, where and why of your company) , the financial features such as  financial requirements and projections, its current position and any major achievements of the business.

Remember that for investors and lenders, your business plan is the first formal document that they will see in respect to your business and its needs. The better the plan, the more attractive it is to someone unfamiliar with the business. It is often a good idea to write the summary after you have written all of the other components of the plan.

It takes time to write a good business plan, just like it does for a good research paper. Ã‚ Ãƒâ€š And just like with a good reseach paper, you are not guaranteed an “A”. Nor does a great plan guarantee you success, but it is a great start!

Our next blog will be on developing a good Organizational Plan.

Person CPA Group  Group is always available to assist you with  your financial needs.

David W Huff, CPA, PFS, MS is a partner at Person CPA Group. He provides clients with tax preparation and consulting services, accounting services, retirement plan and benefit consulting, accounting software technical support and training, and management advisory services. His specialty is helping new businesses organize their operations to maximize tax savings and move quickly from start-up to profitability.  You can reach David by email at:david@personhuffcpa.com