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• Starting a Business For Dummies
• About the Author
• Author’s Acknowledgments
• Contents at a Glance
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• Why You Need This Book
• How to Use This Book
• How This Book Is Organised
• Part I: Getting Started
• Part II: Making and Funding Your Plan
• Part III: Staying in Business
• Part IV: Making the Business Grow
• Part V: The Part of Tens
• Icons Used in This Book
• Where to Go From Here
• Part I: Getting Started
• Chapter 1: Preparing for Business
• Understanding the Enduring Rules of Business Strategy
• Focus, focus, focus
• Appreciating the forces at work in your sector
• Recognising the first-to-market fallacy
• Getting in Shape to Start Up
• Assessing your abilities
• Discovering a real need
• Checking the fit of the business
• Confirming Viability
• Researching the market
• Doing the numbers
• Raising the money
• Writing up the business plan
• Going for Growth
• Gaining economies of scale
• Securing a competitive advantage
• Retaining key staff
• Gaining critical business mass
• Chapter 2: Doing the Groundwork
• Understanding the Small Business Environment
• Defining Small Business
• Looking at the Types of People Who Start Businesses
• Making your age an asset
• Considering location
• Winning with women
• Being educated about education
• Coming Up with a Winning Idea
• Ranking popular start-up ideas
• Going with fast growth
• Spotting a gap in the market
• Revamping an old idea
• Using the Internet
• Solving customer problems
• Creating inventions and innovations
• Marketing other people’s ideas
• Being better or different
• Banning Bad Reasons to Start a Business
• Steering clear of bad assumptions
• Avoiding obvious mistakes
• Recognising that the Economy Matters
• Spotting cycles
• Preparing for the ups and downs
• Preparing to Recognise Success
• Measuring business success
• Exploring the myth and reality of business survival rates
• Chapter 3: Can You Do the Business?
• Deciding What You Want From a Business
• Gaining personal satisfaction (or, entrepreneurs just wanna have fun)
• Making money
• Saving the planet
• Exploring Different Types of Business
• Selling to other businesses
• Opening all hours
• Making products
• Servicing customers
• Working from Home
• Finding the space
• Checking out the rules
• Vanquishing visitors
• Assessing Yourself
• Discovering your entrepreneurial attributes
• Working out a business idea that’s right for you
• Figuring out what you’re willing to invest
• Weighting your preferences
• Chapter 4: Testing Feasibility
• Finding Enough Product or People
• How much is enough?
• Buying in equipment and supplies
• Hiring in help
• Sizing Up the Market
• Figuring out what you need to know
• Finding your segment of the market
• Budgeting for your research
• Doing the preliminary research
• Conducting the research
• Working Out Whether You Can Make Money
• Estimating start-up costs
• Forecasting sales
• Exceeding break even
• Part II: Making and Funding Your Plan
• Chapter 5: Structuring Your Business
• Choosing the Right Structure
• Going into Business by Yourself
• Advantages
• Disadvantages
• Settling on sole-trader status
• Building up to Network Marketing
• Evaluating the pros and cons
• Distinguishing pyramids from network marketing
• Working with a Limited Number of Other People
• Taking on an existing business
• Forming a partnership
• Looking at limited partnerships
• Checking out co-operatives
• Finding Your Way to Franchising
• Looking at franchise types
• Defining a franchise
• Founding a Larger Company
• Opting for a limited company
• Buying out a business
• Looking at Legal Issues in Marketing
• Naming your business
• Looking at logos
• Protecting patents
• Registering a trademark
• Detailing your design
• Controlling a copyright
• Abiding by fair business rules
• Setting terms of trade
• Describing your goods
• Dealing with payment problems
• Chapter 6: Preparing the Business Plan
• Finding a Reason to Write a Business Plan
• Building confidence
• Testing your ideas
• Showing how much money you need
• Providing planning experience
• Satisfying financiers’ concerns
• Writing Up Your Business Plan
• Defining your readership
• Choosing the right packaging
• Deciding on layout and content
• Writing and editing
• Maintaining confidentiality
• Doing due diligence
• Using Business Planning Software
• Recognising the limits of software
• Reviewing systems
• Presenting Your Plan
• Starring in showtime
• Making an elevator pitch
• Chapter 7: Getting Help
• Connecting with Government services
• Linking to Local Enterprise Agencies (LEAs)
• Choosing Small Business Associations
• The Federation of Small Businesses
• Forum of Private Business
• The British Chambers of Commerce
• A few more strings to your bow
• Universities and Colleges
• Entering an Incubator
• Finding the right type of incubator
• Getting into an incubator
• Assisting Inventors
• Helping Young Entrepreneurs
