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| Lessons for Starting Your Own Business | |
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| Preface | |
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| Acknowledgments | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Prerequisites for Start-Up Survival and Success | |
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| Creating a New Business | |
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| Can You Beat the Odds? | |
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| Don't Be One of the Losers | |
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| Prerequisites for Start-Up Survival and Success | |
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| Key Entrepreneurial Qualities | |
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| Conclusion: Starting a Business Is Survival of the Fittest | |
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| Entrepreneurial Qualities Self-Test: Part 1 | |
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| Identifying New Business Opportunities | |
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| An Opportunity Can Be Found within Every Problem | |
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| Creating Customers | |
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| Maintaining Customers | |
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| Are There Any Opportunities Left for New Businesses? | |
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| Find Gaps in the Market | |
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| Yes, There Are Opportunities! | |
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| What Kind of Business Should I Start? | |
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| Entrepreneurial Qualities Self-Test: Part 2 | |
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| Scoring Breakdown for Question 8 | |
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| Notes | |
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| Preparing Your Business Plan | |
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| The General Overview and Legal Structure | |
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| The Executive Summary | |
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| Overview of the Business Concept | |
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| The Objectives for the New Business | |
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| The Legal Form of Organization | |
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| Profile of the Management Team and Organization Chart | |
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| Description of the Market(s) to Be Served and the Location of the Business | |
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| Basis for Financing the Business | |
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| Timetable for Establishing the Business | |
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| Exit Strategy | |
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| The General Overview Helps You Think Things Through | |
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| Selecting the Right Target Market | |
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| Studying the Industry | |
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| Analyzing the Market | |
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| Competitive Analysis | |
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| Identifying Your Prospective Customers | |
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| Putting Together the Customer Profile | |
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| Product and Price Strategy | |
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| Product-Service Strategy | |
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| Pricing Strategy | |
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| Promotional Strategy and Physical Distribution Strategy | |
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| Promotional Strategy | |
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| Physical Distribution Strategy | |
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| Be Prepared to Change Your Marketing Mix | |
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| Determining Your Initial Capital Requirement | |
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| Determining Your Initial Capital Requirement | |
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| Estimating the First Year's Sales | |
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| Identifying Your Cash Outlays | |
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| Estimating Monthly Cash Outlays | |
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| Identifying Starting Costs That You Have to Pay Only Once | |
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| Completing the SBA Worksheet | |
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| Proceed with Caution | |
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| Projecting Your Financial Status for the First Years | |
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| Profit Planning: Conducting Cost-Volume-Profit Analysis | |
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| Cash Flow Projections | |
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| Preparing Your Pro Forma Financial Statements | |
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| Preparing Your First Calendar-Year-End Balance Sheet | |
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| Running the Numbers Is an Essential Part of the Business Plan | |
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| Sources of Funding, Alternatives to Starting from Scratch, and Entrepreneurial Do's and Don'ts | |
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| Sources of Funding | |
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| "Show Me the Money!" | |
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| Few Entrepreneurs Have All the Money They Need | |
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| Entrepreneurs Have to Be Willing to Accept Risks | |
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| Don't Expect to Get a Loan from a Bank | |
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| Take a Good Look at Yourself ... Are You Credit/Investment-Worthy? | |
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| Sometimes You Have to Give Up Something to Get Something | |
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| Raising Money Takes Considerable Time | |
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| You Will Need to Be a Salesperson to Get Funding | |
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| Raising Funds Also Takes Resilience | |
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| Not All Money Is Alike | |
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| You Need an "F-Plan." | |
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| Developing the F-Plan for Your Venture | |
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| Bootstrapping: Proactive Ways to Raise and Conserve Cash | |
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| Bootstrapping Techniques | |
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| Funding Sources Come in All Shapes and Sizes | |
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| Criteria That Banks Use When Considering a Loan Request | |
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| Other Factors to Consider When You Seek a Loan | |
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| Conclusion: Anita Roddick Was Right--Finding Funding Can Be a Real Challenge | |
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| Notes | |
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| Buying an Existing Business | |
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| Sometimes It's Better Not to Start from Scratch | |
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| Why Buy an Existing Business? | |
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| Some Businesses Are for Sale, Others Can Be Bought | |
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| Buyer Beware: All That Glitters May Not Be Gold! | |
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| Guidelines for Analyzing a Business | |
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| The Book Value Approach to Valuing a Business | |
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| The Capitalization-of-Earnings Approach to Valuing a Business | |
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| The Cash Flow Approach to Valuing a Business | |
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| Valuation May Be a Hybrid of Various Approaches | |
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| Closing the Sale: Don't Forget Your Accountant and Your Attorney | |
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| Notes | |
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| Acquiring a Franchise | |
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| Buying Someone Else's Formula for Success | |
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| The Benefits of Buying a Franchise | |
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| The Drawbacks of Buying a Franchise | |
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| Finding the Right Franchise Opportunity | |
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| Checking Out the Franchisers | |
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| Look before You Leap | |
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| Epilogue: Entrepreneurial Do's and Don'ts | |
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| Take a Good Look at Yourself, Your Life, and What Is Driving You | |
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| Time: You Will Never Have Enough | |
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| Preparation: Stack the Odds in Your Favor | |
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| Management: Who Ever Said It Would Be Easy? | |
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| The Business Plan: The Mental Journey Must Precede the Physical Journey | |
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| Strategy: How Do You Plan to Gain Sustainable Competitive Advantages? | |
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| Human Resources: Your Business Will Be Only as Good as Your People | |
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| Legal: It's a Minefield Out There! | |
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| Financial Side: Money Is like Oxygen--You Need It to Live | |
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| The Business Opportunity: Analyze the Marketplace and Do the Right Marketing | |
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| Suppliers: You Can't Live without Them | |
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| Closing Points | |
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| Sources of Helpful Information | |
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| Index | |