The Small Business Start-Up Workbook

This practical and comprehensive workbook is packed with real-life case studies and practical exercises, checklists and worksheets, it provides a step-by-step guide to researching and formulating your business ideas, planning the right marketing strategies, and managing a team that will drive your vision forward with you. You'll discover what, with hindsight, well-known entrepreneurs would have done differently, what their biggest mistakes have been and what they've learnt: Dame Anita Roddick, Julie Meyer, Stelios Haji-Ioannou, Simon Woodroffe and others reveal their best and worst decisions and contribute their wisdom and tips for succeeding in business. You'll learn how to: develop, research and plan "the idea"; design and create the right products and services; define and understand your customers and target audience; secure finance and manage cash flow and accounts; create a winning brand and marketing message; gain and retain customers; achieve competitive advantage; plan, create, launch and promote your website; and manage your business and time. This fresh approach to small business start-up also includes information and recommendations on making your business ethical and socially responsible, along with exercises to help build self-confidence and visualize success.

Contents: Introduction; 1. Where to Begin - What's the Big Idead; 2. What to Do and Sell - Opportunities, Products and Services; 3. Who and Where? Researching Your Market, Target Audience and Opportunity; 4. Who Are You? Defining Your Brand; 5. How to Plot Your Findings and Map Out Your Future; 6. How Much? Figuring Out the Finance: Costs, Funding, Grants and Loans; 7. How to Sell - Marketing and Selling Your Products and Services; 8. How to Sell - The Importance of Good Customer Service; 9. How to Behave - The Case for Ethical Business and Social Responsibility; 10. Your Website - Planning and Creating a Website that Works; 11. Your Website - Launching and Promoting; 12. How to Manage And Grow - Tips from the Top; 13. Lessons from Leaders in Business; 14. The Ultimate Business Start-Up Checklist; 15. Uaseful Resources for Small Business Start-Ups;