an overview of what your finished plan will include, its time to begin writing the final sections. Every business plan needs a summary, which is covered in Section C1, below. In addition, you may choose to write several short statements that will improve your plan and make it more cohesive. Those optional statements are covered in Sections C2and C3, below.     1. Write Your Plan Summary     The plan summary introduces and emphasizes the high points of your plan. It includes a statement of the total amount of money you seek. Because the summary is based on the rest of your plan, weve waited until now to cover it. Your job is to tell your readers who you are, what you want to do, how much money you need and how much money you expect to make, all on one page.     WarningPay attention! Many people will never read your entire package. They will make their preliminary decision about lending you money or investing in your project on the basis of their first impression of your plan summary. Others will decide to read the rest of your materials only if your summary engages their interest. So put all your strong points in the first few paragraphs, saving the details for later. Absolutely follow these rules:     Keep it short.     Be specific.     Your plan summary needs a statement of the total cash you need to begin or expand your business. This is the sum of the pre-opening costs and the maximum negative cash flow. (See Chapter 7, Section D.)     Example:This summary introduces Juanitas Waffle Warehouse.     "My Waffle Warehouse requires $45,000 in pre-opening costs, which are detailed on the following pages. I have researched my equipment costs carefully, resulting in a potential savings of $15,000 by buying second-hand (reconditioned and guaranteed) cooking equipment. Also, my grand opening costs are firm estimates resulting from verbal quotes from the ad agency recommended by the Waffle Warehouse franchising company. I am confident that these are accurate estimates and I look forward to proceeding."     WarningBusinesses seeking investors: If you will solicit equity investors instead of applying for a loan, youll need a statement delineating what investors will receive for their money rather than information about how a loan will be repaid. As a small business, you will almost certainly not propose selling stock to the public at large. Therefore, you will need to propose that investors will receive a significant share of ownership of the business and perhaps some monthly or annual cash payment as well. (For more details on equity investments, see Chapter 4, Sections B2 and B3.)     Example:"An investment of $20,000 in Johns Roof Repair business will result in the investor receiving a 33% interest in the business. Present plans are to distribute one-half of the annual profit of the company to the owners each year. Based on projections contained in this proposal, this means a person who invests $20,000 will receive $5,000 the first year, $17,500 the second year and $25,000 each year thereafter. In addition, investors will be entitled to have any necessary roof repairs done to their homes or business buildings and those of immediate family members at