THE E-BOOK EDITION OF
How to Jumpstart Your Business
By
Terry H. Hill
Managing Partner
Training for Entrepreneurs.com / Legacy Associates, Inc. Small Business Consultants
8374 Market Street #167
Lakewood Ranch, Florida 34202-5137
Phone 941-556-1299 | Fax 941-866-1953 | e-Mail
Small Business Consulting Website http://www.legacyai.com
Training & Development Website http://www.TrainingforEntrepreneurs.com
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Disclaimer
The e-Book Edition of How to Jumpstart Your Business
©2011 Terry H. Hill
All Rights Reserved: This e-Book Edition, How to Jumpstart Your Business, cannot be reproduced or
transmitted electronically or mechanically in any form; nor can it be photocopied, recorded, or stored in
any retrieval system. If a reviewer wishes to quote brief passages from this e-Book Edition and reproduce
them in a magazine, newspaper, or on the Web, the reviewer must obtain written permission from
the publisher. For information, please contact the Executive Director of Training for
Entrepreneurs.com, at 8374 Market Street #167, Lakewood Ranch, Florida, 34202-5137 USA, or e-mail.
Disclaimer and/or Legal Notices: The information presented in this e-Book Edition represents the
view of the author as of the publication date. However, since circumstances may change over time, the
author reserves the right to alter and/or update his opinion piece. The e-Book Edition, How to Jumpstart
Your Business, should be used for informational purposes only. Every attempt was made to verify the
information provided in this e-Book Edition; however, neither the author or the publisher, nor his
affiliates/partners assume any responsibility for errors, inaccuracies, or omissions. Any slights to people
or organizations are unintentional. If the reader needs advice concerning legal or other related matters,
then the reader should seek the services of a fully qualified professional. This e-Book Edition, How to
Jumpstart Your Business, is not regarded as a source for legal advice. The reader should be aware of any
laws, which govern business transactions or other business practices in his country and state. Reference
to any person (living or dead), or any business -- is purely coincidental.
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Preface
Whether it's starting a new venture or simply maintaining the same level of energy and enthusiasm you had the day
you founded the company, owning and managing a business can be an arduous task. How to Jumpstart Your Business
was written to help you, the owner, fast track your company.
This e-book was written as a reference guide to provide thoughts and ideas to some of the most pressing issues and
challenges you face as a business owner or aspiring entrepreneur. It is a compilation of the answers to some of the
most pertinent questions that have been posed to me and my associates over the years.
A common statement among many business owners is that “my business is different.” While it is true that all
companies have their own unique set of characteristics, it is interesting how all businesses essentially follow the
same basic principles as evidenced by the case studies that we have included in this e-Book.
One of the greater challenges many business owners face is “finding the time” to get things done. Dealing with the
day-to-day demands of running a business can be overwhelming whether the company is a startup, on a fast track
or facing challenges.
Part of what creates this situation for the owner is that as the “leader of the organization” you are expected to be
proficient in every area of the business. In our experience, the majority of the time the business owner started their
business because they knew “the business.” Knowing "the business" and knowing “about business” are totally
different.
This e-book provides a starting point to some of the answers to the questions "about business". All facets of
running a business are covered in the e-book:
• Formation • Operations
• Planning • Stakeholders
• Financial • Transition
• Marketing • Resources
You are encouraged to read the first chapter which discusses the book in greater detail and provides some valuable
“real world” experience about running a business.
Enjoy the e-Book,
Terry H. Hill
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1 – Starting or Jumpstarting Your Business
Take the Entrepreneurial Leap of Faith with the Help of a Trusted Advisor ................ .......................... 2
Entrepreneurship … a Leap of Faith
Purpose of the Book
Start Smart and Seek Advice
Look at the Big Picture with a General Business Advisor
How to Find a General Business Advisor and What to Look For
Implement Your Business Advisor's Initiatives to Increase ROI
Establish a Relationship with Your General Business Advisor Based on Trust
Score Big with a General Business Advisor – Architect vs. Checker
Mitigate Risk with the Anecdote to Failure
How This Book Is Organized
Chapter 2 – Planning
The Foundation of Every Successful Enterprise ............................................. ............................................ 9
Case Study -- The Challenge
The Secret to Success … Plan the Work and Work the Plan
Achieve Your Vision with a Strategic Business Plan
Address the Components of a Strategic Business Plan
What does the entrepreneur bring to the table?
Identify Your Attributes as an Entrepreneur
Examine Your Goals and Objectives
Understand the Complexities of Your Venture
Analyze the Nature of the Industry
Create a Powerful Mission Statement
Define and Live Your Company Values
Align Your Company's Culture with Its Shared Values and Beliefs
Use the SWOT Analysis to Assess Your Business Status
Identify Internal and External Factors that Affect Your Progress
Prepare Financial Projections to Reflect Realistic Assumptions
Avoid an Action Plan that Gathers Dust
Execute, Execute, Execute Your Action Plan
Determine the Components or Mini-Goals of Your Action Plan
Set Short-term Objectives to Achieve Your Ultimate Objective
Case Study—Outcome
Chapter 3 – Formation
Structure the Enterprise Properly from the Start............................................ ........................................... 23
Case Study -- The Challenge
So…You Think You May Be An Entrepreneur?
What is an entrepreneur?
What Makes an Entrepreneur Tick?
What Drives the Entrepreneur to Start a Business?
What Skill Set Does/Should an Entrepreneur Have?
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Determine that a Viable Need Exists for Your Business/Service
Make Sure There's a Market Potential for Your Product/Service
Evaluate Your Entrepreneurial Venture
Analyze Your Motives for Your Entrepreneurial Venture
Assess and Understand Your Tolerance for Risk
Generate Demand with Effective Business-building Practices
Calculate Potential Risks and Rewards
Case Study—Outcome
Chapter 4 – Transition
Transform Fledging Businesses into Long-term Businesses ........................................... ............................ 33
Case Study -- The Challenge
Be Flexible When Transitioning Your Business
What Is an Entrepreneurially-run Business?
Advance Beyond the Entrepreneurial Stage---Here's How
What Is a Professionally-managed Organization?
Use These Helpful Tips When Changing Management Styles
Consider Potential Behavioral Issues When Changing Management Styles
Understand the Different Stages of Your Business' Life Cycle
The Idea Stage and How It Works
The Startup Stage---The Debut of Your Organization
The Importance of the Growth Stage
Stabilize Your Systems, Structures, and Processes to Support Future Growth
Ensure Long-term Success---Diversify
Recognize the Signs of Decline
Tap into the Experience of Professional Managers
The Valued Characteristics of Professional Managers
Make Sure You Select the Appropriate Organizational Structure for Your Company
Set Standards for Your Operating Procedures
Create a Basic Organizational Structure
Prevent Needless Bureaucracy
Case Study—Outcome
Chapter 5 – Finance and Accounting
Account for Your Activities Accurately and Consistently ............................... ......................................... 47
Case Study -- The Challenge
Get and Keep the Financial Bottom Line Strong
Securing Initial Financing
Should You Call on Friends and Family?
