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Index
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Introduction
Who Should Buy This Book?
Why Is This Book Important?
What Topics Are Covered?
Why Are We Qualified to Write This Book?
How to Use This Book
Chapter 1. Can You Be a Successful Entrepreneur?
What Do Successful Entrepreneurs Do?
Who Are Successful Entrepreneurs?
Key Definitions
Two Common Paths to Entrepreneurial Success
Chapter One: Lessons Learned
Chapter 2. Basic Rules of Business Success
The 8 Common Start-Up Mistakes
Common Mistake #1: Choosing a Bad Business Opportunity
Common Mistake #2: Choosing the Wrong Customers
Common Mistake #3: The Wrong Product
Common Mistake #4: Pricing Products or Services Improperly
Common Mistake #5: Not Selling to Enough Customers Fast Enough
Common Mistake #6: Not Executing Well
Common Mistake #7: People Problems
Common Mistake #8: Mismanaging Growth
Basic Rules of Business Success
Chapter Two: Lessons Learned
Chapter 3. What Is a Good Business Opportunity?
Pencil It
Example 1: The Best Sandwich Shop
What Is the Average Price You Can Sell Your Sandwiches For?
Competitors
Back to the Math
Example 2: Children's Clothing Shop
Customer Conversion Ratio
Customer Conversion Rates
Two Different Types of Businesses
Estimating Your Costs
What Does Net Profit Margin Tell You About Costs?
Why Do You Need to Know Your Costs?
7 Ws
Chapter Three: Lessons Learned
Chapter 4. How Do You Choose the Right Customers?
The Right Customers
Who Is a Prospect?
Example Survey Questions
The Competition
Chapter Four: Lessons Learned
Chapter 5. How Do You Design Your Product or Service?
Give Customers Only What They Truly Need
Features or Benefits
What Is Value?
Example: Enhancing Your Product/Service Value
Your "Reason for Being"
Low Innovation
It's Now Time to Build Your Product/Service
Can You Build or Produce It?
The Prototype—The Test
What Is a Prototype and How Does It Work?
Other Tips
3 Ws
Chapter Five: Lessons Learned
Chapter 6. What Is the Right Price for Your Product or Service?
Competitive Pricing
Break-even Formula
Number of Products Required to Be Sold to Break Even
Additional Pricing Factors
Chapter Six: Lessons Learned
Chapter 7. How Can You Overcome Customer Inertia?
Obstacles to a Sale
The Risks of Buying from You
Making Sales Takes Practice
The Psychology of Sales
The Customer Buying Timeline
Time Is Your Enemy—Your Money Is Burning
Selling Is Like Fishing
Customer Referral Programs and Customer Loyalty Programs
Start with a Customer
Chapter Seven: Lessons Learned
Chapter 8. How to Manage Your Business
Start-Up Overload
Your Value Chain
Your Supply Chain
Your Manufacturing (Assembling) Chain
Why Do You Flow Chart Your Business?
Management by Objectives
Management by Exceptions
The Power of Simplicity
Rule of 3s
Rule of 7s
Measurements and Rewards
Stay on the Front Lines
Iteration
Make Work Fun
Chapter Eight: Lessons Learned
Chapter 9. How Do You Find and Keep Good Employees?
This People Stuff Is Hard
What Do Employees Want?
Why Is High Employee Turnover Bad?
Hire for Fit
Hiring Tools
Probationary Hiring
Buy-In
The Rules of the Game
Best Practices of Managing Employees
Promote from Within
The Meaning of Work
Mental Rehearsal
Mental Replay
Chapter Nine: Lessons Learned
Chapter 10. How Do You Manage Growth?
Growth Can Be Good or Bad
The Two Absolutes
Process
Financing Growth
Financial Controls
Managing the Unexpected
People
Small Business Services
Check-Off
Legal
Legal Structure
Small Business Networks
Upgrading People
Customer Diversification
Growth Changes Your Job
Chapter Ten: Lessons Learned
Conclusion
Business Rules
Lessons Learned
Bibliography and Resources
Books
"Building a Company" Books
Business Strategy Books
Entrepreneurship Books
Family Business Books
Finance, Accounting, and Measurement Books
Leadership Books
Books on Lessons to Learn from Bad Leadership
Management Books
Marketing and Sales Books
Articles
Information Portals
Author's Commentaries
Index
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