Starting a Business For Dummies, UK Edition (eBook)

Colin Barrow (Autor)

eBook Download: PDF

2011 | 3. Auflage
John Wiley & Sons (Verlag)
978-0-470-97920-4 (ISBN)

Infos

A best-selling guide from British business start-up expert Colin Barrow covering everything budding entrepreneurs need to know to get their business up and running.

Whether you are just starting out, planning a new venture, setting up at home or extending a current business online, this book is all you need to succeed.

In addition to straightforward advice on all the business basics, this new and improved third edition will include fresh content covering the fundamental changes in the UK economy, up-to-date tax and VAT advice, guidance on finance and funding in the new era of British banking and setting up online  to help readers make the move from employee to successful entrepreneur.

Starting a Business For Dummies, 3^rd Edition features new and updated content on:

• Finding funding and business support in challenging times
• Trimming costs, increasing margins and budgeting for beginners
• Setting-up a home based business
• Starting-up online, or creating an online presence for an existing business
• Spotting financial cycles and preparing for economic ups and downs
• Using the latest technology efficiently and profitably
• Entering new markets, finding new products, diversification, forming partnerships and going global

Colin Barrow was, until recently, Head of the Enterprise Group at Cranfield School of Management, where he taught entrepreneurship on the MBA and other programmes. He is also a visiting professor at business schools in the US, Asia, France, and Austria. His books on entrepreneurship and small business have been translated into twenty languages including Russian and Chinese. He worked with Microsoft to incorporate the business planning model used in his teaching programmes into the software program, Microsoft Business Planner. He is a regular contributor to newspapers, periodicals and academic journals such as the Financial Times, The Guardian, Management Today, and the International Small Business Journal.
Thousands of students have passed through Colin's start-up and business growth programmes, going on to run successful and thriving enterprises, and raising millions in new capital. He is on the board of several small businesses, is a University Academic Governor, and has served on the boards of public companies, venture capital funds, and on Government Task Forces.