• Attracting Livewire
• Trusting the Prince’s Trust
• Learning by doing – the Young Enterprise motto
• Chapter 8: Finding the Money
• Assessing How Much Money You Need
• Projecting receipts
• Estimating expenses
• Working out the closing cash balances
• Testing your assumptions
• Reviewing Your Financing Options
• Deciding between debt capital and equity capital
• Examining your own finances
• Determining the Best Source of Finance for You
• Considering the costs
• Sharing ownership and control
• Beating the clock
• Staying flexible
• Gaining security and certainty
• Limiting personal liability
• Going for Debt
• Borrowing from banks
• Financing cash flow
• Getting physical
• Uniting with a credit union
• Borrowing from family and friends
• Sharing Out the Spoils
• Benefiting by business angels
• Going for venture capital
• Looking to corporate venturing
• Finding Free Money
• Getting a grant
• Winning money
• Chapter 9: Considering Your Mission
• Developing Your Concept
• Composing Your Mission Statement
• Thinking through your mission
• Seeing the Vision Thing
• Setting Objectives and Goals
• Chapter 10: Marketing Your Wares
• Making Up the Marketing Mix
• Defining Your Product or Service Parameters
• Using Advertising to Tell Your Story
• Considering the customer’s point of view
• Making an exhibition of yourself
• Setting advertising objectives
• Deciding the budget
• Defining the message
• Choosing the media
• Choosing the frequency
• Writing a leaflet
• Using the Internet for viral marketing
• Providing opportunities to see
• Figuring your bang-for-the-buck ratio
• Getting in the News
• Deciding who to contact
• Following through
• Using blogs and social networks
• Selling and Salesmanship
• Telling the difference between selling and marketing
• Selling yourself
• Outsourcing selling
• Measuring results
• Pricing for Profit
• Caring about business conditions
• Working to your capacity
• Understanding consumer perceptions
• Skimming versus penetrating
• Avoiding setting prices too low
• Pondering Place and Distribution
• Choosing a location
• Working from home
• Selecting a distribution channel
• Part III: Staying in Business
• Chapter 11: Employing People
• Finding Great Employees
• Deciding on full- or part-timers
• Recruiting and selecting
• Testing to find the best
• Exploring Other Ways of Recruiting
• Using agencies
• Using Job Centre Plus
• Recruiting over the Internet
• Outsourcing jobs
• Motivating and Rewarding Employees
• Getting the best out of employees
• Dealing with difficult or demotivated employees
• Keeping motivation in the family
• Rewarding achievements
• Staying on the Right Side of Employment Law
• Keeping employment records
• Preparing contracts of employment
• Working legal hours
• Granting leave
• Avoiding discrimination
• Keeping the work environment healthy and safe
• Chapter 12: Operating Effectively
• Proposing Premises
• Calculating requirements
• Finding the right premises
• Renting or owning?
• Sorting out equipment
• Taking the Make-or-Buy Decision
• Making it yourself – pros and cons
• Outsourcing – a low investment option
• Setting quality standards
• Choosing a Supplier
• Evaluating trading terms
• Building a relationship
• Buying online
• Minimising Risk and Assessing Liability
• Protecting your employees
• Covering yourself against an employee suing
• Protecting assets
• Covering loss of profits
• Goods in transit
• Protecting yourself
• Guaranteeing goods and services
• Dissecting Directors
• Finding and Choosing Business Advisers
• Tallying up an accountant
• Investing in a bank
• Soliciting for a lawyer
• Managing a consultant
• Chapter 13: Keeping Track of Finances
• Keeping the Books
• Recording financial information
• Starting simple with single entry
• Dealing with double entry
• Choosing the right accounting program
• Outsourcing bookkeeping
• Understanding Your Accounts
• Forecasting Cash Flow
• Reporting Your Profits
• Calculating gross profit
• Reckoning expenses
• Appreciating the different types of profit
• Accounting for Pricing
• Breaking even
• Pricing for profit
• Building in more products
• Handling price changes
• Balancing the Books
• A balance sheet
• Categorising assets
• Accounting for liabilities
• Understanding reserves
• Analysing Performance
• Using ratios
• Gearing down
• Keeping on the Right Side of the Law
• Carrying out an audit
• Filing your accounts
• Managing Your Accountant
• Chapter 14: Managing Your Tax Position
• Tackling Taxes for Different Types of Businesses
• Figuring out sole traders and partnerships
• Looking at levies on companies
• Assessing the best legal structure
• Paying Taxes
• Valuing value-added tax
• Minimising taxes
• Handling Employment Taxes
• Paying PAYE
• Allocating national insurance
• Accounting for employment taxes
• Part IV: Making the Business Grow
• Chapter 15: Doing Business Online
• Appreciating the Power of the Internet
• Richness versus reach
• Clicks and bricks
• Recognising the limits – there are none!
