Here’s what you need to know to write an effective company description for your small business.
What Is a Company Description?
The company description section of your business plan is typically the second section, coming after the executive summary. The company description outlines vital details about your company, such as where you are located, how large the company is, what you do, and what you hope to accomplish.
Parts of a Company Description
The exact elements included in your company description can vary, but some elements are more common than others and most likely should be part of the section:
Company name: The official name of your business as registered in the state where you do business Type of business structure: Sole proprietorship, LLC, partnership, or corporation Ownership/management team: Names of the key people behind the company Location: Where is the company headquartered? Company history: When was the business started? What inspired you to start the business? What need does your company fulfill? Mission statement: A clear statement that represents the purpose of your company Products/services and target market: A brief overview of what you plan to sell and to whom Objectives: An outline of what you want to accomplish in the immediate future based on the data in the rest of the business plan as well as future growth goals Vision statement: A statement about how you envision the future of the company
How To Write Your Company Description
Once you’ve organized the key information that you want to include, you need to write the section in a way that will be appealing to readers. Follow five steps to help create a successful company description.
Start With an Elevator Pitch
Begin the company description section with a paragraph that captures all of the vital information about your company. Imagine you are giving an elevator pitch about your company and want to express the key characteristics in just a few sentences. Use the same thought process for your introductory paragraph.
Stick With High-Level Information
Some of the information in your company description will be included in other sections of your business plan. For these parts, provide only a high-level overview and leave all of the specific details for the related section.
Show Your Passion
Let your passion and excitement show in the company description section as you explain why you started the company and what you hope to accomplish. Your excitement should show in the tone of your writing, and your aim should be to get the reader interested in reading the rest of the business plan.
Do a Length Check
When you’re writing about the passion and excitement that led you to start your company, it can be easy to get carried away and use more words than necessary to get your point across. Once you’ve drafted your company description, go back and cut out any unnecessary parts or redundant information to make it clear and concise.
Have It Proofread
Ask someone who hasn’t seen various drafts of the company description to review it for typos, grammatical errors, or flow problems that could hurt the impact it has on the reader.
The Bottom Line on Writing a Company Description
The company description is a crucial part of any business plan. You should use it to highlight key details about your company. Writing a good company description for your small business starts with a solid elevator pitch. A general overview of your vision and goals should be supplemented with details about exactly what your company does, where it is located, how it is structured, and other information along these lines.
