Entrepreneur's Book of Checklists
1,000 Tips to Help You Start & Grow Your Business
2nd edition
By Robert Ashton
October 2007
Pearson / Prentice Hall
Distributed
By Trans-Atlantic Publications
ISBN:
9780273712909
224 Pages, Illustrated, 6 1/8 x 9 1/4"
$42.50 paper original
"If you are the sort of person who would love to start a business of
your own but have not yet dared to take the plunge because you have no idea
of where to start, The Entrepreneur’s Book of Checklists could go a
long way to reducing the sense of panic and introducing some clarity and
order into your life when you need it most."
The Sunday Times
Easy to navigate and simple to read, The Entrepreneur's Book of Checklists is
not written to be read from cover to cover, more to become an invaluable source
of reference at every stage of the small business journey.
As important as an
evangelist's bible, or a car mechanic's workshop, this book will be used, heavily
bookmarked and become a much worn friend.
Each checklist is backed up by supporting advice or a real life case study -
see how the tips have already helped someone just like you.
New to this edition:
- Written for a wider audience to include social entrepreneur's
- Contains new case studies
- A new chapter covering online opportunities, and key topics including e-commerce and blogging
- Useful documents to use and adapt as your own including sales letters, getting paid letters, and short cuts to help you prepare your business plan, cost your product / service and approach potential investors.
Contents
Introduction
Endorsements from two leading business support organizations
1 Inspiration: generating your winning idea
10 ways to find time to plan
10 characteristics successful entrepreneurs
often share
10 steps to generating your big idea
10 things to check before chucking your
job
2 Goals: matching the idea to your personal aspiration
10 questions to ask yourself as you start
to plan
10 ways to involve your family in your
dream
10 common worries and how to overcome
them
10 ways that every entrepreneur is different
3 Knowledge: researching your idea/reality checking
10 ways to research on the internet
10 good questions to ask yourself and
others
10 people who might do your research
for free
10 steps to convincing yourself your
idea will work
4 Business plan: convincing yourself and others
10 things every business plan should
contain
10 things bank managers look for
10 figures you need to work out
10 things to include in a cash flow forecast
5 Investment: how to fund start-up and growth
10 people who might invest in your business
10 steps to heaven – finding a
business angel
10 ways to do it anyway – without
the investment
10 things to avoid at all costs
6 Branding: choosing business and product names
10 reasons why people will buy from you
10 tips when choosing a name
10 ways to test your new idea
10 design tips to bring your idea to
life
7 Sales: routes to market, avoiding the blind alleys
10 ways that people could buy from you
10 ways to close more sales
10 good things about selling direct
10 ways to sell even more
8 Profits: estimating and recording costs, especially
your time
10 ways to find more time
10 ways to work out how profitable you
really are
10 expensive surprises you face as you
grow
10 profitable extras to put on the bill
10 ways to protect profitability as your
enterprise grows
9 Online: how to succeed in a virtual world
10 ways to make your website more successful
10 ways to network on-line
10 top e-commerce tips
10 ways to avoid your emails becoming
spam
10 Cash flow: keeping the ship afloat
10 things bank managers like to hear
10 things your trading terms should include
10 things about overdrafts you need to
know
10 ways to finance your business
10 ways to avoid running out of cash
11 Costs: how to avoid bad debts and pay suppliers
10 things all good customers have in
common
10 things all good suppliers have in
common
10 taxes you need to know about
10 ways to collect an overdue payment
12 Home: premises – the why/where/how/how not
10 good reasons to work from home
10 ways to look bigger than you are
10 premises traps and how to avoid them
10 things about franchises you might
not know
13 People: recruiting without fears of future tears
10 questions to ask when recruiting
10 ways to deal with red tape
10 things the best bosses have in common
10 ways to delegate and share the burden
14 Motivation: adding momentum and magic
10 ways to motivate yourself
10 ways to motivate employees
10 training opportunities you might overlook
10 common people problems and how to
solve
15 Surprises: predict and overcome unexpected hurdles
10 surprises that employees spring and
how to overcome them
10 surprises that customers spring and
how to overcome them
10 surprises that suppliers spring and
how to overcome them
10 sleepless nights you can probably
avoid
16 Helpers: people who might help you and how to encourage them
10 people eager to help you succeed
10 things consultants do well
10 things to share because you don’t
need to buy
10 things to look for when recruiting
a mentor
17 Balance: when to work and when to play
10 signs that you are getting stressed
and how to cope
10 ways to enjoy your work
10 holiday ideas for when you can’t
afford to take time off
18 Social responsibility: how to help yourself by helping others
10 ways to build your business by helping
others
10 ways to entertain your customers for
free
10 special things about social enterprises
10 benefits of making a philanthropic
gesture
19 Exit: selling your successful business
10 ways to decide it’s time to
sell
10 things that add value to your business
10 ways to find a buyer
10 reasons to merge your business with
another
10 things you’ll do differently
the second time around
20 Useful document templates
Sales letters
Follow up letters
Getting paid letters
The business plan
Confidentiality and intellectual
property
Feature
- Entrepreneurship is a growing market with over 400,000 start-ups happening in the UK each year and growing.
- Even those who don't do it are thinking about it - as many as 1 in 3 Britons are currently considering starting their own business.
- This book is uniquely practical in the form of checklists.
- Author is a successful serial entrepreneur and a big self-marketer.
Author
Robert Ashton is a true entrepreneur, eager to share opportunities with others.
A prolific business author, he writes for a number of business journals
and national newspapers and is the author of Copywriting in a Week and
the international bestselling The Life Plan.
"I have no hesitation in recommending this book to anyone in business" - YE Magazine