purpose statement

Executive Summary

Executive Summary

Now that your team has worked on the organization, marketing, and financial sections, you are ready to tackle the executive summary.

This is a short but powerful few paragraphs that should inform the reader about the company. Try to make this as brief as possible, like 2 or 3 paragraphs. I realize the book examples go into more detail, but for our purposes you don’t have to do that much work to get the idea.

Executive Summary

The next assignment is the elevator pitch, which is an expanded version of the executive summary with a ”sales” twist. If your team wanted to begin working on the elevator pitch you would be able to use most of that effort for the executive summary (or visa versa).

So, two paragraphs.

Executive Summary

First paragraph: A brief history of the company, a brief description of what the company does, and briefly why the company is successful. Did I mention it should be brief?

Second paragraph: Describe what you are seeking (a $2 million dollar loan to buy the building the company is currently leasing). You might want to throw in the sources and uses chart as well.

Statement of Purpose

Statement of Purpose

This is a short but powerful paragraph that should form the basis of your company brand and the promise your company makes to users of your service or product.

The statement answers the question of why your company exists.

Statement of Purpose

Purpose: The reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.

Function: The action for which a thing is specially fitted or used or for which a thing exists.

Statement of Purpose

The statement of purpose is different than a mission statement which clarifies the actions of your company, including what it does and who it serves.

Mission Statement: What a company does Statement of Purpose: Why a company does it

Statement of Purpose

The statement of purpose will guide your company in formulating its business practices and procedures. Find a way to express the company’s impact on the lives of customers.

Is should be specific, describing how your business will succeed. Focus on function which will allow your business the flexibility to meet consumer needs regardless of the products your company currently offers for sale, or the service your company provides.

Statement of Purpose

A few examples follow. You should continue to look for samples as part of your research.

Whole Foods Market: Our purpose is to nourish people and the planet.

Schwab: We champion every client’s goals with passion and integrity, as if they were our own.

Statement of Purpose

General Mills: We serve the world by making food people love.

Southwest Airlines: To connect people to what’s important in their lives through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel.

Statement of Purpose

Kellogg’s: Nourishing families so they can flourish and thrive.

IAG (insurance): To help people manage risk and recover from the hardship of unexpected loss.

What Now?

What Now?

Rewrite the earlier sections of the business plan. Make sure you are making the suggested changes. No typos. No grammatical errors. Clarity of thought. Concise sentences. Get to the point. Eliminate redundancy.