Cover

Contents

Acknowledgements

Preface

01 First thoughts and foundations

What’s your big idea?

What’s it like to run a business?

Family matters

Four types of entrepreneurs

Women entrepreneurs

Male entrepreneurs

Personal finances: spring clean while you can

What sort of firm to start?

Buying a business

Taking up a franchise

Starting a green business

Your IT strategy

Web trading

02 Getting orders, making profits

What are you selling, exactly?

Choosing customers

Finding out what you need to know

Forecasting your sales

What exactly are you selling, then?

Why should anyone buy from you?

Getting it all to the consumer

Dealing direct with the public

Shops’ and distributors’ margins

Attracting the distributor

Visiting the customer

Pricing for marketability

Selling via the big catalogues: big orders, quick payment

Effective advertising

Publicity: nearly free and better than advertising

The web and your market

Sales via the internet

03 Controlling the money

Costs and costing

Calculating an hourly rate

Controls on costing

The importance of cash

Clever cash conservation

Forecasting the cash situation

Why cash-flow forecasting matters

Planning for profits

Credit control

Positive strategies for credit control

When credit control fails

Breaking through to profitability

Smarter costing

04 Raising the money

Grants: free money is best

Beg, steal or. . .

Making your case to private investors

Banks – all the same?

Presenting your case to the bank

Cutting out the middleperson

Islamic banking

05 Your business name and legal status

The options

Sole trader

Partnership

Limited company

Your business name

06 Business and the law

Civil and criminal law: how the difference affects you

Contract law

Tort

Going to law

Contracts to buy

Contracts to sell

Conditions, warranties, guarantees and exemptions

Product liability

Copyright, registered designs, trademarks and patents

07 Premises

Can you work from home?

Finding small premises

Planning permission

Applying for planning permission

Appealing against a planning decision

Leases

Rates and water charges

08 Managing operations

Operations? You think I’m a surgeon?

Plan before you leap

Being in control

Safety

Purchasing

Quality

09 Financial housekeeping, VAT and tax

Financial records

Bank accounts

Tax and taxes

VAT in outline

Income and corporation taxes and National Insurance

10 Employing people

People: the small firm’s powerhouse

The search for good people

Define the job

Define the person

Advertising

Shortlisting

Interviewing

Deciding

Induction

The law; not as big a problem as some think

11 Risk management and insurance

Risk management strategy

Insurance strategy

Insurance suppliers

12 Sources of help

What advisers can do for business

Finding a generalist consultant or adviser

Specialist advisers

13 After a successful launch. . . developing your firm

Your experience

Key issues

Expansion strategy

Your new job

The three stages of growth

Organizational culture

Your managerial development

Your firm and consultants

Funding your growth

14 The PLG Programme for Growth

The PLG Programme: Prepare, Launch, Grow©

What it’s for

How it works

Business plan: introduction

Business plan: Part one: Overviews

Business plan: Part two: Operating plans

Business plan: Part three: Appendices

Business plan: Presentation

Business plan: Implementation

Business plan: Growth

Executive summary

Business plan: Part one: Overviews

Business plan: Part two: Operating plans

Business plan: Part three: Appendices

Business plan: Presentation

Appendix 1

Appendix 2

Appendix 3

Appendix 4

Appendix 5

Appendix 6

Index