Corporation

It summarizes your company's history, management team, location, mission statement, and legal structure

Author: Osman Ahmed
Osman Ahmed
Osman Ahmed
Investment Banking | Private Equity

Osman started his career as an investment banking analyst at Thomas Weisel Partners where he spent just over two years before moving into a growth equity investing role at Scale Venture Partners, focused on technology. He's currently a VP at KCK Group, the private equity arm of a middle eastern family office. Osman has a generalist industry focus on lower middle market growth equity and buyout transactions.

Osman holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Southern California and a Master of Business Administration with concentrations in Finance, Entrepreneurship, and Economics from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Reviewed By: Austin Anderson
Austin Anderson
Austin Anderson
Consulting | Data Analysis

Austin has been working with Ernst & Young for over four years, starting as a senior consultant before being promoted to a manager. At EY, he focuses on strategy, process and operations improvement, and business transformation consulting services focused on health provider, payer, and public health organizations. Austin specializes in the health industry but supports clients across multiple industries.

Austin has a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and a Masters of Business Administration in Strategy, Management and Organization, both from the University of Michigan.

Last Updated:December 30, 2023

What Is Corporation Overview?

The part of your business plan that describes the foundations and history of your corporation is known as the company overview. It summarizes your company's history, management team, location, mission statement, and legal structure.

This is frequently the shortest chapter in a business plan paper, but it does not decrease its importance. To make better judgments, business owners, managers, and other professionals should have a basic grasp of business law.

There is a vast amount of law that applies to business. For example, a corporation's passive shareholders are not personally accountable for the firm's legally prescribed tasks or torts (involuntary injuries) performed against a third party.

On the other hand, legal liability remains a source of disagreement since third parties have not consented to forgo their right to sue shareholders.

Creating a business plan can be a difficult task that entails several procedures. First, a company overview, often known as a company description, presents a picture of your business as it currently exists.

A company profile is a statement that provides information about a company. The purpose is to give customers basic information about the company and its activities.

Company overviews are frequently made publicly available to convenience consumers, prospects, suppliers, rivals, and others. One of the most significant aspects of a business plan is the company overview.

It gives the reader an overview of your firm, its goods and services, legal structure, and operational procedures. This is also the portion where you introduce yourself to folks who have never heard of you. 

One important job when beginning a business is to prepare a business strategy. A business strategy is required to expose your company's concepts in a broader context.

Reading this part, the audience learns about your firm and its structure, values, and mission. It may also illustrate what distinguishes your organization from the competition.

Creating a business strategy may be challenging, including several processes and writing.

This part is intended to give the reader an overview of your organization.

A company overview offers consumers basic information about the organization and its activities.

Importance of corporation overview

Your company overview serves as the foundation for your business plan. It gives an overview of the structure and history of your firm. Lenders, in particular, need a reason to keep reading because they see a lot of business plans asking for loans. 

Past achievement is the best indicator of future success.

Your business strategy is built on the foundation of your company overview. It paints a clear picture of your company's activities and who your customers are. It will help you better understand your business so that you can solidify things like your marketing strategy.

The firm summary also aids in attracting new clients and investors. 

You need the reader to be able to make an informed choice about your firm if you want to appeal to investors or potential clients. However, they must first understand your firm's tasks and who your consumer is before making any decision. 

Readers need to know if you are a new or established business and what your organization has done thus far.

Components Of A Corporation Overview

Consider the company overview to be a crash course in your business. Include basic company information in the first paragraph of your company overview. For example, provide the location of your company's headquarters and any other properties it owns.

Because most potential investors like to invest in firms close to them, location is critical. After that, give a brief outline of your company's operations. This is where you discuss your company's goods and services and any other distinguishing features. 

Summarize each of the company's primary aims in one or two sentences. Here is a wonderful location to discuss your management team or critical positions if you're a startup.

The opening sentence of your business summary should serve as a form of an elevator pitch for your firm, providing a concise description of who you are and what you do. For example, in your presentation, you might showcase your company's services and the target demographic you serve. 

Try to show how you differ from your competitors.

Ownership And Management Team

The ownership structure of your company will be critical information to include in your business plan. Include information on who owns what and how each owner is involved in the firm. 

The management team section is your chance to construct a picture of your team and highlight its best qualities.

Include who is presently handling additional responsibilities or sharing chores. Share the names and essential functions of your highly active management team with the corporation. 

You want to present everyone in the best light possible, keeping in mind that investors invest in people first and ideas second. 

Your company's legal structure is critical information for any current or potential source of financing. Banks and investors will want this information to be explicit. 

