Presenting the Management and Ownership Section of a Business Plan

The Management and Ownership section of a business plan features

short (one to three paragraphs) biographies of the key personnel involved in forming and running the business. You should include key staff personnel and members of your Board of Directors. Additionally, insert the benefits that each member of the team brings to this business, including pertinent past experience and significant attributes. Also note his or her key responsibilities in the company.

The organizational structure of the business should be included so that readers will have a clear understanding of how the business will manage day-to-day operations.

Generally, this is one of the easier, less time-consuming sections of the business plan to compile. There is, however, a need to be careful when writing this section to avoid some common mistakes.

For example:

• Be selective and use past experience that is specifically applicable to the new business.
• Do not use superlatives.
• Focus on a person's work background and not on his or her business philosophy.
• Be concise.
• Make clear distinctions between each individual's role, especially if there are multiple players at the same level within the organization.

Explaining who is behind the company and what each person brings to the table is of great interest to any potential investor.