What is the intent behind a Company Summary?

[Syranius Apostle]

For some time, I have been trying to get my head around what a Company Summary is and its role within a Business Plan.

My initial thoughts would be that a Company Summary is, as the name suggests, a summary of your company. It would be a single paragraph, which would concisely explain what your company is about. Typical aspects to include, being:

• Company Name;
• Legal Structure;
• Decision makers;
• Top level oversight on products and/or services;
• Target market.

The problem I am at, is the conflicting information I am reading across various online and offline resources, on what a Company Summary is. Some 'agree' with me, in that is should be a single concise paragraph; offering a broad oversight on the company. On the other hand, others feel that the Company Summary is one of the most important, and lengthy, parts of the Business Document. As such, the Company Summary should be a primary heading, supported by detailed sub headings, for aspects, such as:

• Elevator Pitch;
• Mission Statement;
• Vision;
• Corporate Social Policy;
• Legal Structure;
• Company Ownership and Shareholder details;
• Management Team;
• Company Location and Facilities;
• Unique Selling Points;
• Awards and Ambitions;
• Company Timeline etc.

Not only do some suggest to include more details within a Company Summary but to go into more depth, within each section.

Whilst I appreciate that there is no one size fits all model, I think it would be fair to say there would be some degree of 'the right way for all' so to speak. A standardised approached so to speak ... Just like the Executive Summary would appear at the beginning of a Business Plan, regardless of the nature of your Company.

As well as wondering what length a Company Summary should be, I would be keen to know whether the Company Summary is a stand alone Heading within a Business Plan, made up of supporting Sub Headings, such as 'Company Location', 'Management Team' etc or is a Company Summary typically a Sub Segment, within a broader main Header? A typical header, for a Company Summary to appear within, being something like 'Company Background & History'.

Follow On Question
Let's assume my definition of what a Company Summary is ... Being a short concise overview of what a Company is. If this is the right definition, what would be the difference between a Company Summary and an Elevator Pitch? The fact that my definition would suggest that a Company Summary and Elevator Pitch are similar, leads me to believe that a Company Summary is a little more comprehensive than a concise paragraph, encompassing the additional details I go on to highlight above, whereas it is the Elevator Pitch which is in fact, the concise paragraph.

 

[The Byre]

Homework?

 

[Syranius Apostle]

Homework?

On this occasion, I was working from home. So I guess, by its very definition, I was (still am) looking for some useful responses to help me with my Homework.

 

[Mark T Jones]

Who are you writing your business plan for, and what is its purpose?

IMO a business plan should always be primarily written for you, the business owner. It can then be tweaked to match the specific needs and purposes other parties who might see it.

Based on that, the company summary should be a brief, concise summary of the the business relating to your specific audience.

Sadly there is an industry built which involves creating business plans that are way too wordy and complicated - your audience wants concise, factual information, not 100 pages of waffle.

 

[The Byre]

When people ask me for money and/or an investment, I neither want nor would I even read a business plan.

Instead, I ask five questions - I call them my UDUBS.

Up-side - what can we earn?
Down-side - what could we lose?
USP - what makes you better than the competition?
B-plan - what is you back-up plan-B if things go pear-shaped?
Says who - what hard evidence do you have for the above?

If I only get four of the five answered properly, I run and hide.

 

[Syranius Apostle]

Who are you writing your business plan for, and what is its purpose?

IMO a business plan should always be primarily written for you, the business owner. It can then be tweaked to match the specific needs and purposes other parties who might see it.

Based on that, the company summary should be a brief, concise summary of the the business relating to your specific audience.

Sadly there is an industry built which involves creating business plans that are way too wordy and complicated - your audience wants concise, factual information, not 100 pages of waffle.

Thank you for your reply.

I am writing the Business Plan for myself and my partner. Whilst there is the obvious view that a Company Summary should be whatever is useful to ourselves, I want to write the Company Summary (and Business Plan overall) which encompasses a 'typical narrative', so that I can use it as a foundation for future tweaks; for varying audiences.

