A short HubSpot tutorial (presented by Alex) explaining how to write an executive summary for a business plan: defines an executive summary, lists key elements to include (mission statement, company history and leadership, competitive advantage, financial projections, company goals), advises brevity (1–2 pages) and relevance (omit weak sections), and stresses that startups should include a funding ask. The video includes standard YouTube CTAs and a link to more resources.
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Hi, I'm Alex from HubSpot, and today I'm going to show you how to write an executive summary. If you enjoyed this video, don't forget to like it and subscribe to our channel. Post any questions or suggestions you have in the comments below. Let's get started. Your business plan is likely dozens or even hundreds of pages long. With that much content, it's understandable when some important details fall through when someone is reading it. To help guide your readers and highlight crucial points of the document, your business plan should have an executive summary that meets somewhere between brevity and if this term is new to you, here's a quick definition. An executive summary is a brief overview at the beginning of your business plan intended to grab the reader's attention and summarize critical information regarding your company overview and upcoming short term and long term goals. That's a mouthful, but let's try and go over how to write a good executive summary to help give you a better idea. The Executive Summary should list the main takeaways from each of the major sections of your business process plan. Each section should have its own header or paragraph and once again should be to the point. For example, you may highlight what your company's projected sales are in the first three years, but you may want to hold off on the specific methodology of reaching those conclusions until the full financial projection section. Additionally, if one section of a standard business plan doesn't carry much weight in your plan, say legal considerations, then there's no reason to bring it up in the summary. Remember, keep it to the areas you want people to remember. After reading the full plan sections, most executive summaries end up including are the mission statement, company history and leadership, competitive advantage overview, financial projections, and company goals. Lastly, a startup should never end an executive summary without making an ask specifically pertaining to funding and capital. If you can include all that information in a page or two, you're ready to go with an A Executive Summary. Need some additional help getting your executive summary started? Click the link in the description to learn more. Thanks for watching. If you enjoyed this video, be sure to like it and subscribe. Let me know how your executive summary is going in the comments below.
