INTRODUCTION TO E-BUSINESS

TUTORIAL

Executive Summary
Outline
Introduction
What is the Executive Summary?
Content of the Executive Summary
Length of the Executive Summary
When to Write the Executive Summary
Introduction
The executive summary may be the most
important part of your business plan.
It is the first part everyone will read, and it may be
the only part that some individuals will read.
Faced with a large pile of funding requests,
venture capitalists have been known to separate
business plans into "worth considering" and
"discard" piles based on nothing more than
reading the executive summary.
What is the Executive Summary?
The executive summary is a synopsis of the key
points of the entire e-business plan.
Its purpose is to explain the fundamentals of the
business in a way that both informs and excites the
reader.
If, after reading the executive summary, the
investor or manager understands what the business
is about and he/she is eager to know more, the
executive summary has done its job.
What is the Executive Summary?
As a miniature version of the e-business
plan, the summary usually contains a key
point or two from most sections of the plan.
Due to space limitations some sections may
get missed, but an accurate summary will
provide the reader with a succinct
explanation of the entire plan.
 What is the Executive Summary?
An Executive Summary is NOT:
just a brief description of the business and its
products.
hype.
 provide a sense of balance and realism. An experienced
investor or businessperson will recognize hype, and this
will undermine the plan's credibility.
a cut-and-paste exercise.
 don’t just copy sentences and paragraphs from the plan
Content of the Executive Summary

In addition to summarizing the business

idea and business plan, the content of the
executive summary must be written with the
intended reader in mind.
If the plan is being written for an investor,
then important content about financial
requirements must be included.
Similarly, avoid terminology and concepts
which may be unfamiliar to the reader.
Content of the Executive Summary

The best executive summary, and the plan

itself, shows an understanding of what
issues and questions are important to the
reader and addresses them in a
straightforward and comprehensive manner.
One effective way to begin the executive
summary is with an interesting and
compelling statement that grabs the reader's
attention.
Content of the Executive Summary
Alternatively, the traditional way to begin the
executive summary is with a statement of the firm's
purpose (perhaps by integrating the firm's mission
statement) and a few sentences about the product or
service the business will provide.
Then try to highlight a key point from each section
of the plan
 the primary target market from the market analysis
section,
 the principal source of competitive advantage from the
competitor analysis,
 the return on investment from the financial statements.
Content of the Executive Summary
 Conclude the executive summary with the
purpose of the e-business plan and a specific
statement of what you expect from the reader.
 For example, don't leave the banker to sort
through the plan to page ten before he/she finds
out the amount of the loan you require.
 Clearly state your capabilities and needs in the
executive summary and you will have a greater
chance that the reader will turn the page.
Length of the Executive Summary

Q: How long should an executive summary

be?
A: short
Most business ideas need more than one
page to tell the reader what the business is
about, but only rarely will more than two
pages be required.
When to Write the Executive Summary

A good rule is that the executive summary

should be started in the middle of the plan-
writing process and be finished last.
If the executive summary is put off until the
last minute it is likely to be written in a
hurry and not be a coherent statement of the
business plan's contents.
 The summary is too important for that.
Acknowledgements

Introduction to Electronic Commerce or Electronic Commerce 2004:

A Managerial Perspective
e-Business Tutorial – Turban et al, Prentice Hall