- Browse
- » The complete idiot's guide to starting your own business
The complete idiot's guide to starting your own business
Author
Publisher
Alpha Books
Publication Date
c2007
Language
English
Description
Loading Description...
Table of Contents
From the Book - 5th ed.
Part 1. Starting the Right Business for You
1. You Are Your New Business
Lifelong Employment Is a Myth
Cut Yourself Some Slack
Your Business Starts with You
Do You Have What It Takes?
What Makes a Great Entrepreneur?
What Are Your Strengths and Abilities?
What Are Your Needs?
Financial Needs and Goals
Family Motivations and Goals
What Are Your Spiritual Goals?
Escaping the Big House-Leaving Corporate America
What Is Your Personal Bottom Line?
2. Navigating the Critical Planning Process
Why Prepare a Business Plan?
Think of It as a Simulation
The Overall Plan-Writing Process
Being Honest
Getting Help
You'll Never Have All the Information You Need
The Minimum That Your Plan Must Cover
Dealing with a Bad Business Idea
Short- and Long-Term Planning
3. Your Recipe for a Professional Business Plan
Briefly Describing Your Business Idea
Your Mission: Why Does Your Company Exist?
The Pieces of Your Plan
Cover Sheet
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Business Description
Market and Industry Analysis
The Competition
Marketing Strategy
Operations Plan
The Management Team
Financial Overview and Funding Needs
Summary and Conclusions
Appendixes or Supplementary Materials
Ethics and Your Plan
4. Finding the Money You Will Need
Risk and Reward Are Intimately Linked
Investors Give Money to Get Something Back
The Greater the Perceived Risk, the Greater the Required Return
Don't Treat Investments Personally
Comparing Debt and Equity Funding
Company Stages and Funding
Seed Stage
Startup Stage
First Stage
Second Stage
Third Stage (Mezzanine)
Harvest Stage-Exit Strategy
Know How Much Money You Will Need
Will You Make Money?
How Much Can You Afford?
The Plan Estimates Your Money Needs
What's Your Potential?
Basic Types of Funding
Typical Funding Action Sequence
Funding Out of Your Own Pocket
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? Family Funding
Venture Capital-May Not Be for Everybody
Agency Guaranteed Bank Funding
SBA and Governmental Program Realities
Stock Sales (Not an IPO...Sorry)
Seller Financing
Ethics and Funding
For Your Plan
5. Buying Experience with a Franchise
Franchises: Paying for Their Experience
Franchising in a Nutshell
Getting to Know the Franchiser
How Long Has the Franchiser Been in Business?
Key Personnel, Methodology, or Arrangements
What About the Competition?
For Your Plan
6. Buying an Existing Business
The Benefits and Drawbacks of Buying an Existing Business
Buying and Selling are Similar...but Different
Preparing to Buy
Finding the Candidate
Finding a Company to Buy
Plan to Buy in Stages
The Sales Meetings
Getting the Right Professional Help
For Your Plan
7. Should You Start a Corporation?
An Overview of the Various Business Structures
Sole Proprietorship: Going It Alone
Partnership: A Business Marriage
Corporations: Share the Wealth
Public or Private?
Subchapter S-Corporations: Protection with a Smaller Tax Bite
Limited Liability Company (LLC)
Professional Corporations
State to State
Dealing With the Tax Man
For Your Plan
Part 2. Writing Your Successful Plan
8. Determining Your Market Opportunity
Understanding and Assessing the Market's Influence
Don't Create a Market Need
Determine Overall Market Characteristics
Is the Market Growing?
Who Are the Major Players in Your Market?
How Long Will This Opportunity Last?
Research Data Sources Are Everywhere
Researching Your Plan
For Your Plan
9. Learning on Your Competitors' Nickel
Is the Competition Real?
Accumulating Competitive Information
Comparing Yourself to Them
Price Wars Hurt Everyone
Are You a Specialty Store or a Superstore?
Using Market Segmentation to Your Advantage
Cooperation Versus Competition
For Your Plan
10. Focused Marketing That Makes Money
Marketing and Sales: Linked but Different
Know Who Is Most Likely to Buy Your Offering
Target Marketing: Finding Your Best Customers
Finding Your Right Price
The All-Important Life Cycle
Your Marketing Message and Positioning
Advertising: Balancing Push and Pull
Mail Order and Direct Mail
For Your Plan
11. Getting Sales: The Lifeblood of Your Business
Manipulating and Selling: Not the Same Thing
Getting Close to Closing the Sale
Everyone Has to Sell, but Not Everyone Closes
Is Your Offering a Special or Commodity Item?
