How to Describe the Management Team in Your Business Plan
Long-term business planning success depends, above all, on the quality of the management team providing the leadership, direction, and vision. In fact, in some cases, investors have funded start-up companies primarily on the basis of the people who will run them.
Assemble background information on yourself and each of your senior team members to showcase in your business plan. Use the form in the figure to compile a profile for each key person.
When describing team members, include everything that’s relevant to the potential success of your business. But keep the descriptions brief and to the point, with biographical notes on each person filling a half page or less.
If yours is a single-person operation, you don’t have to spend too much time describing yourself in your plan, although you should have a resume highlighting your education, experience, and accomplishments ready to hand out when the information is requested by a banker, supplier, or prospective investor.
If you’re running a larger business, feature biographies of up to five top managers in your business plan. Include background information on people filling senior posts, including all the big Cs, from CEO (Chief Executive Officer) and COO (Chief Operating Officer) to CFO (Chief Financial Officer) and CTO or CIO (Chief Technology Officer or Chief Information Officer).
Depending on the size of your company, you may also want to include brief descriptions of the members of your Board of Directors, Board of Advisors, or of consultants who play a major role in making your business a success.