Inhalt

Starting a Business For Dummies®, 3rd Edition 1
About the Author 5
Author’s Acknowledgments 5
Contents at a Glance 7
Table of Contents 9
Introduction 21
Why You Need This Book 22
How to Use This Book 23
How This Book Is Organised 24
Icons Used in This Book 25
Where to Go From Here 26
Part I: Getting Started 27
Chapter 1: Preparing for Business 29
Understanding the Enduring Rules of Business Strategy 29
Getting in Shape to Start Up 34
Confirming Viability 37
Going for Growth 42
Chapter 2: Doing the Groundwork 45
Understanding the Small Business Environment 45
Defining Small Business 46
Looking at the Types of People Who Start Businesses 47
Coming Up with a Winning Idea 49
Banning Bad Reasons to Start a Business 57
Recognising that the Economy Matters 59
Preparing to Recognise Success 62
Chapter 3: Can You Do the Business? 65
Deciding What You Want From a Business 65
Exploring Different Types of Business 68
Working from Home 70
Assessing Yourself 78
Chapter 4: Testing Feasibility 85
Finding Enough Product or People 85
Sizing Up the Market 87
Working Out Whether You Can Make Money 99
Part II: Making and Funding Your Plan 103
Chapter 5: Structuring Your Business 105
Choosing the Right Structure 106
Going into Business by Yourself 108
Building up to Network Marketing 110
Working with a Limited Number of Other People 113
Finding Your Way to Franchising 117
Founding a Larger Company 120
Looking at Legal Issues in Marketing 122
Chapter 6: Preparing the Business Plan 129
Finding a Reason to Write a Business Plan 130
Writing Up Your Business Plan 133
Using Business Planning Software 138
Presenting Your Plan 141
Chapter 7: Getting Help 143
Connecting with Government services 144
Linking to Local Enterprise Agencies (LEAs) 145
Choosing Small Business Associations 146
Universities and Colleges 149
Entering an Incubator 151
Assisting Inventors 152
Helping Young Entrepreneurs 153
Chapter 8: Finding the Money 157
Assessing How Much Money You Need 158
Reviewing Your Financing Options 161
Determining the Best Source of Finance for You 164
Going for Debt 167
Sharing Out the Spoils 174
Finding Free Money 179
Chapter 9: Considering Your Mission 181
Developing Your Concept 182
Composing Your Mission Statement 182
Seeing the Vision Thing 183
Setting Objectives and Goals 184
Chapter 10: Marketing Your Wares 187
Making Up the Marketing Mix 187
Defining Your Product or Service Parameters 188
Using Advertising to Tell Your Story 189
Getting in the News 197
Pricing for Profit 204
Pondering Place and Distribution 206
Part III: Staying in Business 209
Chapter 11: Employing People 211
Finding Great Employees 211
Exploring Other Ways of Recruiting 217
Motivating and Rewarding Employees 219
Staying on the Right Side of Employment Law 226
Chapter 12: Operating Effectively 233
Proposing Premises 234
Taking the Make-or-Buy Decision 236
Choosing a Supplier 238
Minimising Risk and Assessing Liability 242
Dissecting Directors 247
Finding and Choosing Business Advisers 248
Chapter 13: Keeping Track of Finances 253
Keeping the Books 253
Understanding Your Accounts 258
Forecasting Cash Flow 258
Reporting Your Profits 258
Accounting for Pricing 264
Balancing the Books 268
Analysing Performance 271
Keeping on the Right Side of the Law 275
Managing Your Accountant 277
Chapter 14: Managing Your Tax Position 279
Tackling Taxes for Different Types of Businesses 280
Paying Taxes 283
Handling Employment Taxes 288
Part IV: Making the Business Grow 293
Chapter 15: Doing Business Online 295
Appreciating the Power of the Internet 296
What You Can Do Online 299
Establishing an Internet Presence 302
Selling Goods and Services 307
Gaining Visibility 311
Chapter 16: Improving Performance 317
Checking Your Internal Systems 317
Retaining Customers 320
Improving Productivity 327
Budgeting for Beginners 330
Chapter 17: Exploring Strategies for Growth 335
Understanding the Importance of Growth 335
Increasing Sales 338
Forming Alliances 343
Franchising Your Way to Growth 346
Chapter 18: Becoming a Great Manager 351
Building a Team 351
Founding principles 352
Coaching and Training 354
Appraising Performance 356
Developing a Leadership Style 357
Measuring Morale 364
Part V: The Part of Tens 367
Chapter 19: Ten Pitfalls to Avoid 369
Knowing Too Little 369
Being Overly Optimistic about the Market 370
Underestimating Start-up Time 371
Spending Too Much at the Start 371
Mistaking Cash for Profit 372
Choosing the Wrong Partner 372
Ignoring Accounting 373
Forgetting Working Capital 373
Having No Clear Competitive Advantage 374
Choosing the Wrong Location 374
Chapter 20: Ten People to Talk to Before You Start 375
Speaking with Your Spouse 375
Making Use of Your Professional Network 376
Benefiting from Entrepreneurs Who Started a Similar Business 376
Spending Time with a Friendly Banker 378
Tapping into Your Local Enterprise Agency Director 378
Communicating with Your Current Boss 378
Calling Your Colleagues 379
Bringing in Your Best Friend 379
Reporting to an Accountant 379
Plugging into a Business Angel Network 380
Chapter 21: Ten Ways to Cut Costs 381
Using a Suggestion Scheme 381
Forming Smart Circles 382
Going Green 383
Using Less Utilities 384
Stripping Out Waste 384
Reducing Shrinkage 386
Negotiating with Suppliers 387
Going In for Benchmarking 388
Getting Kitted Out for Less 389
Setting Cost-cutting Priorities 390
Chapter 22: Ten Steps to Prepare to Move On 391
Monitoring Market Prices 391
Valuing Your Business 392
Figuring Out Who to Sell To 393
Dressing to Kill 395
Finding Advisers 396
Doing Due Diligence 397
Earning Out Your Profits 397
Starting Up Again 398
Becoming a Business Angel 398
Winding Up 399
Index 401

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 8.3.2011
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Beruf / Finanzen / Recht / Wirtschaft ► Bewerbung / Karriere
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Beruf / Finanzen / Recht / Wirtschaft ► Wirtschaft
• Themenwelt: Wirtschaft ► Betriebswirtschaft / Management
• Schlagworte: Agile • big changes underway • bright • business • Business & Management • challenges • Dummies • Economists • Edition • enough • Future • instructive reallife • New • Opportunities • postrecession • startup classic • Startups • Storm • valuable • Wirtschaft • Wirtschaft u. Management • World
• ISBN-10: 0-470-97920-8 / 0470979208
• ISBN-13: 978-0-470-97920-4 / 9780470979204