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| Preface | |
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| First thoughts and foundations | |
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| What's it like to run a business? | |
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| Family matters | |
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| Four types of entrepreneurs | |
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| Women entrepreneurs | |
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| Male entrepreneurs | |
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| Personal finances: spring clean while you can | |
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| What sort of firm to start? | |
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| Buying a business | |
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| Taking up a franchise | |
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| Your IT strategy | |
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| Web trading | |
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| Getting orders, making profits | |
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| What are you selling, exactly? | |
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| Choosing customers | |
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| Finding out what you need to know | |
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| Forecasting your sales | |
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| What exactly are you selling, then? | |
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| Why should anyone buy from you? | |
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| Getting it all to the consumer | |
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| Dealing direct with the public | |
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| Shops' and distributors' margins | |
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| Attracting the distributor | |
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| Visiting the customer | |
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| Pricing for marketability | |
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| Selling via the big catalogues: big orders, quick payment | |
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| Effective advertising | |
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| Publicity: nearly free and better than advertising | |
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| The web and your market | |
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| Sales via the internet | |
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| Controlling the money | |
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| Costs and costing | |
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| Calculating an hourly rate | |
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| Controls on costing | |
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| The importance of cash | |
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| Clever cash conservation | |
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| Forecasting the cash situation | |
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| Why cash-flow forecasting matters | |
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| Planning for profits | |
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| Credit control | |
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| Positive strategies for credit control | |
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| When credit control fails | |
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| Breaking through to profitability | |
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| Smarter costing | |
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| Raising the money | |
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| Grants: free money is best | |
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| Beg, steal or... | |
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| Presenting your case to the bank | |
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| Your business name and legal status | |
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| The options | |
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| Sole trader | |
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| Partnership | |
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| Limited company | |
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| Your business name | |
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| Business and the law | |
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| Civil and criminal law: how the difference affects you | |
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| Contract law | |
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| Tort | |
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| Going to law | |
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| Contracts to buy | |
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| Contracts to sell | |
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| Conditions, warranties, guarantees and exemptions | |
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| Product liability | |
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| Copyright, registered designs, trade marks and patents | |
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| Premises | |
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| Can you work from home? | |
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| Finding small premises | |
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| Planning permission | |
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| Applying for planning permission | |
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| Appealing against a planning decision | |
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| Leases | |
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| Rates and water charges | |
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| Managing operations | |
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| Operations? You think I'm a surgeon? | |
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| Plan before you leap | |
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| Being in control | |
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| Safety | |
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| Purchasing | |
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| Quality | |
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| Financial housekeeping, VAT and tax | |
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| Financial records | |
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| Bank accounts | |
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| VAT - Value Added Tax - in outline | |
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| Income and corporation taxes and National Insurance | |
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| Employing people | |
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| People: the small firm's powerhouse | |
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| The search for good people | |
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| Define the job | |
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| Define the person | |
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| Advertising | |
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| Shortlisting | |
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| Interviewing | |
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| Deciding | |
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| Induction | |
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| The law; not as big a problem as some think | |
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| Risk management and insurance | |
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| Risk management strategy | |
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| Insurance strategy | |
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| Insurance suppliers | |
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| Sources of help | |
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| What advisers can do for business | |
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| Finding a generalist consultant or adviser | |
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| Specialist advisers | |
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| After a successful launch... developing your firm | |
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| Your experience | |
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| Key issues | |
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| Expansion strategy | |
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| Your new job | |
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| The three stages of growth | |
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| Organisational culture | |
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| Your managerial development | |
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| Your firm and consultants | |
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| Funding your growth | |
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| The PLG Programme for Growth | |
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| The PLG Programme: Prepare, Launch, Grow | |
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| What it's for | |
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| How it works | |
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| Business plan introduction | |
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| Business plan: Part one: overviews | |
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| Business plan: Part two: Operating plans | |
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| Business plan: Part three: Appendices | |
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| Business plan: Presentation | |
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| Business plan: Implementation | |
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| Business plan: Growth | |
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| Executive summary | |
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| Business plan: Part one: Overviews | |
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| Business plan: Part two: Operating plans | |
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| Business plan: Part three: Appendices | |
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| Business plan: Presentation | |
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| Appendices | |
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| Cash-flow forecasting illustration | |
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| Draft terms and conditions of sale | |
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| Small business contacts list | |
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| Help for small businesses | |
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| Index | |