Should you consider angel investors?
Evaluate Venture Capital
Weigh the Pros and Cons of Conventional Bank Financing
Use a Basic, Reliable, Accurate Record-keeping System
Use a Basic, Reliable, Accurate Record-keeping System
Maintain Accurate Inventory
Generate Invoices Quickly and Accurately for Improved Cash Flow
Elements of an Invoice
Invoicing Guidelines
Analyze and Interpret Financial Statements. Here's How…
Optimize Your Cash Flow
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Understand Your Income Statement. It's Easy…
Assess Your Company's Financial Health by Reading Its Balance Sheets
Appraise the Financial Health of Your Company with Ratios.
What Are Ratios and What Do They Mean?
Create and Use Management Reports to Achieve Daily and Long-term Financial Goals
Create and Use Sales Reports for Proactive Management
Manage Your Business More Effectively---Create and Use Production Reports
Case Study—Outcome
Chapter 6 – Stakeholders
Leverage Your Stakeholder Wisely......................................... ................................................................. 62
Case Study -- The Challenge
Business---It’s About the People
Treat Your Employees Fairly … They are the Lifeblood of Your Enterprise
Taking Ownership…What Does It Really Mean?
Avoid the Danger of Losing Touch with Your Stakeholders
Incentives Usually Work…To be Effective, Use Them Wisely. Here's how
Positive, Motivating Work Environments…Who Wouldn't Want to Work There
Pros and Cons of Partnership
A Synergistic Relationship…What Exactly is That
View Suppliers as Untapped Resources
What is your banker’s involvement?
Meet with Your Banker Regularly
Your Customer Base---One of Your Most Valuable Assets
Understand Your Customers’ Business & Align Your Products with Your Their Needs
Seek Professional Help for Challenging/ Overwhelming Issues
Advisors Are Bargains When Considering Their Potential Benefits and Value
Think Outside the Box
Case Study—Outcome
Chapter 7 – Operations
Structure Your Operations for Excellence ........................................... .................................................... 74
The Nuts and Bolts of Running Your Business
How Do You Form an Administration?
Make Experience a Priority When Building an Administrative Team
Be Alert to the Risks of Top-heavy Management
Assemble a Quality Management Team --- It’s a Reliable Predictor of Small Business Success
What about Costs?
Create Basic Systems and Processes to Produce Consistent Results
Use Baby Steps to Achieve Short and Long-term Goals
Standardize Processes and Procedures---Its Essential for Your Company's Growth and Success
Streamline Your Business Operations
Select Business Facilities Wisely
Should You Rent or Own?
Make Your Business Facility Sparkle---It Reflects Your Values and Standards
Help Managers and Employees Do Their Job---Organize Your Business Systems
Design Efficient Workflows to Gain Optimum Business Success
Evaluate Equipment Options Judiciously
Prevent Equipment Failures---Maintain Equipment Regularly
Case Study—Outcome
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Chapter 8 – Marketing
The Engine that Drives the Enterprise ........................................... ........................................................ 87
Case Study -- The Challenge
Connect Your Products and Services with Your Customers
Deploy Targeted Messages across Multiple Channels
What about Personal Selling?
Network and Grow Your Business
Consider Including Charitable Work as Part of Your Plan
Maintain and Grow Customer Relationships
Mine Existing Customers for More Business
Experiencing a State of Balance and Stability? Then It's Time to Expand Your Offerings
Invest in Understanding Your Customers’ Business
Become Your Customer's Trusted, Indispensable Resource
Differentiate Yourself from Your Competitors and Grow
Perform a Competitive Analysis, and then Strategize
Develop Your Unique Selling Proposition
Develop a Pricing Strategy
Become a Low-Cost Provider
Develop a Cost-Plus Model
Become a Value-Based Provider
Case Study—Outcome
Chapter 9 – Resources
Knowing Where to Get the Answer is Critical .......................................... ............................................ 101
Case Study -- The Challenge
The Right Information within Easy Reach
Keep in Touch with Your Industry---Belong to a Trade Association
Access the Small Business Administration's (SBA) Treasure of Resources
Access the Web with Its Extraordinary Store of Information
Benefit from Aligning Yourself with an Educational Community
Additional, Available Resources that Can Support Entrepreneurs
References
Great References are the Backbone of any Great Book.......................................... ................................. 107
Profile -- Terry H. Hill
An Entrepreneur's Mentor.......................................... .......................................................................... 111
Profile -- Training for Entrepreneurs.com
An Online Small Business Community for Business Skills Training, Virtual Mentoring, and Networking
Opportunities................................... ...................................................................................................... 113
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C H A P T E R 1 : S T A R T I N G O R J U M P S T A R T I N G Y O U R B U S I N E S S
Chapter
Starting or Jumpstarting Your
Business
1
Take the Entrepreneurial Leap of Faith with the Help of a Trusted Advisor
Entrepreneurship … a Leap of Faith
Entrepreneurship is a multi-faceted adventure that closely resembles a
roller coaster ride without exception! When you begin an
entrepreneurial journey or “ride,” you are unaware of the gamut of
experiences, both disappointing and rewarding, that you will
encounter as you undertake this challenge. Entrepreneurial
challenges are not unlike most challenges in life. Hard work, long
hours, and anxious moments are just a few of the characteristics of
the journey to most successful outcomes.
There are a few basic issues that entrepreneurs struggle with on an
ongoing basis. Although they may be phrased in a variety of ways,
they’re generally centered on these four primary issues: more sales, more
cash, more time, and the “right” people.
Starting your own business is an undertaking that requires more than
vision, inspiration, sweat equity, money, and determination. It is that
leap of faith that demands that you let go of everything that is safe,
comfortable, and proven. It is getting “outside the box” in the
biggest way possible.
Beginning a new business venture can be risky, dangerous, and harrowing. However, with the proper
preparation, the appropriate knowledge, and the counsel of a mentor or trusted advisor, it can be a
liberating and extremely rewarding experience.
There’s a reason why many of America’s most successful people are entrepreneurs who started their own
businesses and then saw them take off to unimaginable heights. There’s a reason why the Horatio Algers
of the world continue to inspire thousands of entrepreneurs every day. There is a reason why some of
America’s greatest companies started with an idea, with meager seed capital, and with an individual who
had a maniacal belief in the potential of an idea, and along with determination and perseverance, saw it
through to success. The reason? The entrepreneurial spirit!
For every success, however, there are hundreds of failures. The statistics are not only sobering, but also
down right frightening. More than half of all businesses started today will fail. The failure rate is
astounding.
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C H A P T E R 1 : S T A R T I N G O R J U M P S T A R T I N G Y O U R B U S I N E S S
Take a look at recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, and this is what you will discover: after two
years, across all sectors, 44 percent of all new businesses are no longer in business. After four years, 66
percent no longer exist. And these survival rates don’t vary much by industry.
What do the statistics tell us? That most new businesses—whether they’re founded on the most brilliant
idea since the theory of relativity or the production of a mundane, but exquisitely necessary
manufacturing component—are making fatal mistakes that will ultimately lead to bankruptcy. This much
is certain. If more than half of all new business ventures fail, then there are valuable lessons that have not
yet been learned.
Purpose of the Book
This e-book, How to Jumpstart Your Business, is a resource book that teaches entrepreneurs the lessons
learned by many of their predecessors. It should become the entrepreneur’s
business desk reference book. Jumpstart draws on the practical working
experiences of many successful business leaders, and is truly a collaboration
of knowledge and the wisdom of the contributing authors.
The timing for this book, along with the critical information within, couldn’t
be more appropriate. Entrepreneurship is at an all-time high! After
spending 15 to 25 years in corporations and medium-size enterprises, the
baby-boom generation made its mark in corporate America. With the
availability of time, experience, and investment capital, Baby Boomers are
starting up new business ventures. This baby-boom generation is still on the
move!
Many of the Generation X-ers and Baby Boomers who became disillusioned with the corporate world, or
who were laid off as part of widespread downsizing, have the resources and drive to go out and do exactly
what they want to do. They’re mobile. They can choose the geographic climate and location, where they
want to live, purchase a business or build a career, and then generate income while doing what they truly
desire. They can control their own destinies and search for the best ways to do so. As a result, we are in
an era when entrepreneurial energy and innovation, tempered by a realistic understanding of risk and
challenge, will have a greater impact on our economy than at any other time in history!
Start Smart and Seek Advice
Seeking advice is a good thing. If you’re going to succeed in business, you need to be proactive, rather
than reactive. The key to entrepreneurial success is your ability to plan, implement, execute, and adjust.
It’s very difficult to do all of these things on your own.
That is why it is important to align yourself with an experienced, impartial advisor so that together you
can more accurately assess, analyze, and implement your envisioned ideas.
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C H A P T E R 1 : S T A R T I N G O R J U M P S T A R T I N G Y O U R B U S I N E S S
Look at the Big Picture with a General Business Advisor—
A General Practitioner for Business
There are many types of business advisors—financial advisors who inform you of financial and tax issues,
legal advisors who can counsel you on contract law and legal requirements, and project advisors who can
offer you expertise in specific areas like IT, marketing or HR. Most successful entrepreneurs also work
with another type of advisor—a general business advisor. A general business advisor can help with
critical business issues like business development, strategic planning, transition management, and overall
enterprise health and efficiency.
Unlike most business owners who focus on the trees, the general business advisor specializes in seeing the
forest. The business owner may look at his financial statements and decide that the cash flow crunch is
being caused solely by a problem with sales. Consequently, he decides to engage a sales and marketing
specialist to come and attack that single problem.
Unfortunately, sales and marketing may not be the root of the problem at all. A business is a system, and
any issue within the system is inextricably linked to other issues elsewhere in the system. Like a general
practitioner in the field of medicine, the general business advisor looks at the big picture—the entire
company—and sees exactly how the various components are working together or not—from accounting
to production to administration to sales, marketing, and IT—and understands how they interrelate and
where the problem lies. Isolating one problem and bringing in a specialist is like putting a Band-Aid on a
cut when you really need a complete physical.
With a general business advisor, you can get an accurate, unbiased, comprehensive diagnosis on the entire
enterprise. Only then, can you develop and implement an effective strategy to restore the business to
optimal health.
How to Find a General Business Advisor and What to Look
For
Choosing a general business advisor is a serious decision. You want to select a general business advisor
who is competent and experienced, and with expertise. It is equally important that he be a person of
integrity—a person that you can trust since you will be working together in a truly confidential, fiduciary
relationship.
The best way to find a competent general business advisor is to first reach out to your immediate circle of
friends. Talk to your other advisors, your CPA, your attorney, your banker, and your insurance agent.
Then, call each candidate to schedule a personal meeting. It is best to have this initial meeting in your
office or place of business, and to keep the following points in mind:
• Sensitivity to the Importance of Confidentiality: This is critical. Get a feeling for how the
advisor treats the bounds of confidentiality because he or she will be privy to highly confidential
information about you and your business.
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• Non-compete Policy: Make sure that the candidate is willing to sign a non-compete agreement
and will not advise direct competitors of yours during the course of your engagement and for a
predetermined period of time thereafter.
• Chemistry: It’s not just for romantic relationships! There has to be chemistry between you and
your advisor. This is someone you’re going to work closely with to grow your business. You
have to feel a connection, a sense of trust, and you should never feel forced into making a
decision at the first meeting. To gauge the level of comfort that you feel, meet your prospective
advisor more than once.
• Confidence: Make sure that you have the level of confidence that you need to move forward—
and that the person sitting across the desk from you, is as passionate as you are about your
business.
• Competence: Confirm that the candidate is properly qualified and that his or her skill set
matches your needs. What is the candidate’s “core” competency level and what additional
resources can he bring to the engagement?
Implement Your Business Advisor's Initiatives to Increase
ROI
There is tremendous value in working with a professional general business
advisor, and the return on your investment can be significant. A good
general business advisor will be able to come in, analyze your situation,
make recommendations, identify areas for cost-saving strategies, and
determine where to improve efficiencies.
The savings realized in these areas should more than pay for his fees. If, as
with many fledgling businesses, you’re experiencing cash flow issues, a
good advisor will first look at your available cash to jumpstart your cash
flow. What do people owe you? What can you collect tomorrow? How
can you convert more of your inventory to cash? Where can you cut
expenses? In terms of ROI, these are initiatives that can deliver returns
almost immediately.
The savings realized from other recommendations will take more time. If you need to increase revenues,
it will take time to ramp up sales and see a return. A good general business advisor will understand your
goals, analyze your current situation, and provide strategies from the viewpoint of an impartial third party
to help you resolve your particular issues over time. Many business owners know what their problems
are, but they don’t know how to resolve them. In these situations, the general business advisor delivers
ROI—both short-term, as well as, long-term—by providing a roadmap for improving the company’s
performance and helping you find the resources to do so.
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Establish a Relationship with Your General Business
Advisor Based on Trust
Your relationship with your general business advisor is predicated on a foundation of trust. As your
relationship matures, so should the level of trust on both sides. This is critical. How the advisor views
your business is also important. Your general business advisor should strike a balance between becoming
involved enough to understand your business, while maintaining an impartial view.
The experienced general business advisor typically begins an engagement by analyzing the company’s
current situation. This analysis is made possible through a series of interviews, starting with you, the
business owner, and continuing with the various stakeholders of the business. Then, the benchmarking
process takes place--- your company’s financial performance is measured against that of your competitors.
Further discussions with you, about your visions and goals, enable the general business advisor to gain
valuable insight into your personal motivations.
After this process is completed, the advisor is well-informed and knowledgeable, and is in a position to
develop a strategic plan to take your company from its current situation to your envisioned future
position. The trusted general business advisor works hand-in-hand with you and your staff to implement
and execute the necessary strategies to successfully accomplish your visionary goals.
Score Big with a General Business Advisor –
Architect vs. Checker
Like most entrepreneurs, you’re probably tempted to do as much as possible on your own, and
occasionally bring in an outsider to “check your work.” The biggest problem with this situation is that
you’re missing out on the true value that a general business advisor offers—impartial expertise in
assessing your overall current situation, understanding your desired state, identifying the gap between
current and future state, implementing initiatives, and executing a strategy to bridge the gap.
These are things that most entrepreneurs simply do not have time to do because they are too busy
running a business. Launching and growing a business is where most entrepreneurs need help. Bringing
in a “checker” to review and audit your work really does nothing more than confirm what you already
know—something is or isn’t working.
While a “checker” performs an important function, it is the professional general business advisor who
provides a comprehensive strategic overview and then rolls up his shirtsleeves to assist you with its
implementation and execution. A “checker” keeps score. A “general business advisor” helps you score.
A qualified general business advisor is a member of your team who works with you to plan and to
determine the outcome of the game. As a general business advisor, the goal is to get you on the right
track and through the next phase of your business growth successfully.
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Mitigate Risk with the Anecdote to Failure
Mitigating risks in your business is the main focus of Jumpstart. This book emphasizes the importance of
aligning yourself with a professional business expert who can prevent you from falling into the traps that
cause many small businesses to fail. It is a practical reference guide that answers commonly-asked
questions about starting, financing, forming, growing, marketing, and running a business. When you take
all the challenges that you face as a business owner and condense them, you will find that the challenges
typically fall into one or more of the following four categories:
• The constant battle to increase sales
• The ever-present issue to improve the cash position
• The struggle to allocate sufficient time
• The recognition and fact that good people make a significant difference
Whatever stage of the business lifecycle that you happen to be in, the smartest move you can make is to
seek the advice of a professional expert to help you navigate your journey and to keep you on course to a
successful future.
How This Book Is Organized
How to Jumpstart Your Business is intended for the entrepreneur who is
launching a new business, for the entrepreneur who is purchasing a
business, the entrepreneur who needs to revamp an existing business, or
who simply wants to learn the basic lessons that lead to success. Every
entrepreneur has questions. The right answers can provide the guidance
you need to take the leap of faith to launch, purchase, or revitalize a
business while minimizing risk.
This book is about giving you the tools that you will need to understand the ebbs and flows of the natural
lifecycle of a business and to anticipate the challenges that you will inevitably face.
Jumpstart provides business intelligence gained from years of experience and the advice of experts to help
you get started, or to pick yourself up and start again when, and if, you falter.
The information in How to Jumpstart Your Business is organized into nine chapters that cover basic topics of
primary concern of any business owner.
Each chapter starts with a case study that explores a common business problem experienced by
entrepreneurs. The case study is followed by several frequently-asked questions and answers on the
relevant topic. Finally, the questions and answers are followed by the resolution of the problem outlined
in the case study at the beginning of the chapter.
This format makes the book a very effective resource. It makes for quick reading and is an excellent
business tool. If you’re having issues with planning—whether it’s drafting a business plan, an action plan
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C H A P T E R 1 : S T A R T I N G O R J U M P S T A R T I N G Y O U R B U S I N E S S
or a marketing plan—you can go right to the planning section, and scan down through the material until
you find the needed information. If you want to understand more about reading financial statements, you
can review the chapter on “Finance and Accounting,” If you’re looking for marketing strategies and
tactics, you can jump right to the chapter entitled, “Marketing Your Business.”
The case studies are based on typical business problems that entrepreneurs encounter and the solutions
are based on practical, personal experiences in working with clients and contributing authors. Some of
the concepts may seem simplistic, but there is great value in their simplicity. Every business is unique.
Every business has its own story. But there are universal principles, challenges, and roadblocks that affect
virtually every business. And, there are certain “best practices” that produce positive results.
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C H A P T E R 2 : P L A N N I N G
Chapter
Planning 2
The Foundation of Every Successful Enterprise
Case Study -- The Challenge
John started a commercial bakery on the outskirts of a large metropolitan city a couple of years ago. He had been an
experienced baker for a number of years beforehand and he was recognized as one of the premier artisans in the area.
He had always felt that if he started his own company, he would be extremely successful. It turned out that he was far
more successful than he could have ever imagined! Now he wanted to expand by acquiring a competitor in the area.
John knew that, in order to make the acquisition, he needed to get a bank loan. The thought never occurred to him that
securing a loan would present a problem.
John met with Larry, the bank loan officer, with whom John had been doing business---borrowing small amounts of
money to make equipment purchases. But when John approached Larry with a loan proposal for acquiring a new
company, well, that was a little different…
Larry wanted to know if John had prepared a business plan. He wanted to know how he planned to integrate the new
business with his own and whether he had prepared any financial projections for the combined entity. He also wanted to
know what synergies John would achieve with the acquisition.
John was irritated by all of these seemingly-irrelevant questions. After all, he had been a loyal bank customer for years
and had always made his payments on time. He didn’t have the time nor the inclination to deal with these issues. Some
of these questions, he thought, couldn’t really be answered until after the acquisition. Surely another bank would see his
reasoning. John decided to meet with a second banker only to be told the same thing. However, this time, the banker
suggested that he talk to me.
John and I met one evening after work when things had settled down for him. He was still irritated about the way he was
being treated and didn’t understand why the banks were putting up so many roadblocks. He was also concerned that if
he procrastinated much longer, the deal would pass him by.
Once John calmed down, I explained to him that the bankers were really looking out for his best interests. I cautioned
him that as his business grows, it becomes increasingly important for him to document his thoughts and ideas on paper.
In regards to the financing aspects, it is even more critical if a company is contemplating an acquisition. In this
situation, he must “look under the hood” of the company before acquiring it. After all, an acquisition can represent a
significant investment not only financially, but also in terms of time and effort.
This turned out to be a great opportunity for John and me to sit down and look at not only the terms of acquisition, but
also John’s business as well. A number of questions that arose in our discussions are presented in this chapter.
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The Secret to Success … Plan the Work and Work the Plan
Starting and running your own business is a highly rewarding, but often
risky endeavor. As with anything else, increasing your chances of success
begins with preparation. And, when it comes to transforming your dream
into reality, the key to successfully Jumpstarting your business is simple:
plan the work and work the plan. Whether you’re just getting a new
business off the ground, expanding the business you have, or purchasing a
business, devote plenty of time to planning:
• Begin with a discovery process to confirm the viability of your venture.
• Do your homework.
• Uncover fundamental objectives, insights, opportunities, and risks.
• Research the market.
• Examine your offering, market conditions, trends, and the competition.
• Excavate potential problems.
• Outline your goals and objectives.
• Compile the business intelligence you need to create a solid foundation of actionable information
to chart your present and future direction.
The next logical step is to develop a plan—a strategic business plan that functions as a living document to
define your objectives, guide your business, and take you from Point A (where you are today) to Point B
(where you’d like to be). But remember—a strategic plan is about more than securing funding—it’s
essential to jumpstarting your business. And once you’ve written your business plan, follow it up with an
action plan that spells out your short and long-term objectives and how you’ll achieve them.
Just remember this—there is no underestimating the power of planning. As the former CEO of Octel
and Lucent Technologies notes, “People usually plan their vacations more carefully than they plan their
careers. I’m a compulsive planner, but there were times when I had no idea what I was doing.”
This chapter is about understanding and articulating your goals and objectives. Even when you have no
idea what you’re doing, developing, and implementing a plan improves your chances of achieving your
goals. This chapter outlines the fundamental components of crafting a strategic plan to take your
business to the next level.
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Achieve Your Vision with a Strategic Business Plan
Strategic planning is the process by which the key stakeholders (you and your partners) in an organization
envision its future and develop the procedures and operations that will enable you to achieve that vision.
A strategic business plan serves two purposes. First, it’s an internal document that defines your goals,
strategies, and tactics. Second, it’s a tool for raising capital. However, you need a plan, whether you’re
looking for capital or not. Without a plan you won’t know where you’re going and you have no way to
benchmark or track your progress.
With a strategic plan, you have a roadmap that enables you to look ahead, allocate resources, focus on key
points, and prepare for problems and opportunities.
A well-articulated strategic business plan clearly outlines your vision, goals, priorities, strategies, products,
services, and financing needs. It also provides relevant information about your company, your
management team, and short and long-term objectives. A business plan focuses on both the positive and
negative aspects of your business opportunities, and enables you to plan ahead three to five years.
Address the Components of a Strategic Business Plan
As they say, there’s more than one way to skin a cat. Likewise,
there’s more than one way to write a business plan. Formats,
outlines, and lengths may vary, but business plans all tend to
share generally-accepted standard components.
What are the common denominators? Your plan must be
clearly written, logically organized, and convincingly worded. It
should target a specific audience. It should outline the details of
financing, competition, strengths, weaknesses, and forecasted
financial performance. As a rule of thumb, when writing your
plan, include the following components:
• Cover Letter: Write a cover letter to introduce you and your business plan to your audience.
• Title Page: Include a title page that details the content of your plan, your name, address, phone
number, names and positions of the executive team, date and contact information.
• Table of Contents: Develop a table of contents to make it easy for readers to find information.
• Statement of Purpose—includes a clearly stated explanation of your company’s goals and how
you’ll achieve them. For example, your statement of purpose may be “to provide quality, reliable
landscaping services for less in the Phoenix metropolitan area”. Describe your value proposition,
whether it’s price, convenience, service or another attribute, how much capital you’ll need, and
how you’ll repay it.
• Executive Summary—this is the most important part of your business plan. Include a brief
summary that highlights the major points of your plan. Provide background on your business, the
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market, your value proposition, key team members, projected ROI (Return on Investment),
internal rate of return, and current and potential risks.
• Market Information: Describe your target market(s). Substantiate statements with facts and
supporting detail. Include market research on initial and future markets, key market segments,
past growth rates, anticipated trends, and changes.
• Company Description: Describe your company, its type, history, legal structure, industry,
market, principals, revenue, size, and growth rate.
• Product/Service Description: Describe your offering, relevant business benefits, stage of
development, how your product/services will satisfy a real business need and enable you to
compete.
• Management Team: Include detailed information on the core members of your team—the
people who will run the company, as well as senior partners, attorneys, financial and business
advisors. Include names, titles, experience, skills, responsibilities, and compensation.
• Potential Risk Factors: Include an assessment of the risks facing the company. Describe the
worst-case scenario and anything that could go wrong today and in the future. Offer strategies
for overcoming risk.
• Execution/Action Plan: Describe how you’ll translate your business plan into actionable results
down to the finest detail. Relate how you will obtain licenses to do business, open an
establishment, get products on the shelf, hire employees, and forge partnerships. Explain
production schedules, delivery processes, and customer service policies in order to set operational
benchmarks to measure progress.
• Financial Information: Include a section that projects future revenues and profits three to five
years out. Base this information on best-case, worst–case and most-likely-case scenarios.
Summarize financial data like cash flow, income statements, balance sheets, banking relationships,
terms, and rates of loans, financing plans and working capital requirements.
• Legal Preparation: Include corporate bylaws, patents, and trademarks, licenses to do business,
employment agreements, and customer contracts. Anticipate the legal and documentary setup
your business will require.
Writing a business plan can seem like a daunting task. However, there are many resources available to
help you prepare a sound plan. You can find books in your local book store, software programs and
templates online and in local computer/software stores or you can work with a consulting firm, a nearby
Small Business Development Center or a local business school.
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What does the entrepreneur bring to the table?
Entrepreneurs as a group share a unique set of attributes that differentiate them from the rest of the
general nine-to-five population. Every entrepreneur doesn’t necessarily have all of these traits, but in all
likelihood will have some of them.
Typical characteristics of an entrepreneur:
• Focused, resilient, determined
• Highly self-motivated
• Charismatic, natural leaders
• Confident and optimistic
• Willing to take calculated risks
• Obsessed with producing results
• Action-oriented, opinionated, independent
• Driven to control their own schedules, workloads, destinies
• Quick to recognize and capitalize on opportunity
• Willing to exchange near-term sacrifices for long-term gains
• Visionaries with the grit to tolerate uncertainty
Identify Your Attributes as an Entrepreneur
Now, take this exercise a step further and zero in on your own abilities as an entrepreneur. What are your
strengths? What are your weaknesses? What inspires and drives you? Is it wealth? Is it recognition? Or,
is it a drive to control your own destiny? This is important. Your personal strengths and weaknesses can
have a significant impact on your success. As you plan to Jumpstart your business, factor your strengths
and shortcomings into the equation—and the potential impact of both in the best and worst of times.
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Examine Your Goals and Objectives
There are many different types of businesses with many different types of goals.
Before you do anything, understand what you hope to achieve. Is your goal to
start small and stay small? Grow slowly and steadily? Provide a comfortable
standard of living but not much more? Or are you driven to become a fast-
track, high-growth, wealth-creating business that doubles in size and profitability
every few years? A little self-examination can pay lasting dividends. Understand
your goals and objectives before you develop a plan—everything flows from
what you want to accomplish.
Once you understand your overall goals, set basic objectives for the near and
mid-term-incremental, achievable baby steps that pave the way to your
ultimate goal. Your objectives may be quantifiable (revenues or number of
customers). They may be relationship-driven (customer acquisition, retention
or deeper penetration of existing accounts) or a balance of the two. Articulate
your long and short-term goals and objectives to establish a benchmark for
measuring success and shifting directions as needed.
Understand the Complexities of Your Venture
Every business venture comes with its own set of challenges. As you develop your plan, understand the
complexities and potential risks associated with your unique enterprise. For example, you need to
understand how macro-economic and industry conditions can affect your business, how competitors can
throw a monkey wrench into the best laid plans. You need to weigh the chances of obsolescence,
challenges with supply and demand, legal complexities, regulatory issues, market volatility and more.
Examining the complexities of your venture means unearthing all of the potential problems and risks,
whether they’re strategic, operational, financial, or legal. To really get a good handle on these issues and
how they might play out, consider the complexities you face today and imagine how they’ll manifest in the
future.
Typical complexities include difficulty obtaining products or parts, rising prices, labor shortages, gas
prices, international exchange rates, staffing issues, the loss of a key client, and research and development
expertise. The key—don’t fall into the trap of downplaying risk or complexity. Acknowledge them and
develop strategies to handle and overcome these issues.
Analyze the Nature of the Industry
The importance of understanding your industry goes without saying. If your business is to succeed, you
must have an intimate knowledge of the your industry---not just from 30,000 feet, where you consider
macroeconomic factors like unemployment rates, inflation, interest rates, and regulatory requirements---
but also from a more immediate perspective.
Become knowledgeable about major players, competitors, and whether your industry is seasonal, cyclical,
or counter-cyclical. Understand key drivers for your industry—is it powered by research and
development? Is it driven by sales and marketing? Is it driven by constant innovation? Is it driven by
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price? Or, is it driven by relationships? Get a handle on growth rates—past, present and future.
Familiarize yourself with the trends that affect the industry as a whole.
With an understanding of the nature of your industry, you can position your business to withstand the
vagaries of change, to capitalize on drivers and cycles, seize opportunity, and generate market share.
Create a Powerful Mission Statement
Also known as a statement of purpose, your mission statement is a summary that encapsulates your
organization’s aims, values, and overall plan. In essence, your mission statement describes who you are as
a company. It defines your organization, your ambitions, your objectives, and your method of operation.
Developing a mission statement is important because it forces you to distill loosely defined notions and
ideas into a tangible statement that captures what you’re doing today, what you want to do tomorrow, and
how you will do it.
Base your mission statement on a clear and simple structure and make it easy to understand. If you can’t
communicate your basic mission or purpose, how can you hope to build on it or expect your investors or
customers to “get it”? Once established, the mission statement provides a “sanity check” when you’re
tempted to shift directions, stray from your primary purpose, or become captivated by new opportunities.
The Chairman of General Electric, Jack Welch sums up the value of the mission statement in this phrase,
“Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly
drive it to completion.”
Define and Live Your Company Values
Company values, also known as core values—are something we’ve all become familiar with in recent
years. They’re basic, central values that integrate a culture and help distinguish it from others. There are
two ways to make company values meaningful—defining them and living them.
Defining your company values is as simple as considering what you want your company to stand for.
Determine what is acceptable and what is not, and define these things in writing. Revisiting Jack Welch’s
perspective on business, GE’s core values are “Imagine, Solve, Build, and Lead”—bold verbs that express
exactly what it means to be part of GE. Their action-oriented nature not only conveys who GE is as a
company, but also serves to energize GE teams around leading change and driving performance.
What are your company values? Whether they revolve around ethical business practices, a passion for
quality, a focus on innovation, teamwork or integrity, think about the guiding principles that you want to
define your company. Articulate them in a way that resonates with your customers, your employees, your
vendors, and your partners. Then live them every day.
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Align Your Company's Culture with Its Shared
Values and Beliefs
Whether you are aware of it or not, every organization has one.
What is company culture? Webster’s Dictionary defines culture
as “the integrated pattern of human behavior that includes
thought, speech, action, and artifacts and depends on man’s
capacity for learning and transmitting information to
succeeding generations.”
In the business environment, culture is much the same. It’s a
system of shared values and attitudes about how work gets
done and how people and materials are affected. It is a set of
shared beliefs, practices, and assumptions that people base behavior on. A more informal definition
defines company culture as “the way we do things around here.”
However you define it, your company culture matters. It can impact hiring practices, strategy, goal
alignment, motivation, control, and performance. The good news is the planning stage provides a great
opportunity to create a culture that empowers employees, drives revenues, and optimizes your future.
Here’s the key. The individual who leads the company is the only one who can establish values, create a
culture, and set the vision and strategic direction. As you do this, be sure to align your culture with the
type of work you do. Cultures that are right in one context can be disastrous in another. Is yours a
casual, loosely organized group of developers or designers in an environment that encourages
collaboration and innovation? Or, is your culture a hard-driving sales environment that rewards
competition and individual performance?
Here’s another tip. Keep your culture agile. If it’s fluid, it can adapt to changing conditions.
Many people believe strong cultures equate to strong performance. This is true—if the company is
moving in the right direction. If it isn’t, a strong culture simply fast-forwards failure. Check your
compass. Check the strength of your culture. Make sure it supports the work you do. If it doesn’t,
realign to suit your customers, your market, and your offering.
Use the SWOT Analysis to Assess Your Business Status before You
Develop Your Business Plan
SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities,
and Threats. It’s an assessment technique that paints a vivid
picture of how your business stacks up when you consider these
four factors. SWOT is a simple, popular way to gather and use
information in preparing or amending your business plan. It’s
also useful in solving problems, making decisions, and educating
staff when change is necessary. In brief, SWOT means
identifying:
• Strengths: Internal factors such as expertise, innovation, resources
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• Weaknesses: Internal factors such as a high level of debt, labor shortage
• Opportunities: External advantages such as a rapidly growing market where demand outstrips
supply
• Threats: Potential external risks such as competitors undercutting your pricing, natural disasters,
changes in the general business environment
Calculate SWOT and you can quickly identify your venture’s pros and cons. Aligning internal strengths
and weaknesses with external opportunities and threats is essential to sound strategic planning. With
SWOT you know where you stand today and what you need to do by identifying and prioritizing the
issues that will accelerate success or bring it to a screeching halt.
In the planning stages of Jumpstarting your business, SWOT is essential to your business plan—especially
if you’re looking for capital. Why? Investors appreciate any type of analysis that minimizes risk.
Identify Internal and External Factors that Affect Your Progress
The SWOT analysis builds on internal and external factors that together can impact your business
success. To calculate SWOT you need to understand the factors—internal and external—that will affect
your progress.
Internal factors are those within your control that take place within your business environment; for
example, you have on staff the leading experts in your field---a definite advantage. External factors are
general conditions and environmental factors that are outside your control; for example, you run a local
coffee shop and Starbucks is opening a store across the street.
The key is to examine and identify all of these factors, quantify how they can affect your business in the
likelihood that some or all of the factors will come into play, and then develop a contingency plan.
Examine each of the internal and external factors and develop reasonable responses.
Internal Factors:
• Operational Issue: The efficiency of your operation
• Staff and Employees: The loss of a key salesperson or designer
• Capacity: Resources available to match supply with demand
• Cash Flow: The timely flow of revenues to pay financial obligations
• Cost: Costs of Doing Business: Payroll, equipment, rent
• Productivity: Ability to produce desired number of products or level of service within a given
timeframe
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• Machine Reliability and Uptime/Downtime: Assurance that production will continue
according to plan with costly delays or downtime
External Factors:
• The General Business Environment:: Interest rates and demographics
• Economic Change: A sudden deterioration in the geographic or regional market or growth in
the macroeconomic climate
• Industry/Market/Customer Trends
• Changes in the Competitive Landscape
• Technology Trends: Trends can they be used to your advantage.
• Regulatory Environment: Changes that can create opportunity.
• Weather Issues: If you are a tennis-pro, a painter, or a landscaper, long periods of bad weather
can limit revenue-generating opportunities.
• Product Availability: Materials you count on for manufacturing are suddenly impossible to
obtain.
Prepare Financial Projections to Reflect Realistic Assumptions
Projecting the future is a daunting proposition, with or without a crystal ball. When it comes to
jumpstarting your business, though, it’s a challenge you have to face. Fortunately, your financial
projections do not have to be perfectly accurate—they just need to reflect realistic assumptions about
how expected cash flow will service debt.
Financial projections should go out three to five years, providing a "best guess" estimate of how you
expect your venture will fare financially. Investors want numbers, and they want them backed up by solid
reasoning. Also known as pro-forma financial projections are required for startups, acquisitions of
existing companies, or for expansions. When you prepare financial projections, you need to provide best-
and worst-case scenarios. There are several ways to develop financial projections. You can:
• Extrapolate based on historical performance.
• Perform an industry analysis and profile a comparable company.
• Use existing sales commitments to calculate a worst-case scenario.
• Conduct market research to assess market demand for product/service.
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• Make projections based on your own expectations and assumptions.
Whatever method you choose, develop your pro-forma from the top down, projecting revenues against
debt and costs like rent, labor, materials, and services, demonstrating how your anticipated cash flow will
offset your company’s debt.
Avoid an Action Plan that Gathers Dust
Creating a strategic business plan is a great first step. But if your
business plan gathers dust on a shelf, its value is lost. This is
where the action plan comes in. It’s the place where the rubber
meets the road—the catalyst that transforms your business plan
into actionable results.
Your action plan sets priorities and describes the specifics of
implementing your business plan. Long-term and short-term
objectives should be key components of your business plan.
Define your long-term objectives first and then set short-term objectives—baby steps—that break the
larger goal down into easy-to-achieve chunks. Review these mini-goals every three to six months, and
keep checking to see if you’re meeting your objectives.
Use your action plan to define how you’ll operate your business on a day-to-day basis. Address issues
such as how and when you’ll manage research and development, hire employees, serve customers, market
your offering, publicize your company, and work with partners and vendors.
Your action plan should get down to legal brass tacks as well. You need to provide detailed information
about legal preparation and documents. Describe how you’ll obtain trademarks and licenses; rent space
or create a home office; order, install, and maintain equipment; purchase and inventory supplies; market
your business; and distribute products and services. In other words, your action plan turns your business
plan into a game plan that makes it real.
Execute, Execute, Execute Your Action Plan
You’ve established your vision, created a business plan, secured funding, and outlined an action plan.
Now it’s time to act. So how do you execute your action plan? Once you’ve identified your long and
short-term objectives, you’re ready to execute using a baby-steps approach that incrementalizes (now
that's a new word) the entire process. Want to execute your action plan in the simplest, most success-
prone manner?
Try this:
• Create an action plan based on your business plan.
• Review the action plan with your team and solicit feedback.
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• Agree on a strategy and a direction.
• Review your long and short-term objectives.
• Break the objectives down into manageable components.
• Identify required tasks and prioritize them.
• Begin executing against these goals, taking incremental, baby steps.
• Break large tasks down into manageable short-term efforts. As each smaller goal is reached, you’ll
experience a sense of accomplishment and generate momentum and confidence.
• Remember—it’s not necessary to start out by attacking the most important issue if you can get
some little ones out of the way first.
Determine the Components or Mini-Goals of Your Action Plan
Your action plan establishes your priorities, defines the tasks you need to perform, and determines a
realistic timetable for accomplishing the tasks. The actual components of your plan are mini-goals that
may or may not include the following:
• Site Location: Scope out an office site or store location. Plan how you’ll set up and stock your
store or small office/home office.
• Legal Preparation: Prepare bylaws, patents, trademarks, licenses, employment agreements,
customer contracts, and other documents.
• Research and Development: Identify the research that needs to be done, list the necessary steps
to develop your offering, establish your production process including the machinery, supplies and
input you need, prioritize R&D initiatives, set budgets, and establish schedules.
• Hiring People: Determine the new required positions, the process you’ll use to recruit and hire
the expectations, compensation, benefits, hours, functions of the new employee/s.
• Customer Service/Fulfillment: Determine how you will deliver your products/services to your
customers. Via a reseller network? Distributors? Retail stores? Subcontracting? Map out
processes/requirements and forge alliances.
• Sales and Marketing: Decide how you’ll reach customers. Develop a sales and marketing plan
that details marketing materials, web strategy, public relations, and brand development. Identify
selling techniques, targets, regions, and client types. Create a PR plan. Develop business cards,
stationery, website, and brochures.
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• Vendor Relations: Develop a process for selecting suppliers and managing relationships. Set
expectations, develop billing rules, and agree on reporting systems.
• Managing Resources: Set up systems for storing, tracking, and managing resources/inventory,
software, shipping services etc.
• Branding: Determine how you will brand/differentiate your company based on your value
proposition. Build a platform, and determine how you will communicate a unified message across
every point of contact.
Set Short-term Objectives to Achieve Your Ultimate Objective
As an entrepreneur, the shortest distance between you and your dream is setting basic milestones and
concrete objectives in the short and medium term.
As we mentioned, short-term objectives are the bridge between your business plan and your action plan.
And setting up and achieving your ultimate objective means dividing it into smaller, achievable objectives.
You wouldn’t attempt to scale a mountain in a day. Nor should you attempt to achieve your long term
business goal at once.
Instead, break down your ultimate goal into short-term objectives—incremental milestones—that you can
confidently reach and that will help you achieve your long-term goals as painlessly as possible. Here are
just a few examples of short-term objectives:
• Find and rent office space.
• Obtain licenses and certificate of occupancy.
• Purchase and install equipment.
• Hire quality employees.
• Establish work schedules.
• Finalize legal agreements.
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Case Study—Outcome
John and I sat down and laid out a business plan for the company. We talked about John’s personal
goals and objectives, and those he had for the company and its employees. We also crafted a
mission statement, talked about the company’s strategic plan, and discussed the direction that John
felt the industry was headed in the next three to five years.
We then had the same discussion regarding the company that he wanted to acquire. We took a good
look at the cultures of the two companies to find out how congruent they were. We also reviewed an
integration/action plan that addressed important questions such as, how would the two companies
merge---would they continue to coexist, or would they operate out of one facility? And, if there was a
duplication of administrative effort, how could we solve this issue.
John had never really considered this important issue: If he were to acquire the company, the
acquisition would have to make good sense---logistically, synergistically--- even before John looked at
the viability of the acquisition financially.
Once he analyzed the situation, John realized that he really didn’t have the resources to take over an
additional operation at the time, nor did he feel that the business would fit in culturally with his own.
He did, however, confirm his intent to acquire a competitor’s company in the future.
