How to Write an Executive Business Plan

Starting your own business entails many different steps to get the business up and off the ground. To maximize profit and earning potential in your venture, creating and developing an executive business plan is of great importance.

Things You'll Need

• Statement of purpose Word processing software Accounting/money software

Instructions

The Pre-Writing Process

1. Gather all necessary information for the business plan in addition to brainstorming general ideas for the plan. Many people forget this process of writing a business plan (or any other written material for that matter). Pre-writing can be recorded on a graphic organizer, or ideas can simply be recorded in an outline. The pre-writing notes for an executive business plan should include titles of each of the major sections in the business plan as well as a few notes on each section. Do not worry about elaborating--that can be done later in the plan.
   Before writing the plan, also make sure that all software is available for you to begin. A word processing program, calculator, and spreadsheet program are integral in developing a quality plan.

2. List the major parts of an executive business plan. They include the following: executive summary, company description, products/services, marketing plan, operations, financial statement, and appendices that contain any graphs, letters, charts, or other supplemental data used in the business plan.

3. Take quality brainstorming notes on each of the previously mentioned sections. Create a calendar with deadlines of when each section of the notes will be due to keep yourself organized. Once you have all the preliminary notes and ideas down on paper, you can then begin to write your executive business plan.

The Writing Process

1. Although the first section of the business plan is the executive summary, it is recommended that this section be written last. This one- to two-page summary is your introduction and attention grabber. It will explain to the reader the basics of your business and why you are so enthusiastic about your product and/or service. What does the future hold for your business, and why is its existence necessary? This is the main selling point and can make or break whether an interested party becomes even more interested in what you have to offer.

2. Write the general company description. This is an overview and general outlook of your business. The general company description includes a mission statement and thorough list of goals and objectives.

3. Record the products and services offered by your business after the general company description. This is a comprehensive list that also includes descriptions of each product and service as well. Refrain from just writing a project name without a description (especially if it is a trademarked or patented original product).

4. Develop and write a detailed marketing plan for the executive business plan. The marketing plan should discuss the growth industry, what makes your business different from the others and who the business caters to. Include a competition analysis, listing all the other businesses that offer something similar and explain why you have the edge. Your marketing plan also should include promotional ideas and a rough estimate of the promotional budget. The operational plan is a subsection of the marketing plan. This section describes management, other personnel and how they will be involved in your business. This section also discusses the location and accessibility of your business.

5. Write your personal financial statement and describe your start-up expenses in the last section. This should be a detailed chart showing the amount of money needed or already invested into your business thus far. It also should analyze predictable profit gains over the next 12 months or more. The financial section will give accounting details about overhead and how much money it will cost (and who is funding it) to actually start the business. Finally, include appendices at the end of your executive business plan that include charts, graphs and other important documents.

What's Next?

1. After you have finished the first draft of your executive business plan, allow time and room for plenty of edits. Ask a trustworthy friend or family member to read over your business plan, and make the necessary edits. It is recommended that you get one person to edit for basic language proficiency (grammar, spelling and punctuation), while another person may edit specifically for content. The content editor should have experience in business or writing and developing business plans.

2. Begin the final steps of the process. If the draft has been revised and all the sections are included, you can now begin to package your business plan. This refers to formatting the text properly and making the plan aesthetically pleasing. Know the audience of your business plan, too. Most organizations and professionals expect to see the proper font and text size in your business plan. No fancy fonts, colors or unnecessary pictures should be in the plan. Although you will have an electronic copy saved and ready for any additional changes, print a hard copy and have it bound. You can do this at home if you have the necessary tools, or you can take your business plan to an office supply store to have someone do it for you.

3. Prepare to distribute the business plan accordingly. Now that you have the final copy, you are ready to use it. Make sure you have a few hard copies ready in case the receiver of the executive business plan prefers a hard copy to an electronic one.

Tips & Warnings

• Plan the writing process and give yourself ample time to meet deadlines. Include reliable and valid resources in your plan. Research as much as possible and include valuable sources that support your ideas.

• Edit, edit, and edit. Before putting the stamp on the final project, be sure to go through the plan several times to check for clarity and concise information.

References

• How to Write an Executive Summary