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Truth About Starting a Business, The

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Truth About Starting a Business, The

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About

Features

Simply the Best Thinking...and Nothing But the Truth .

  • How to build the profitable, growing business you've always wanted - step by step!
  • How to choose the right business for you... then plan it, fund it, build your team, and launch it successfully.
  • How to manage your business to specific financial objectives, set pricing, handle marketing and PR, grow successfully - and even maintain your work/life balance!
  • Description

    • Copyright 2009
    • Dimensions: 5-7/16" x 8-1/2"
    • Pages: 224
    • Edition: 1st
    • Book
    • ISBN-10: 0-13-714450-4
    • ISBN-13: 978-0-13-714450-1

    “This book should be on the seasoned entrepreneur’s list of ‘what I should have read before I started my business.’”

    JOE KEELEY, President & CEO, College Nannies & Tutors Development

    “This is one of the best entrepreneurship books I’ve read...I wish I had this book when I first started out.”

    RYAN O’DONNELL, Cofounder and CEO, BullEx Digital Safety

    Your own business: Take the leap, make it happen, and make it succeed!

    ·   The truth about choosing the right business for you and maintaining a healthy personal life

    ·   The truth about planning, funding, hiring, and successful launches

    ·   The truth about financial management, marketing, and growth

    This book reveals 53 bite-size, easy-to-use techniques for choosing, planning, launching, and growing your winning business.

    You’ll learn how to generate and test business ideas, and pick the one that’s best for you...select the right entry strategy...name and locate your business...raise capital...build your team and get expert advice...protect your business secrets and intellectual property...effectively brand your business and market its offerings...handle pricing, distribution, and sales...manage your finances to specific objectives...prepare for growth...and even maintain your work/life balance as an entrepreneur. This isn't “someone's opinion”: it's a definitive, evidence-based guide to building your own successful enterprise--a set of bedrock principles you can rely on whoever you are, wherever you are, and whatever business you choose to launch.

    Sample Content

    Online Sample Chapter

    Key Characteristics of Successful Business Owners

    Sample Pages

    Download the sample pages

    Table of Contents

    Part I   The Truth About What It Takes to Be a Business Owner

    Truth 1    Why people start businesses  1

    Truth 2    The right business for you  5

    Truth 3    Questions to ask before you quit your job  9

    Truth 4    Key characteristics of successful business owners  13

    Truth 5    You may not need “prior business experience”  17

    Part II   The Truth About Generating and Testing Business Ideas

    Truth 6    The most common sources of new business ideas  21

    Truth 7    Want several alternatives? Techniques for generating new business ideas  25

    Truth 8    A make-it or break-it issue: Selecting an idea that can be sold into a niche market  29

    Truth 9    Screening and testing business ideas  33

    Truth 10   Writing a business plan: Still as important as ever  37

    Part III  The Truth About Entry Strategies

    Truth 11   Starting from scratch: Developing your own product or service  41

    Truth 12   Franchising: Buying into someone else’s formula for success  45

    Truth 13   Believe it or not: There are legitimate opportunities in direct sales  49

    Truth 14   Buying a business  54

    Truth 15   Internet businesses: The sky does seem to be the limit  58

    Part IV   The Truth About Getting Up and Running

    Truth 16   Choosing a location for your business  61

    Truth 17   Something you’ll say a million times: Your business’s name  65

    Truth 18   The paper chase: Obtaining business licenses and permits  69

    Truth 19   Choosing a form of business ownership  73

    Truth 20   Creating a Web site: An absolute necessity  79

    Part V    The Truth About Raising Money

    Truth 21   How to think about money as it relates to starting a business  83

    Truth 22   Calculating your initial start-up costs  87

    Truth 23   Personal funds, loans from friends and family, and bootstrapping  91

    Truth 24   Debt financing  95

    Truth 25   Equity funding  99

    Truth 26   Grants: It takes the right fit  103

    Truth 27   Persistence pays off: Finding alternative sources of startup funds  107

    Part VI   The Truth About Building a New Business Team

    Truth 28   How to approach the task of building a “new business” team  111

    Truth 29   Starting a business as a team rather than an individual  115

    Truth 30   Recruiting and hiring employees  119

    Truth 31    Board of directors  123

    Truth 32   Board of advisors  127

    Part VII   The Truth About Intellectual Property

    Truth 33   Intellectual property: What is it, and how is it protected?  131

    Truth 34   To patent or not to patent?  135

    Truth 35   Trademarks: An essential form of protection  139

    Truth 36   Copyright laws: A surprising breadth of protection  143

    Truth 37   Trade secrets: Guard them carefully  147

    Part VIII  The Truth About Marketing

    Truth 38   How to approach marketing in a new business  151

    Truth 39   Segmenting the market and selecting a target market  155

    Truth 40   Establishing a brand  159

    Truth 41   Selling benefits rather than features  163

    Truth 42   Pricing: The most dicey element of the marketing mix  165

    Truth 43   It’s okay to advertise, but think through your choices carefully  169

    Truth 44   Public relations: More important than ever  173

    Truth 45   Distribution and sales: More choices than ever  177

    Part IX   The Truth About Financial Management

    Truth 46   Managing a business’s finances  181

    Truth 47   Financial objectives of a business  185

    Truth 48   The nitty-gritty: Forecasts, budgets, and financial statements  189

    Part X    The Truth About Growing a Business

    Truth 49   Preparing for growth  193

    Truth 50   Stages of growth: More opportunities, more challenges  197

    Truth 51   Strategies for growth 201

    Part XI   The Truth About Starting a Business and Maintaining a Healthy Personal Life

    Truth 52   Work life balance: Practical tips  205

    Truth 53   Starting a business as a means of achieving a healthy personal life  209

    References  213

    About the Author  221

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