Small Business For Dummies [6 ed.] 9781394242771, 9781394242764, 9781394242788

Table of contents :
Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Introduction
About This Book
Foolish Assumptions
Icons Used in This Book
Beyond the Book
Where to Go from Here
Part 1: Getting Started with Small Business
Chapter 1: Is Small Business for You?
Defining Small Business
Do You Have the Right Stuff?
Identifying the Pros and Cons of Owning a Small Business
Exploring Alternatives to Starting a Business
Chapter 2: Laying Your Personal Financial Foundation
Getting Your Financial Ducks in a Row
Creating Your Money To-Do List
Assessing and Replacing Benefits
Managing Your Personal Finances Post-Launch
Chapter 3: Finding Your Niche
Why You Don’t Need a New Idea to Be Successful
Choosing Your Business
Inventing Something New
Recognizing Your Number One Asset — You
Chapter 4: First Things First: Crafting Your Business Plan
Your Mission: Impossible If You Fail to Define It
Your Business Plan: Don’t Start Up without It
Writing Your Business Plan
Keeping Your Plan Current
Chapter 5: Making Financing, Ownership, and Organizational Decisions
Determining Your Start-Up Cash Needs
Using Your Own Money: Bootstrapping
Outsourcing Your Capital Needs
Exploring Ownership Options
Deciding Whether to Incorporate
Part 2: Buying an Existing Business
Chapter 6: Exploring Buying a Business
Understanding Why to Buy a Business
Knowing When You Shouldn’t Buy
Recognizing Prepurchase Prerequisites
Chapter 7: Finding the Right Business to Buy
Defining Your Business-Buying Appetite
Generating Leads
Considering a Franchise
Evaluating Multilevel Marketing (MLM) Firms
Checking Out Work-from-Home Opportunities
Chapter 8: Evaluating a Business to Buy
Kicking the Tires: Doing Your Due Diligence
Evaluating Special Franchise Issues
Chapter 9: Negotiating Terms and Sealing the Deal
Valuing the Business
Developing Purchase Offer Contingencies
Allocating the Purchase Price
Doing Due Diligence
Moving Into Your Business
Part 3: Running a Successful Small Business
Chapter 10: The Owner’s Responsibilities in the Start-Up and Beyond
Dotting Your i’s and Crossing Your t’s: Start-Up Details
Outsourcing: Focus on What You Do Best
Simplifying Your Accounting
Controlling Your Expenses
Managing Vendor Relationships
Dealing with Bankers, Lawyers, and Other Outsiders
Chapter 11: Marketing: Products, Pricing, Distribution, Promotion, and Sales
Marketing in a Nutshell
Tackling Product and Service Development
Pricing: Cost and Value
Distribution: Channeling to Customers
Promotion: Spreading the Word
Sales: Where the Rubber Hits the Road
Chapter 12: Tapping Technology
Making the Decision: Cloud-Based versus Internal Server
Technology’s Role in Managing Your Business
AI as a Game Changer
Helping Buy a Business or Franchise
Chapter 13: Keeping Your Customers Loyal
Retaining Your Customer Base
Dealing with Dissatisfied Customers
Chapter 14: Managing Profitability and Cash
Cash Flow: The Fuel That Drives Your Business
Making Sense of Financial Statements
Turning the Numbers into Action
Understanding Key Ratios and Percentages
Managing Your Inventory
Collecting Your Accounts Receivable
Discovering Three Ways to Improve Profits
Chapter 15: Learning from the Experiences of Others
Utilizing Mentors
Networking with Peers
Forming a Board of Advisors
Finding a Partner
Joining a Trade Association
Uncovering a Business Incubator
Locating a Small Business Development Center
Giving SCORE a Try
Tapping into Small-Business Information
Part 4: Keeping Your Business in Business
Chapter 16: Finding and Keeping Superstar Employees
Assembling a Top Team
Training: An Investment, Not an Expense
Motivating: Pay and Performance Issues
Parting Company: Firing an Employee
Designing Flexible Organization Charts
Valuing Employee Manuals
Turning the Tables: Characterizing Successful Employers
Chapter 17: Providing Employee Benefits
Seeing the Real Value in Retirement Plans
Deciding Whether to Share Equity
Including Insurance and Other Benefits
Chapter 18: Handling Regulatory and Legal Issues
Navigating Small-Business Laws
Surviving Start-Up Regulations
Laboring over Employee Costs and Laws
Chapter 19: Mastering Small-Business Taxes
Getting Smarter about Taxes
Keeping Good Financial Records Leads to Tax Benefits
Knowing (And Managing) Your Tax Bracket
Staying on Top of Employment Taxes
Spending Your Money Tax-Wisely
Grasping the Tax Implications of Your Entity Selection
Chapter 20: Cultivating a Growing Business
Recognizing Growth Stages
Resolving Human Resources Issues
Addressing Time-Management Issues
Choosing Your Management Tools
Troubleshooting Your Business Challenges
Redefining Your Role in an Evolving Business
Part 5: The Part of Tens
Chapter 21: Ten Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make
Failing to Use Financial Statements to Manage Your Business
Failing to Prepare an Annual Budget
Failing to Utilize Your CPA
Failing to Understand How Marketing Applies to Your Business
Hiring Too Quickly
Taking Too Long to Terminate Nonperforming Employees
Assuming That Your Employees Are Motivated by the Same Things You Are
Considering Training to Be an Expense and Not an Investment
Failing to Take Advantage of Available Resources
Failing to Maintain an Up-to-Date Organization Chart
Chapter 22: Ten Tips for Small-Business Success
Focus on the Execution
Assemble a Team of Superstars in Game-Breaker Positions
Work Hard, Get Lucky
Realize the Difference between Profits and Cash
Hire for Attitude, Teach Skills Later
Create an Exit Strategy
Grow or Die — There’s No In-Between
Prepare for the Transition to Manager
Develop an Insatiable Appetite to Learn
Do What You Love
Chapter 23: Ten Ways Recent Tax Reform Benefits Small Business
Corporate Income Tax Rate Reduction …
… and (Some) Simplification
Individual Income Tax Rates Reduced
Deduction of 20 Percent for Pass-Through Entities
Better Equipment Expensing Rules
Increased Maximum Depreciation Deduction for Automobiles
Limited Interest Deductions
Reduced Meal and Entertainment Deductions
Elimination of Health Insurance Mandate
Revised Rules for Using Net Operating Losses
Index
About the Authors
Connect with Dummies
End User License Agreement