Your business plan cover page is the most important piece of the entire business plan because it is this page that will ignite the interest of prospective investors. To be effective your business plan cover page has to contain vital information about you and your organization and convey your message in an interesting way relatively quickly or it is sure to be passed over.

While there are a number of ways in which you can put your cover page together in order for it to be effective you need to include ten critical components:

•    The Headline: Use the headline of your business plan cover page to say something engaging and newsworthy about your proposed business venture. Make sure it is interesting enough to make the reader want to read on.
•    Company Name: If your company is a start-up then the name is likely to have little meaning to the investor and for that reason it should be left out of the headline. However, you do want to include the name of your company on the cover page.
•    Company Info: You will want to give the potential investors someone they can contact if interested. Be sure to include an address, phone number, and an e-mail that is professional sounding.
•     Type of business: Try to keep this to ten words or under. State the industry that your business is in and the level at which it is currently at such as start-up.
•    Business Summary: In a brief paragraph describe what it is that you propose your business will do. Describe what industry your company will be in and summarize any significant events that have recently taken place such as any mergers or acquisitions.
•    Management Info: Make a list of the top three key personnel that will be working for your company. In a couple of sentences give their background information as well as attributes they posses that make them a unique find for your business.
•    Products, Services, and Competition: What products or services will you provide? If they are new to the marketplace describe the present stage of development. Describe any major contracts that you may have to produce your products and give a little bit of information about your competition.
•    Money Needed and Collateral: Not only should you say specifically how much you are looking to raise in capital, but you should also let the potential investors know of any collateral that you are putting up. While you don’t have to put up collateral, some investors prefer it if you do.
•    Financial Data: Provide a summary of how you plan on using the funds you raise. Keep it brief and on the high level as you will get into all your financial information in depth within the plan itself.
•    Proposed Return: Describe how you plan on returning the investors original investment plus any interest. Give the way you plan on doing this and an estimated time frame.

Your business plan is vital if you plan on trying to borrow any money or intend on having vendors extend you credit. Many financial institutions and vendors won’t even talk to you if you don’t have a business plan. However, you have to be sure that the potential investors will actually read the business plan and the best way to go about this is with a great business plan cover page.

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