The Executive Summary is the most important part of your business plan. Often, it's the only part that a prospective investor or lender reads before deciding whether or not to read the rest of your plan. It should convey your enthusiasm for your business idea and get readers excited about it, too.

Draft an outline of the seven points listed below to provide an overview of items you will cover in your business plan. This will help you think through all the elements of your startup and be prepared to summarize them.

The Executive Summary should briefly explain each of the below.

1. An overview of your business idea (one or two sentences).
2. A description of your product and/or service. What problems are you solving for your target customers?
3. Your goals for the business. Where do you expect the business to be in one year, three years, five years?
4. Your proposed target market. Who are your ideal customers?
5. Your competition and what differentiates your business. Who are you up against, and what unique selling proposition will help you succeed?
6. Your management team and their prior experience. What do they bring to the table that will give your business a competitive edge?
7. Financial outlook for the business. If you're using the business plan for financing purposes, explain exactly how much money you want, how you will use it, and how that will make your business more profitable.

Limit your outline to one or two pages in total. Paragraph form is not necessary. Bullet points will suffice.

After reading the outline, I should have a basic understanding of your business, should be excited about its potential, and should be interested enough to read further.