This section gives a profile of your business. Here, you describe specifically what you’re selling and why. The company overview includes your mission statement. It defines your goals and objectives. It also highlights your values for the company.

Mission statement

Your mission statement communicates the purpose of your business in about 50 words or less. Writing the statement isn’t an easy task, but it’s critical. Try to capture the essence of your enterprise in concrete terms. Be specific. After you create your mission statement, review it as you write the rest of your business plan. Revise it. Completely rewrite it if you need to as you develop your plan and discover new ideas

Goals and objectives

Your company’s goals and objectives steer your company’s course of action. So being vague about what you want to accomplish—and when—just won’t do. As you write your goals and objectives, be specific.

The authors of Business Plans for Dummies (Hungry Minds Inc., 1997) differentiate between goals and objectives this way: “Goals are the broad results that your company is committed to achieving. Objectives are the steps that you need to take to reach your goals.”

When stating your goals, aim high but don’t shoot toward an impossible dream. Your goals should stretch your business; they should motivate you. But they should also be attainable if you want the business to succeed.

The objectives you set to reach your goals should be tangible and verifiable. Here are a few areas in which you can set objectives and then measure your success in reaching them:

• Number of sales

• Number of customers

• Amount of revenue and profit

• Number of employees

Remember to assign target dates to your objectives. For instance, you can write that you want to increase your profits by 10 percent each year. That’s a measurable objective, one you can point to when you’re judging the success of your venture.

Your company’s values

Your value statement is based on beliefs you already hold. By putting these firmly held beliefs on paper, the principles become a guide for your company. This value statement will help you decide which clients to accept, what actions to take and how to arrange priorities.

For instance, perhaps you believe that family should always come before business. Sticking with that value statement may mean that you turn down a client who wants you to work weekends for the next year. It might also mean that if you hire employees, your company provides ample paid leave for workers who need to attend to family emergencies.

Your value statement becomes a guidepost for how you and your company behave. Take time to craft it carefully.