• What You Can Do Online
• Generating advertising revenue
• Recruiting staff
• Answering frequent questions
• Carrying out research
• Establishing an Internet Presence
• Deciding on content
• Designing the website
• Using a consultant
• Registering domains
• Selling Goods and Services
• Using third party websites
• Building a store front
• Getting paid online
• Fulfilling orders
• Gaining Visibility
• Understanding search engines
• Using a submissions service
• Paying for placement
• Checking out competitors
• Tracking traffic
• Chapter 16: Improving Performance
• Checking Your Internal Systems
• Keeping track of your routine
• Analysing market position
• Retaining Customers
• Realising why retaining customers matters
• Working to retain customers
• Improving Productivity
• Trimming expenses
• Increasing margins
• Working smarter
• Rewarding results
• Budgeting for Beginners
• Setting the guidelines
• Analysing the variances
• Flexing the figures
• Budgeting from zero
• Chapter 17: Exploring Strategies for Growth
• Understanding the Importance of Growth
• Measuring market share
• Building a brand
• Increasing Sales
• Getting customers to buy more
• Encouraging referrals
• Entering new markets at home
• Selling overseas
• Adding new products or services
• Diversifying as a last resort
• Forming Alliances
• Going on the alliance trail
• Investigating and approaching
• Franchising Your Way to Growth
• Bolting on a franchise
• Weighing the advantages and disadvantages
• Doing the pilot
• Finding franchisees
• Rolling out the franchise
• Chapter 18: Becoming a Great Manager
• Building a Team
• Founding principles
• Coaching and Training
• Appraising Performance
• Developing a Leadership Style
• Understanding leadership
• Delegating
• Evolving leadership styles for growth
• Managing change
• Measuring Morale
• Part V: The Part of Tens
• Chapter 19: Ten Pitfalls to Avoid
• Knowing Too Little
• Being Overly Optimistic about the Market
• Underestimating Start-up Time
• Spending Too Much at the Start
• Mistaking Cash for Profit
• Choosing the Wrong Partner
• Ignoring Accounting
• Forgetting Working Capital
• Having No Clear Competitive Advantage
• Choosing the Wrong Location
• Chapter 20: Ten People to Talk to Before You Start
• Speaking with Your Spouse
• Making Use of Your Professional Network
• Benefiting from Entrepreneurs Who Started a Similar Business
• Spending Time with a Friendly Banker
• Tapping into Your Local Enterprise Agency Director
• Communicating with Your Current Boss
• Calling Your Colleagues
• Bringing in Your Best Friend
• Reporting to an Accountant
• Plugging into a Business Angel Network
• Chapter 21: Ten Ways to Cut Costs
• Using a Suggestion Scheme
• Forming Smart Circles
• Going Green
• Using Less Utilities
• Stripping Out Waste
• Reducing Shrinkage
• Negotiating with Suppliers
• Going In for Benchmarking
• Getting Kitted Out for Less
• Setting Cost-cutting Priorities
• Chapter 22: Ten Steps to Prepare to Move On
• Monitoring Market Prices
• Valuing Your Business
• Figuring Out Who to Sell To
• Dressing to Kill
• Finding Advisers
• Doing Due Diligence
• Earning Out Your Profits
• Starting Up Again
• Becoming a Business Angel
• Winding Up
• Index