Monthly Archives: July 2014

//July

Business Planning: How To Write Your Company Description

Since it's best to hold off writing the Executive Summary until last, the first section of the business plan that you should write is the Company Description. Essentially, the company description serves as an overview of what your business does, where it’s located, how it’s structured, and any progress you’ve made to date. Since it can be difficult deciding where to start when writing the company description section of your business plan, it’s helpful to break it down into eight subsections. Breaking your company description into smaller sections helps keep your writing organized, which allows the reader to get a better overall sense of your business. Below is a general outline of how you can organize your company description. Company Description: Summary Paragraph The company description should start out with a summary paragraph that introduces the name of your business, its legal status, when and where it was formed, the owners/co-founders, and the industry or submarket that it’s competing in. Think of this introductory paragraph as a place to lay the groundwork for the more detailed descriptions that follow. If any of this introductory information is particularly important to your business, you should also explain that to your reader in the introductory paragraphs. Company Description: Mission Statement Once you’ve introduced the basics of your company, it’s time to start getting into what your company plans to do. A mission statement sums up the purpose of your company into one or two sentences that clearly state your business’ guiding principles. If you haven’t written your business’ mission statement yet, now is the time to do so. Company [...]

Seven Sections Every Business Plan Should Have

While there’s a lot to be said about a snappy presentation for your business plan, it’s as much of a process as it is a final product. Many small business owners are tempted to outsource the creation of their business plan; however, this is a mistake. Think of writing your business plan like preparing a study guide for college exams. Sure, the study guide itself is a useful tool, but the real utility comes from the work that goes into creating it. Keep reading below to learn about the seven most important sections every business plan should include. Executive Summary The executive summary is the first element of your business plan, though it is should be written last. Since the executive summary will likely be the most read section of your business plan, use it as your opportunity to grab your reader’s attention and let them know why they should continue through the rest of your document or proposal. Executive summaries generally shouldn’t be longer than a couple of single-spaced pages in length, though the actual length will depend on the complexity of your business. Learn more about how to write a winning executive summary. Company Description/Overview The goal of your company description or overview is to leave your reader with a sense of your company’s overall purpose, the direction it’s heading in, its goals and background. When writing your company description, it can be helpful to break it down into subsections to be sure you cover everything. Learn more about how to write an effective company description. Market Research The market research section of [...]

Spelling 101: Website vs. Web Site

While doing some research for a terms and conditions of service agreement I am working on for a client, I began noticing differences in the way people spell "website" (which is the appropriate way). I'm actually quite fond of knowing about the rights and wrongs of obscure spelling and grammar nuances, so I began searching for an authority on how this word is spelled. Mashable published an article back in 2010 noting how the AP (Associated Press) Stylebook officially changed the previously correct, "web site" to the now correct "website." While I don't have a subscription to the AP Stylebook, I'll take Mashable's word for it that  reporters and journalists are all adhering to "website." Grammarist shed some new light on the differences in spelling, noting that the correct way used to be "Web site" (capital "W"), but the more modern way is lowercase "website."Grammarist goes into further detail on this one, noting the differences between news agencies timely adoption/integration of new tech terms. Google's Terms of Service actually does not use the term "website" or "web site" a single time in its entire ToS Agreement. Facebook ∆, Twitter, Yelp, The American Bar Association, The California Bar Association and the Texas Bar Association all use the lowercase, single word spelling of "website" in their terms of use/service agreements. Yahoo, on the other hand, references its "World Wide Web Sites" twice in its Terms of Service Agreement. So which way do you spell it? Web site, or website? I would be willing to wager that those of you who spell "Web site" also double space after periods, but that's a different conversation entirely.