Writing the executive summary Follow

The Executive Summary chapter is designed to be a condensed version of your entire business plan - a quick view for someone who might not have time to read the whole document.

We recommend writing your Executive Summary last for two critical reasons:

1. You want to get it right. The Executive Summary is the most important part of your plan document because it’s the first thing your reader sees. Getting that bank loan you’re hoping for may depend on the first impression your plan makes. So, you want the Executive Summary to wow your reader.
2. It’s easier after you've written the plan. If you take the time to write your plan and complete your forecast, it will be much easier to go back and pick out the main points to include in the Executive Summary.

Ultimately, you're welcome to write the plan document in any order you choose. If you'd like to see sample Executive Summaries, you'll find them in our sample plan library.

If you're interested in having a brief plan that's only Executive Summary (sometimes called a Lean Plan), you might consider using the Pitch tab of LivePlan instead of the Plan tab. The Pitch bears a lot of resemblance to an Executive Summary.