If you have a highly involved management staff, share their names and significant functions with the organization. 

Company History

The company history section will begin with the company's founding date and the people involved. But, again, don't overthink it, but incorporate some personality and amusing information if possible. 

You'll want to show that you've completed successful projects, dealt with challenges, and made solid business decisions in the past. But, again, the history of your organization contributes to its uniqueness.

This is your company plan's "Once upon a time." Include information on how the firm began, expanded, and made adjustments along the route. For example, suppose you are an existing firm looking for capital for growth or a new project. In that case, the company history part will be very important.

When selling your business plan to potential investors, you need to offer some context for your company's history. For example, what brought you to this point? Who did you collaborate with? What changes have you made to your facilities or services? What was the "aha!" moment? Who took part?

This part will differ based on who is receiving the business plan and what stage your firm is in. For example, is this an internal strategy? Is this a fundraising strategy?

Mission Statement

Your organization's mission statement should be provided in the business overview. This is okay if you do not yet have a business purpose statement. However, consider a mission statement to be the objective of your organization.

If you do not already have one, you may create one with your team. You may also replace the mission statement with a problem statement. Your business concept should exist to address a problem or pain point for your customers.

Inform us about the issue and what your firm is doing to address it. That essentially serves as your mission statement. 

Try to be as concise as possible when creating your mission statement. For example, what idea can you distill into one or two lines to describe your company's main mission?

It defines the organization's goal and ultimate objective. The mission statement supports the vision, which communicates purpose and direction to workers, customers, vendors, and other stakeholders.

Product/Service And Customer

This company overview section is where you may share information about your company. For example, discuss what product or service you provide and to whom you offer it. Certain numbers may be discussed here, but the remainder should be saved later in your company plan.

The company summary should give the reader an overview of your firm, product or service, and client. If they want to learn more, they'll contact you for a meeting or read the rest of your business plan. In this section, keep things brief and to the point.

When you describe your company's products and services in your own words, you take responsibility for how your customers and stakeholders perceive them. Your product and service descriptions will differ depending on your audience and aims.

Begin by examining the viewpoints of your target readers or listeners and what you want them to take away from your words.

Future Objectives

While specific statistics and facts about your firm are vital to anyone reading your company overview, you should also convey your ambitions and vision.

Suppose you're developing a business plan for an existing firm. In that case, you're probably searching for financing to grow the business or address a problem. On the other hand, if you're starting, you're probably looking for startup money.

In part on future business goals, explain your company's growth goals briefly. The reader is curious about where you are now and where you aim to go.

A thorough overview is composed of multiple minor components. Each part provides the reader with further information about your company. A detailed set of company objectives establishes the standards that will be the foundation for your business strategy.

As an entrepreneur, you are concerned with every aspect of your firm and must have certain goals to stay on track. Your business objectives are the outcomes you expect to attain while you manage and build your company.

People who take care of the corporation review

Many sorts of analysts handle the various aspects of a business overview:

Budget Specialists

Budget analysts generate realistic budget targets and forecasts based on previous expenditures and economic trends. As a result, they help the company stay on track with its finances. Budget analysts, after all, are an integral part of the profit-making equation.

Furthermore, their advice is crucial in accomplishing financial goals and long-term growth strategies. The advice of budget specialists has a significant effect on the decisions taken by managers and government authorities.

Analysts Of Financial Data

Financial analysts maintain a close watch on macroeconomic and microeconomic situations. They make investment decisions for both external and internal financial clients. 

They advise on whether to purchase or sell a company's shares based on its present and anticipated strength.

They generally research the firm and make business and industry suggestions. A financial analyst's other titles are security analyst, stock analyst, investment analyst, and rating analyst.

Management Consultants

management analyst's primary responsibility is to enhance management procedures. As a result, management analysts collaborate with business leaders to boost efficiency and all other beneficial managerial features. 

In effect, this increases earnings. Unlike other analysts, a management analyst usually works as an independent consultant.

Market Research Analyst

Market analysts research to forecast future product or service sales trends. They are market experts who understand the industry and market trends, which is crucial to a company making decisions to increase its market share and profitability. 

They also look into future pricing patterns for a product or service. 

Finally, they help a business increase product sales and customer satisfaction by bridging the gap between the firm and its customers. 

A market research analyst supports a company in finding potential customers, the products and features that customers want, and the price they are willing to pay.

Corporation Overview FAQs

Researched and authored by Manal Fatima | LinkedIn

Reviewed and edited by James Fazeli-Sinaki | LinkedIn

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