Where you say that a Company Summary should be brief and concise, are we talking a simple paragraph that gives a top level insight on the company? If so, what makes a Company Summary different from an Elevator Pitch? Maybe they are used interchangeably?

Where I am also uncertain, is where does the Company Summary position itself in terms of hierarchy? Is the Company Summary a 'parent heading', made up of sub headings as follows:

Company Summary
- Elevator Pitch
- Mission Statement
- Vision
- Ownership and Shares
- Management Team
- Company Timeline etc

or is a Company better placed as a Sub Heading, as follows:

Background and History
- Company Summary (Elevator Pitch)
- Directors and Shareholders
- Mission Statement
- Vision
- Management Team
- Company Timeline
- Goals and Objectives etc

I feel the latter is more logical and would help ensure I am concise in my writing but the amount of variations I have seen, leads me to doubt my logic as well as consider the possibilities that maybe a hybrid of my own and others' interpretations may prevail.

 

[Mark T Jones]

TBH you are seriously over thinking this

Your business plan is simply a plan of how how you will run / build your business


The areas you need to cover are (in no particular order)

Marketing
Operations
Finance

The summary is a simple paragraph to invite interested parties to read further - if the plan is for you that is irrelevant

 

[Syranius Apostle]

When people ask me for money and/or an investment, I neither want nor would I even read a business plan.

Instead, I ask five questions - I call them my UDUBS.

Up-side - what can we earn?
Down-side - what could we lose?
USP - what makes you better than the competition?
B-plan - what is you back-up plan-B if things go pear-shaped?
Says who - what hard evidence do you have for the above?

If I only get four of the five answered properly, I run and hide.

I would find it quite surprising if an investor would not be interested in reading a well written Business Plan. At the end of the day, investors are not just investing money but time and reputation also. So much so, I do not think I would welcome any investments from someone who refused to read a Business Plan.

That said, you raise some obvious key points. Points which I feel would be addressed within the Executive Summary. As such, answering your queries fairly early on in a Business Plan.

 

[Syranius Apostle]

TBH you are seriously over thinking this

Your business plan is simply a plan of how how you will run / build your business


The areas you need to cover are (in no particular order)

Marketing
Operations
Finance

The summary is a simple paragraph to invite interested parties to read further - if the plan is for you that is irrelevant

Agreeing that Company Summary is a brief paragraph, what would be the difference between this an an Elevator Pitch? Maybe a Company Summary is more passive and descriptive whilst an Elevator Pitch being more proactive and 'salesy'?

Whilst the Business Plan will be for internal use, at present, I would like to include a Company Summary. Given that our business venture will be active within the digital landscape, offering a handful of services, I feel the inclusion of a Company Summary would act as a helpful brief reference point, should we find ourselves deviating from the original idea.

Whether 'right' or 'wrong', I do like to ensure that I 'tick' all the boxes so to speak.

 

[The Byre]

I would find it quite surprising if an investor would not be interested in reading a well written Business Plan.

Getting an investor to de-trouser a shed-load of money is not an exam question or a university project. You don't lose marks for bad spelling or an untidy presentation!

Imagine telling a successful a Polish carpenter making bespoke furniture that in order to expand his shop, he needs an elevator pitch and a company vision! ("What for I need elevator? It's ground floor shop only!")

But someone did gain marks (well pounds actually!) for telling me that they had X-number of clients signed up at £100-£150 a month for the next 12 months. No business plan, no references, no 'Executive Summary' and no coloured charts with forward projections - just a folder filled with signed contracts.

An investor wants hard facts. In German we have the saying "Papier ist duldig!" (Paper is patient.) In other words, you can write down all kinds of magic words on paper - the implication being, that pretty words are meaningless.

If you go to a Hollywood producer and tell him/her that you are looking for investors for your movie, they will say something like "OK, send me the first eight pages of the script, together with a covering tag line and a half-page treatment and we'll see if it has legs!"

At least, that's what he or she will say if they are being particularly kind that day! But they will never ask for a business plan! What they will ask for, is if you have got any 'gorillas' signed up, i.e. stars or big-name directors. No script, no'gorillas' - no movie!