Is Your Customer a Likely Buyer?
The Nine Stages of Selling
The Suspect Stage-Stage 1
The Prospect Stage-Stage 2
The Entree Stage-Stage 3
The Discovery Stage-Stage 4
The Proposal Stage-Stage 5
Trial Close Stage-Stage 6
The Budget Stage-Stage 7
The Close Stage-Stage 8
The Post-Sale Stage-Stage 9
A Commodity Sale Versus a Complex Sale
Your Sales Channels
Distributors as Sales Agents
Should You Use Your Own Sales Force?
Selling Services Instead of Products
For Your Plan
12. Production Plans That Produce Results
Production in Product and Service Environments
Are You a Mass Producer or a Job Shop?
Linking Purchasing, Production, and Marketing Forecasts
Create a Production Flow Chart
Successful Project Management
Maintaining Quality
For Your Plan
13. The Good and Bad News About Employees
When You're Successful, You'll Need Help
Good Help Isn't Hard to Find
Independent Contractors
Putting Retired Folk to Work
Take Your Employee for a Test Drive
When a Contractor Is Really an Employee
More Employees, More Restrictions
Medical Insurance
Sexual Harassment
Solicitation and Competition
Interviewing Techniques
For Your Plan
14. Properly Handling Payroll Taxes
Payroll Taxes: You Can't Avoid Them, So Learn How to Deal with Them
Payroll Tax Overview
Filing and Paying Payroll Taxes
Tax Deposits and IRS Form 941, Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return
State and Federal Unemployment Taxes
Rules to Live (and Save Taxes) By
Using a Payroll Accounting Service
15. Accounting: How Business Keeps Score
Accounting 101
Accounting Periods
Sales and Costs
Cash or Accrual: Which Accounting Method Is Right for You?
The Cash Basis Accounting Method
The Accrual Accounting Method
Understanding Financial Statements
A Chart of Accounts
The Income Statement
The Balance Sheet
Cash Flow Analysis
For Your Plan
16. Reaping All Your Small Business Benefits
The Grim Truth
Are You Self-Employed or an Employee?
Differentiating Various Business Types and Taxes
You Still Need a Retirement Fund
The Standard IRA and Roth IRA
An SEP and SIMPLE Plan
Various Other Deductions
Home Office Deductions
Medical Benefits
A Final Word About Providing Benefits
Part 3. Running a Successful Business
17. Cash Is Like Air for Your Business
When You're Out of Cash, You're Out of Business (Usually)
How Success Can Kill Your Business
Factoring, Credit Terms, and Loans
Factoring Receivables
Using Credit Terms to Enhance Your Cash Position
Buying on Credit
Taking Out a Loan
Applying Break-Even Analysis to Determine Startup Cash Requirements
Knowing When Enough Is Enough
Projecting Startup Cash Requirements
For Your Plan
18. Properly Handling Credit Card Sales
The Way Credit Cards Work
The Costs of Credit
Terminal Fees
Monthly Fees
Covering Your Legal Bases
What to Do if a Charge Is Contested
19. Banking On Your Banker
What Does a Bank Bring to the Table?
The Loan Officer Is Your Friend. Really
Banks Will Give You Money Only When You Don't Need It
Bank Loans You Can Get
Sell Your Banker on Your Company
Commercial Checking Accounts: A Different Animal
Enter the Small Business Administration (SBA)
Big Banks, Small Banks
20. International Business-Did I Mention China?
International Business and the Internet
Taking and Processing Orders
Giving Product Information
Shipping and Handling
Pricing and Exchange Rates
Making Sure You Get Paid
Going International-All the Way
Working with China
Some Facts About China
The Importance of Relationship in Business
The Importance of Size
The Challenges
Appendixes
A. Business Buzzword Glossary
B. The Kwik Chek Auto Evaluation Example Business Plan
C. Resources
D. Bibliography
Index
Excerpt
Loading Excerpt...
Author Notes
Loading Author Notes...
More Details
ISBN
9781592575848
Staff View
Loading Staff View.

