If you want to raise money, you need to show a convincing description of the venture to the investors. That is the business plan.
You can learn pretty fast how to create a business plan.
Click here to learn how to write great business plan!
But that is not all you need…
You have to learn how to get investors interested in less than a minute.
How?
By having an excellent executive summary, the first section of your business plan.
This section has only one goal: Convince the investor to keep reading.
You will do three stages:
- Explain what the venture does
- Describe the market
- Explain why your business meets the demand of the market.
Make a summary of the summary ΓÇô write very short sentences or bullet points:
- Describe the business in just a few words. Do not use more than three sentences. Make them understand instantly. DonΓÇÖt beat around the bush and make them understand the general idea. You will go on later with the business description, but now describe the market. Tip: Use the ΓÇ£high concept pitchΓÇ¥ to create these first sentences. ΓÇ£The high concept pitchΓÇ¥ is a short description where you mention a famous brand, with a twist. For example, the movie Aliens was known as ΓÇ£Jaws in space!ΓÇ¥
- Tell them how big is the target market. Tell them the exact size of the market and the total dollar value and explain how the number will increase in the future.
- Describe why only your venture can meet the demand. For example, you may have hired really good people in the management team; or seized the latest technology that can give you an advantage; or you have easy access to the hard to get markets.
If you are finished writing this tell more about the business itself. You can go more on how the business works and how you do what you do. Describe the structure of the business; you will also include a complete description in the Company Analysis section of the business plan.
After this, tell them a little bit more about the target market. Describe their profile and their desires. Put an accent on demographics (age, marital status, number of children, income, location, ethnicities) and psychographics (what they need, what motivates them.). Explain what the market lacks and how you are going to provide just that.
In the end, tell more about your almost absurd competitive advantages. The advantage comes from a superb management team, unique technology, key partnerships, key contracts with big customers, past successes.
The executive summary is crucially important to getting the money you need. For that it has to be mind-blowing, convincing and has to grab the attention of the investor instantly. Do not reveal everything about the business and stay to the point. Write just enough to get them interested and curious. Increase the chances that they will read the whole business plan.
It means alot to a few of us to be able to review your opinion on such matters.
I heard that business investors don’t spend too much time to read a business plan and if they don’t like how it looks or something seems not professional they’re just not interested anymore. It’s cruel, but this is the reality.
I agree with you. The most important part of the plan is the executive summary. I didn’t know how to write it or what to write in it when I started my first small company and I had some hard times until I finally obtained some money.