Sell Yourself How to write a company profile

It's your company's first big PR break. A local reporterwants to interview you as an "up-and-coming"entrepreneur. You dream of the business this will bring in andworry that you won't be able to return all the sales calls fastenough. You're so busy fantasizing about the future that youdon't prepare for the present. The end result? You can'tdescribe your company in 25 words or less. You stumble overessential data: the date you opened, the market you'retargeting, the product lines or services you sell. You come offsounding more like a new employee than a business owner, and yousuddenly realize this was a test--and you've failed. To avoidthis fiasco the next time the media comes calling, prepare acompany profile. Designed to give the reader a "snapshot"of your business, it is a brief summary of the company and theprincipals involved.

The key word here is "brief." Miles Spencer,co-founder of Norwalk, Connecticut-based MoneyHunt Properties LLC,a multimedia company that helps entrepreneurs find financing,advises the profile be kept to one page. "Too much more, andthe eyes will glaze over," cautions Spencer, whose clients useprofiles as part of their efforts to solicit financial backing."Include in the first two or three sentences what's uniqueabout the business, why it's going to change theworld."

"We typically call this `the New York version'--meaningwe deliver it quickly, yet communicate the critical factors to theintended audience," says Lance Chastain, 37, president and CEOof Interex, a Wichita, Kansas, developer and marketer of computeraccessories and peripherals. Here's a look at the key elementsof a company profile: