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Key Terms
Questions
Activities
Questions and Answers on Small BusinessYour point is well taken. The best time to write a business plan is two or three years after you've been in business. What you'd be writing now is really a pre-business plan based on your research and expectations. In your plan, you'll want a general outline of your proposed business which includes an analysis of your target market, its needs, and how you intend to address those needs. You will need to put numbers behind the words. You must also provide details on supplies and location and staff. You will need to show how the proposed loans will support your efforts, and how secure those loans, and your business, will be under your strong positive direction. I'm 66 and ready to take retirement, but not permanent retirement. I'm looking for a small part-time business. I've heard you talk about a business evolving over a fifteen year period. I don't want to work that long. Should I start something that I can't finish? If your goal were to build a viable valuable company that you could sell for a lot of money, you might need the full fifteen years. However, your goals may be more modest. The easiest transition would be for you to continue doing what you have been doing but on a smaller scale. You already know this business and, presumably, have strong contacts. If not, then look for a quality product or service that the market demands. Look first to the talents, interests, or skills that you now have, so that the business can be something that you love to do every day. Spend plenty of time doing your research, find people who are already doing what you want to do, and ask for their advice on how to find a niche to start small and part-time. I have a dance business and I want to expand, but I'm not sure how I should go about it, since most dance studios are just small operations. Can you suggest anything? If, as you say, most dance studios are small operations, that implies that some are not. Do you know of larger companies that are successful? What are they doing? Can you call the owners of these larger companies, visit their operations, and find out what they are doing? Ask and you shall be informed. If you had the opportunity to visit a successful larger operation but you had to travel a hundred or a thousand miles, would you do it? Obviously, if you want to expand, you can open another studio in another location. But, you may have other options. Can you offer dance lessons through your local adult education office? Can you offer your services to local churches or schools or gyms? Can you make an instructional dance video? Can you offer dance instruction through your local public access TV station? Booksby Mari Florence (1997) (384 pages) Women own nearly half of all of the businesses in America. No matter how large or small the business, this book is for women interested in becoming entrepreneurs. Organized by field, each chapter contains advice from experts, how-to information on the day-to-day running of a business, and inspirational profiles of successful women entrepreneurs. Entrepreneur Magazine: Bringing Your Product to Market by Don Debelak (1997) (356 pages) In this book, you'll learn what every inventor and entrepreneur needs to know about manufacturing techniques, product design, distribution channels, patents, licensing, and cash flow. You'll also discover how to handle some very tricky issues that are crucial to your success, including knowing when your product is market ready, creating a step-by-step product-to- market strategy, adjusting your strategy to changing market conditions, finding financial help from investors, manufacturers, and distributors, and having manufacturers pay development costs prior to licensing. Entrepreneur Magazine : Guide to Professional Services by Leonard Bisk (1997) (294 pages) You've got the product, the strategy, and the vision to take your business to the top - but to get there you'll need to build a solid network of consultants you can trust. This book tells you what every entrepreneur or manager should know about how to find, hire, and manage a winning team of expert advisers and service providers. Filled with no-nonsense war stories taken from real-life experience, this incomparable guide shows you how to evaluate and select the best lawyer, accountant, banker, sales reps, creative services consultants, insurance broker, real estate broker, and other professional advisers or vendors, plus: how to ask the right questions, how to check qualifications, how to negotiate fees, how to monitor costs, how to evaluate performance, and what to do if things go wrong. Entrepreneur Magazine: Starting a Home-Based Business by Inc Staff Entrepreneur Media (1999) (289 pages) Extra money, a better lifestyle, the satisfaction of building a business you believe will really take off - whatever your motive, the success of your home-based business depends on making the right decisions from the very start. And this comprehensive guide will help you do just that. The personal computer has not only altered the way business is done, it has spawned a tremendous number of lucrative new opportunities for the aspiring entrepreneur. This nuts and bolts guide offers all you need to know to launch and succeed in over 35 different computer businesses that can be started and run from home. Entrepreneur Magazine Guide to Raising Money: Guide to Raising Money by Entrepreneur Magazine (1997) (256 pages) Show you how to find money to grow your businesses. The book describes the pros and cons of a wide variety of funding sources, including banks, SBA offices, venture capitalists, online sources, and even some quirky nontraditional sources of capital. Entrepreneur Magazine's Knock-Out Marketing: Powerful Strategies to Punch Up Your Sales by Jack Ferreri (1999) (299 pages) This nuts-and-bolts marketing guide gives you the marketing firepower and inspiration you need to satisfy customers, attract prospects, boost profits and blast the competition. 
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