How to Write a Business Plan Executive Summary for a Loan

Last updated October 9, 2026

Lenders usually read the executive summary first and decide whether to keep going. Write it last, in under 300 words, with specifics instead of adjectives.

The six things it must say

1. What you sell, to whom, and where. One sentence a stranger understands.
2. The problem and the proof. Conversations, a waitlist, letters of intent or existing sales.
3. How you make money. Price, volume and margin.
4. The ask. The exact amount and what each dollar buys.
5. Why you. The experience that makes this likely to work.
6. Year one in numbers. Revenue and break-even month, matching your spreadsheet.

Weak versus strong

Weak: "We are an innovative full-service solutions provider with a passion for excellence."

Strong: "We detail cars at the customer's home or workplace in Ottawa. A standard detail is $120 and costs about $22 in supplies. We are asking for $25,000 for equipment and launch marketing, and we project break-even in month nine."

What to cut

• Claims you cannot support, such as "no competition".
• Market statistics with no source.
• Any number that differs from your spreadsheet.

The Canadian Startup Funding Kit ($39) includes a twelve-section plan template with prompts for this and every other section, and the Futurpreneur Application Playbook ($29) adds weak-versus-strong examples and interview questions. No guarantee of approval.

KAE MOB ENTERTAINMENT INC., operating as K.M.E. Incorporated · Ontario corporation · CRA business number 753923143RC0001 · Mailing address: 22 John St, Toronto, ON M9N 2B3, Canada · Email: kmeinchq@gmail.com