Table of Contents

Introduction: The Complete Business Process

Chapter 1: So You Would Like to Be in Business?

• Is starting your business a good idea?
• What kind of business should you start?
• Do you need a business idea?
• Defining your idea
• What can you achieve by starting a business?

Chapter 2: Who Are You?

• How do you know who you are?
• Test: What is your personality type?
• Personality types
• What is the business best suited to your personality?
• Your abilities and skills
• Qualities required to be an entrepreneur
• Can you still be an entrepreneur without all those qualities?
• What is a mentor?
• What do you want to accomplish?
• Finding your niche
• Types of businesses
• What is it like out there?
• Official requests

Chapter 3: Do You Have the Necessary Assets and Talents?

• You will be making money... What will you do with it?
• What kind of expectations should you have?
• Managing your parents
• Dealing with your business AND your school workload
• Friends' reactions to your business
• Is everyone going to like you?
• Will you be taken seriously?
• How will you test your business idea?

Chapter 4: Legal Stuff...

• Protecting yourself and your business
• Legal structure
• Insurance
• Do you need permits?
• Your responsibilities
• Agreements and contracts
• Nondisclosure agreement
• Copyrights, trademarks, service marks and patents

Chapter 5: Paperwork!!!

• Administrative tasks: what can you expect?
• What is bookkeeping?
• Financial statements
• Your own business forms

Chapter 6: Money Matters

• How much will starting your business cost?
• How much will your business cost to operate?
• Preparing financial statements
• How do you know if you're making money?
• Working should not cost you money!
• How do you know if your prices are right?
• Calculating your costs and how much to charge for services
• Where do you get the money to start?
• What happens when you do a lot of business and your company grows?
• What do you do if you need financing?
• When should you borrow money?

Chapter 7: Prepare a Good Plan of Action - The Business Plan

• Why a plan?
• How do you prepare your business plan?
• How much time do you have on your hands now?
• How much money are you going to make?

Chapter 8: How to Sell Your Products

• Your Sales Plan
• Having a good product
• Making your product easily available
• Making the transaction possible
• The marketing process
• Who are your customers?
• The competition
• Marketing strategies
• How do you get to know your customers?
• Customer information gathering
• The marketing plan
• Market surveys
• Advertising
• Networking and word of mouth
• Participating to trade shows and exhibitions
• Getting your first customer

Chapter 9: Your Corporate Image

• What is a corporate image?
• Do you need a corporate image?
• Professionalism, reliability and credibility
• Professional behavior and business etiquette
• Your corporate material
• Organizing your work space

Chapter 10: Managing Your Time

• Establishing priorities
• Finding out how your time is used and how to become more productive
• Procrastination
• Perfectionism
• Controlling interruptions

Chapter 11: Motivation and Support

• Will you always feel like taking care of your business?
• Is being in business always easy?
• Do you need a mentor?
• Professional associations
• Your well-being

Chapter 12: Getting Recognized

• Why do you need visibility?
• Where do you get visibility?
• Building credibility
• Should you become a member of associations?
• Beware of scams and bullies...

Chapter 13: Growth of the Business

• Will your business grow?
• What is growth and what does it mean for your business?
• Growing pains: the most common mistakes to avoid
• What is ISO 9000?

Chapter 14: Taking Advantage of New Technology

• Efficiency
• Technology needs assessment

Chapter 15: Internet As a Tool for Your Business

• The potential of the Internet for your business
• Using the Internet for your business
• Plan for the Internet evolution of your business

Chapter 16: Where Will You Go From Here?

Available formats for this book

Links

Index