Starting a Business: Learn What You Need in 2 Hours (Crash Course for Entrepreneurs, Band 1) - Softcover

O'Keefe, Michael F.; Girard, Scott L.; Price, Marc A.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 9077256369 ISBN 13: 9789077256367

Verlag: NOVA VISTA PUB, 2013

Inhaltsangabe

You have a brilliant idea and a pocketful of ambition. Now what? Do you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Are you a self-motivated dynamo ready to dive into the business jungle and seize your turf? Do you really know what you're getting into? In this essential guide, you'll learn how to:

Test your idea's worth.

Develop a business plan.

Line up financing.

Deal with legal and tax issues.

Avoid the most common mistakes.

Each of the books in the Crash Course for Entrepreneurs series offers a high-level overview of the critical things you need to know and do if you want to survive and thrive in our super-competitive world. Of course, there's much more to learn about each topic, but what you'll read here will give you the framework for learning the rest.

Between them, Marc A. Price, Michael F. O'Keefe, and Scott L. Girard, Jr. have successfully started 17 companies in a wide variety of fields. Scott was formerly executive vice president of Pinpoint Holdings Group, Inc. Mike founded O'Keefe Motor Sports in 2004 and grew it into the largest database of aftermarket automotive components in the world. Marc has launched seven companies of his own and collaborated with the Federal government, U.S. military, and major nonprofits and corporations.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorinnen und Autoren

In 2004, Michael O’Keefe founded O’Keefe Motor Sports, Inc. (OMS Superstore), eventually growing it into the largest database of aftermarket automotive components available for online purchase in the world. Currently, aside from his position at Expert Business Advice, LLC, he is president of Pinpoint Holdings Group, Inc. and vice president of marketing for Bracemasters International, LLC. At Pinpoint, Mike’s focus is building a strong base for understanding the global marketplace. He also plays a key role in facilitating the logistics of the commercial lighting branch of the company, bridging between Pinpoint’s office in Wuxi, China, and their commercial clients—hotel chains such as Gaylord Palms, Ritz Carlton, Marriott, Mohegan Sun, and Isle of Capri. Originally from Delavan, Wisconsin, Mike now lives in Orlando, Florida. His motto: “Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings; they did it by killing all those who opposed them.”

In 2004, Michael O'Keefe founded O'Keefe Motor Sports, Inc. (OMS Superstore), eventually growing it into the largest database of aftermarket automotive components available for online purchase in the world. Currently, aside from his position at Expert Business Advice, LLC, he is president of Pinpoint Holdings Group, Inc. and vice president of marketing for Bracemasters International, LLC. At Pinpoint, Mike's focus is building a strong base for understanding the global marketplace. He also plays a key role in facilitating the logistics of the commercial lighting branch of the company, bridging between Pinpoint's office in Wuxi, China, and their commercial clientsâ?"hotel chains such as Gaylord Palms, Ritz Carlton, Marriott, Mohegan Sun, and Isle of Capri. Originally from Delavan, Wisconsin, Mike now lives in Orlando, Florida. His motto: â?oRome did not create a great empire by having meetings; they did it by killing all those who opposed them.â?

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Starting A Business

Learn What You Need in Two Hours

By Scott L. Girard Jr., Michael F. O'Keefe, Marc A. Price

Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC

Copyright © 2012 Scott L. Girard, Jr., Michael F. O'Keefe, and Marc A. Price
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-90-77256-36-7

Contents

Foreword, 
Chapter I: Planning, 
Entrepreneur: Do You Have What It Takes?, 
What Business Is Best for You?, 
Five Boxes to Check Before Starting a Business, 
I've Got a Great Idea! What Next?, 
Choosing the Best Type of Business, 
Do I Need a Business License for My Home Business?, 
How to Create a New Business or Product Name, 
The Difference Between Partners and Investors, 
An Overview of How to Write a Business Plan, 
A Detailed View of How to Write a Business Plan, 
A.T.N.A. (All Talk, No Action), 
Prioritizing Your Way to Success, 
The Importance of Market Testing, 
The Four Worst Entrepreneurial Mistakes, 
Chapter II: Getting Financed, 
How to Obtain Business Financing, 
The Transformation of Lending, 
Building a Financial Foundation for Your Business, 
Getting Your Business the Credit it Deserves, 
Chapter III: Getting Started, 
Stage of Business Balanced with Speed of Business, 
How to Blue Chip Your Business, 
Designing a Logo to Establish Your Brand and Image, 
The Importance of Domain Names, 
The Difference Between Copyrights and Trademarks, 
How to Patent a New Product, 
"The Name's Bond--Surety Bond", 
The Greatest Start-Up Challenges, 
Chapter IV: Stayin' Alive, 
Getting Business in Old and New Ways, 
The Importance of Legal and Accounting Representation, 
How to Write a Press Release, 
Small Business Tax Tips, 
Hiring: Talent, Loyalty and Age, 
Chapter V: When Tomorrow Becomes Today, 
Starting a Web-Based Business, 
Making Sure People Find Your Internet Business, 
Afterword: Where to Go from Here?, 
Acknowledgements, 
Glossary, 
Resources, 
Index, 
About the Authors, 

CHAPTER 1

Planning

Entrepreneur: Do You Have What It Takes?

