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| About the author | |
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| Acknowledgements | |
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| Foreword | |
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| Introduction to the First Edition | |
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| Introduction to the Revised Second Edition | |
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| Introduction to the Third Edition | |
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| Symbols used | |
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| What's it all about? | |
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| Have you heard the one about | |
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| Who should read this book | |
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| A quick fix or a longer-term tool? | |
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| What is a plan anyway? | |
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| Why bother? | |
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| Key objectives for your plan | |
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| Your target audience | |
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| Ten steps to a successful business plan | |
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| Don't trust consultants | |
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| Who writes the business plan? | |
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| How to use this book | |
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| A winning presentation | |
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| A concise communication | |
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| Computer software | |
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| Make it feel good | |
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| First thoughts on layout | |
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| Creating an outline document | |
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| Getting down to it | |
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| Why? | |
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| When you don't want to be a big fish | |
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| What to do if you have several businesses | |
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| Your list of contents | |
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| The executive summary | |
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| The conclusion | |
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| Responsibilities - and the timetable | |
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| Be a SWOT | |
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| Where now? | |
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| Know yourself | |
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| Taking stock | |
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| Start with the basics | |
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| The central objective | |
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| Are you visionary? | |
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| How did you arrive here? | |
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| Some numbers to please the bankers | |
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| Building up value | |
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| The all-important management team | |
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| Business organisation | |
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| Business infrastructure | |
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| Products and services | |
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| Core competencies | |
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| The next step | |
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| Know the world | |
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| For or against you? | |
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| The next steps | |
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| Collecting information | |
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| Understanding the world at large | |
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| Business partners | |
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| The market - what you are fighting for | |
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| The industry - what you are up against | |
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| Competitive advantages | |
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| Now write about it | |
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| Moving on | |
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| The core of your plan | |
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| A strategy and an operating plan | |
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| What is strategy? | |
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| Portfolio strategy - what businesses should you have? | |
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| Business strategies to satisfy your desires | |
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| Strategies for department managers | |
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| Resource requirements | |
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| Strategic objectives | |
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| Documenting the strategy | |
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| Creating an operating plan | |
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| Documenting the operating plan | |
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| Onwards | |
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| About these numbers | |
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| 'The time has come,' the walrus said, 'to speak of other things' | |
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| Varying views of the same numbers | |
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| The way that bean counters think | |
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| The planning horizon | |
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| Looking back | |
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| Estimating the present | |
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| Crystal ball gazing | |
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| Software tools | |
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| Putting it to good use | |
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| Getting to gross profit | |
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| Breathe easily | |
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| Forecasting sales volumes | |
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| The big picture - the economy | |
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| Up close and personal - industry and product demand | |
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| Pulling it all together | |
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| Cost of sales | |
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| Gross profit | |
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| Writing it up | |
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| Getting to net profit | |
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| Where the money goes | |
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| Capital spending | |
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| Capital assets that you already own | |
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| Capital assets that you want | |
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| Accounting for fixed assets | |
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| Operating expenditure | |
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| Net profit | |
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| Other income and expenditure | |
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| Moving on | |
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| Funding the business | |
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| Balancing your cheque book | |
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| Balance sheets and cash flow mechanics | |
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| Balance sheet headings | |
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| Producing the paper | |
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| Watching cash flow | |
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| Using a surplus | |
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| Getting it funded | |
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| Debt or equity? | |
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| What's the deal? | |
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| Putting a price on success | |
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| Does it all hold together? | |
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| Managing risks | |
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| Identify risks and improve planning | |
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| It's normally like this | |
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| How many coconuts do you need to sell? | |
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| Marginal likelihood of shutting down? | |
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| What you need, when you need it | |
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| Will it pay off? | |
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| What if? | |
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| The economy | |
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| If the worst comes to the worst... | |
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| Grand finale | |
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| Getting it approved | |
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| Pulling it all together | |
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| Focus | |
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| What readers of the plan will look for | |
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| Those financials again | |
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| Final check on the plan | |
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| They don't know what's coming to them | |
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| Preparing for the meeting | |
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| At last, the first meeting | |
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| Meeting post-mortems | |
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| Follow up | |
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| Back to the drawing board | |
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| Due diligence | |
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| The contract | |
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| Cash in the bank | |
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| Now make it happen | |
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| Time for a break? | |
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| From plan to reality | |
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| A change of focus | |
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| Communicating the plan | |
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| Where do you draw the line? | |
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| Policies, rules and procedures | |
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| Who does what? | |
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| Employee objectives | |
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| How much freedom? | |
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| Financial objectives | |
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| Monitoring other objectives | |
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| Monitoring the world | |
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| Confirming and revising strategy and plans | |
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| Don't forget the carrots | |
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| And into the next business plan | |
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| Trying to catch the tail | |
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| Tetrylus Inc business plan | |
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| Index | |