I do not think I would welcome any investments from someone who refused to read a Business Plan.

Those investments I have picked up on did not have a business plan. They were more along the lines of "This is what we are doing, do you want in?"

Perhaps I was just unlucky - or lucky, depending on your point of view - but all the business plans I have been offered seemed to come from dreamers, the deluded or the desperate. A quick few questions on my UDUBS settled the matter.

That said, you raise some obvious key points. Points which I feel would be addressed within the Executive Summary. As such, answering your queries fairly early on in a Business Plan.

Quite!

But an investor wants proof - and we're back to that folder with the contracts. That's my 'Says who?' A folder full of customers ready-to-go - that's who says!

 

[Syranius Apostle]

You don't lose marks for bad spelling or an untidy presentation!

I guess it depends on what kind of investor you talk to. Personally, I would have the view that if someone is sloppy with the basic fundamentals of Business Planning, what else would they be sloppy with.

But someone did gain marks (well pounds actually!) for telling me that they had X-number of clients signed up at £100-£150 a month for the next 12 months.

Having hard facts and evidence of financial stability/growth, is obviously something an investor is going to want to know. Personally, I would still want to read some kind of Business Plan and overall strategy. Relying solely on your initial criteria, would not help to prevent me from:

• Investing in unethical ventures;
• Financing fraud;
• Being involved in money laundering;
• Generally, implicating myself in bad practices.

I guess that is just my personal take on things.

Personally, I am not seeking financial investment. I am creating a road map for a future venture, which will be used by myself and partner. Whilst knowing the finances are vital, I want the Business Plan to be solid. Essentially, becoming a guide book for reference, in those times when direction becomes a little hazy. Not to mention, acting as a resource to measure up against as we develop.

Sure, my approach may be overkill for a self employed manual labourer who already has their clientele for the year ahead. On the other hand, I am looking to build an online brand. A brand with its own voice, ethical approach and styles.

With this in mind, I feel that a basic Business Plan would be too simplistic, for what we are trying to achieve.

That being said, I do agree with the importance of your initial criteria from an Investor's perspective. Implemented, however, within a 'Preliminary Assessment' capacity.

Whilst I may disagree with your overall approach, you do highlight some valid points. As such, thank you for taking the time in answering my question.

 

[The Byre]

Relying solely on your initial criteria, would not help to prevent me from:

• Investing in unethical ventures;
• Financing fraud;
• Being involved in money laundering;
• Generally, implicating myself in bad practices.

I fail to see how having a comprehensive business plan and mission statement (it's just paper, remember!) can protect me and my investment from those things.

If you think carefully about UDUBS, you will find that those five points cover just about everything, especially the 'Says who?' question.

Dependant on the scale of the investment, UDUBS can be a pretty intensive process and I've been through it from the other side when selling my business in 1998-9. It took over a year of calculations and investigations, restructuring the business and getting it fit and ready for the take-over. It was and should never be a pleasant fire-side chat over a beer!

In the matter of the folder full of contracts, it was not a case of "Ooo! Look at that! Right lass, you're in! Where's my cheque book?" We spent several days in discussions and making projections and calculations, just to answer the first two criteria - up-side/down-side, i.e. what can we earn and what are we risking. Then we had a trial period and did one event together, just to get to know one another. Then and only then, did we exchange contracts.

So far, everything in the garden is coming up roses and we may launch another business with the same person next year. This could be a bigger deal in the long run and involves consultants and much training.

But nobody has suggested having a business plan or a mission statement!

There is definitely no harm done by having a plan and a mission statement, esp. if it makes those involved feel better about what they are doing, but my eagle-eye will still be looking for the hard evidence and solid facts.

 

[Mark T Jones]

I must say, this is a 'unique' approach to an internal business plan.

I usually have these discussions with start ups who have been advised by consultants - said consultants having a vested interest in making things as complicated as possible.

I've yet to see a mission statement that was anything other than a load of self-aggrandising drivel; why do you want one?

Up to you of course, but I suggest that in a start up there are better thing to focus on than the layout of titles in your plan.