In an economy when so many fail, do you have what it takes to succeed?

I LIKE TO THINK that somewhere deep inside almost everyone, there is a potential entrepreneur. For entrepreneurs, survival becomes a very real challenge. Yet humans have survived millions of years, when so many other species haven't. We are an intelligent and adaptable group of fighters and survivors. While I believe that most people can be successful entrepreneurs if they truly want to, it's the want that stops them. They confuse it with can't. The truth is that you really can, but not without sacrifices and the right resources. At the end of the day, most people aren't willing to dig in and fight the long, hard battle to realize success.

Some say that starting a business in today's economy is harder than it's ever been. Some say otherwise. The facts are clear: Financial resources are plentiful to help a hopeful entrepreneur become successful. The market, however, is so saturated that getting a piece of those resources only comes to those who are willing to fight for it.

The first step is looking inside yourself and deciding if you are the type of person who shows the most common traits of successful entrepreneurs.

1. Are you motivated to get things done? Do you act before someone has to tell you to get going? These are very important traits for an entrepreneur, because you're the one at the helm. Not only do you have to be comfortable motivating yourself, but also motivating others. You're the boss now, so get used to it.

2. Are you easily intimidated? Do you tend to avoid competition? If so, you may want to reconsider starting a business. Intimidation and competition will fly at you from all directions and in all different forms. Other businesses, time, paperwork, changing conditions, money — they are all adversaries in your new endeavor and have real potential to make you fail.

3. Are you a good, open-minded listener? Part of being a good leader is being a good listener. We weren't born knowing everything, so part of being a successful entrepreneur is being able to listen and take advice from others. Quite frankly, you'd be foolish not to.

4. Do you know yourself well? Take an honest look at yourself. Having a solid understanding of your own strengths and weaknesses is probably the most important part of your pre-launch self-evaluation. When things get tough (and believe me, they will, at some point), you must have the will-power and self-discipline to overcome challenges, as well as the ability to assess risk and make decisions quickly in order to mitigate that risk.

5. Do you know what you're getting into? This question opens out into lots of related questions: Do you have the energy to push your business ahead ? Are your personal assets mostly positive (like your emotional or other support from family and friends, knowledge of the area of your proposed business, a business environment that at least is not hostile to your dream)? Is the type of business you picture realistic, given your abilities and the resources you can imagine tapping?

The bottom line here is that not everyone will start and run a business. Not exactly because they can't, per se, but because they won't. Some people just aren't willing to give it their all. The scariest part of it is that people who tell themselves that they will not give up, no matter what, sometimes end up giving up anyway because the struggles they face down the line are greater than they ever imagined.

Starting and running your own business can be a dream come true. At last, you can be yourself and run your own show. You don't have to share the wealth (unless you want to) and you can make all of your own decisions.

Keep these final thoughts in mind: starting a business is harder than you think it will be, but it's not impossible. Your mistakes are not failures — they're lessons. Learn from them and move on. People all over the world start successful businesses every single day. Are they better than you? Absolutely not! You have what it takes somewhere inside you to be successful; right now. So if you're ready for the challenge, reach down deep and don't let go until you've arrived where you want to be.

What Business is Best for You?

Every entrepreneur's first question is seldom the easiest. Here are some tips to help you decide and get you pointed in the right direction.

HERE'S A TRUE STORY. For the first three years of college, I was an international business and economics double-major. I was setting myself up to be a major player in the global business scene. My grades were stellar and it was looking like I'd land a great job right out of school. I had done extremely well in my summer internships and had proven myself to many leaders in the business circles I had ventured into.

There was one problem. Over the years, I had grown to loathe working in international business. Although I was still excelling, it was a matter of principle, not passion. In short, I grew to learn that international business was not the best choice for me to pursue, especially if I wanted to go into business for myself.

Making a career choice certainly requires honesty. Do you really want to be an investment banker? Lawyer? Doctor? Or do you actually want to be an art director, product designer, daycare owner,...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: NOVA VISTA PUB
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2013
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 9077256369
• ISBN 13: 9789077256367
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Auflage: 1
• Anzahl der Seiten: 160
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: GS1 Slovakia; https://www.gs1sk.org; ; Nantersk� 23; Žilina; 010 08; Slowakei