This exercise allowed us to document and formalize the company’s goals and objectives. It also
provided a roadmap for investigating other opportunities. Six months later, John made his first
acquisition with the bank’s blessing. Looking back on the entire experience, John realized that, if he
had gone through with the first acquisition, it could very easily have put him out of business.
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Why Stop Here…
7 More Information-Packed Chapters Await You…
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R E F E R E N C E S
References
References
Great Resources are the Backbone of any Great Book
R
Chapter 2: Planning
Corporate Culture and Performance, John P. Kotter
Corporate Cultures, Terence E. Deal, and Allan A. Kennedy
The Successful Business Plan, Secrets, and Strategies, Eugene Kleiner
The Entrepreneur Guidebook for Success, Kaleil Isaza Tuzman
The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Finance and Business: Wealth Creation
Techniques for Growing a Business, Steve Rogers
Beyond Entrepreneurship, Turning your business into an enduring great
company James C. Collins, William C. Lazier
Entrepreneur Magazine, an Introduction to Business Plans, Laura Tiffany, March 2001
Chapter 3: Formation
Essentials of Entrepreneurship, What it takes to create successful enterprises,
collaboration of 60 experts
The Entrepreneurial Mindset, Strategies for continuously creating opportunity
in an age of uncertainty, Rita Gunther McGrath
Growing Pains, Transitioning from an Entrepreneurship to a Professionally
Managed Firm, Eric G. Flamholtz, and Yvonne Randle
SBA: Entrepreneurial Risk and Market Entry, a Working Paper by Brian Wu,
The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and Anne Marie Knott, Robert H. Smith School of
Business, U of Maryland, Vienna, Virginia
SBA: The Small Business Economy, a Report to the President, 2004
Entrepreneur Magazine, Think like an Entrepreneur, Michael Gerber, December 2004
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R E F E R E N C E S
Chapter 4: Transitions
Business Plans that Win Venture Capital, Terence P. McGarty
Beyond Entrepreneurship: Turning Your Business into an Enduring Great
Company James C. Collins, William C. Lazier
Growing Pains: Transitioning from an Entrepreneurship to a Professionally
Managed Firm, Eric G. Flamholtz and Yvonne Randle
Entrepreneur Magazine, Operations, and Management Plans Surfing the Edge
of Chaos, Richard Pascale, Mark Milleman, Linda Gioja
Chapter 5: Finance and Accounting
The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Finance and Business. Wealth Creation
Techniques for Growing a Business, Steve Rogers
Venture Capital, The Definitive Guide for Entrepreneurs, Investors, and
Practitioners, Joel Cardis, Sam Kirschner, Stan Richelson, Jason Kirschner,
Hildy Richelson
Fundamentals of Venture Capital, Joseph W. Bartlett
Accounting and Finance for Your Small Business, E. James Burton and
Steven M. Bragg
Accounting and Finance Fundamentals for Non-financial Executives, Robert Rachlin and Allen Sweeny
Start Your Own Business: The Only Start-Up Book You’ll Ever Need, Rieva Lesonsky and the Staff of
Entrepreneur Magazine, © 1998 Entrepreneur Press
Entrepreneur Magazine: How to Better Manage Your Cash Flow, December 2003
Entrepreneur Magazine: The Truth about Venture Capital, Paul De Ceglei, February 2000
Ohio State University Fact Sheet, Community Development, 700 Ackerman Road, Suite 235, Columbus, OH 43202-
1578
Chapter 6: Stakeholders
Leadership and Self-Deception, Getting Out of the Box, The Arbinger Institute
Get Them on Your Side, Samuel B. Bacharach
Entrepreneurial Transitions: From Entrepreneurial Genius to Visionary Leader,
Roy Cammarano
Growing Pains, Transitioning from an Entrepreneurship to a Professionally
Managed Firm, Eric G. Glamholtz & Yvonne Randle
Beyond Entrepreneurship: Turning Your Business into an Enduring Great
Company, James C. Collins, William C. Lazier
The Entrepreneur’s Success Kit, Kaleil Isaza Tuzman
Thinking Out of the Box: How to Market Your Company into the Future, Kathy C. Yohalem, February 1997, John
Wiley & Sons
Entrepreneur Magazine, Keep Your Banker Informed, Keith Lowe, April 2002
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Chapter 7: Operations
Execution, The Discipline of Getting Things Done, Larry Bossidy and
Ram Charan
The Ultimate Small Business Guide, a Resource for Startups and Growing
Businesses
The E Myth Revisited, Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What
to Do About It, Michael E. Gerber
Growing Pains, Transitioning from an Entrepreneurship to a Professionally
Managed Firm, Eric G. Glamholtz & Yvonne Randle
Beyond Entrepreneurship: Turning Your Business into an Enduring Great Company, James C. Collins,
William C. Lazier
The Entrepreneur’s Success Kit, Kaleil Isaza Tuzman
Entrepreneur Magazine, Selecting the Best Manager, David G. Javitch. July 4, 2005
Entrepreneur Magazine, Top-Heavy Nichole L. Torres, January 2004,
Entrepreneur Magazine, Owning Up, Mark Henrick, August 2003
Entrepreneur Magazine, How Efficient is Your Workspace? Sue McMillin, July 2002
Entrepreneur Magazine, To Lease or not to lease, Jill Amadio, February 1998
Chapter 8: Sales and Marketing
The Ultimate Small Business Guide, a Resource for Startups and Growing
Businesses
The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Finance and Business, Wealth Creation
Techniques for Growing a Business, Steven Rogers
The E Myth Revisited, Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to
Do About It, Michael E. Gerber
Growing Pains, Transitioning from an Entrepreneurship to a Professionally
Managed Firm, Eric G. Glamholtz & Yvonne Randle
The Entrepreneur’s Success Kit, Kaleil Isaza Tuzman
The Stakeholder Strategy, Profiting from Collaborative Business Relationship, Ann Svendsen
Managing Customer Relationships: A Strategic Framework, Don Peppers, Martha Rogers
Surfing on the Edge of Chaos, Richard Pascale, Mark Millemann and Linda Gioja
Customer Relationship Management (The Briefcase Book Series) Kristin L. Anderson, Carol J. Kerr
Entrepreneur Magazine, The Middle of the Road: Strike a perfect balance when setting your prices to
make a higher profit, Jacquelyn Lynn, December 1996
Entrepreneur Magazine, Building Customer Relationships, January 2001, Kim T. Gordon
Entrepreneur Magazine, Your community needs you, but what—and—where is it? February 2001
Entrepreneur Magazine. Learn Your Unique Selling Proposition.
Every business has something that makes it unique February 04, 2002
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Chapter 9: Resources
The Ultimate Small Business Guide, a Resource for Startups and Growing
Businesses
Entrepreneur Magazine, Help for Business Owners, February 11, 2002,
Jane Applegate
Business Start-Ups Magazine, Team Effort: Put Uncle Sam in your corner with free
help from the SBA April 1998, Karen Roy
Why Stop Here…
Implement Jumpstart Business Tactics in Your Business with the
Personal Help of Terry H. Hill as Your Business Mentor…
Check out One-to-One Mentoring with Terry!
Or, learn more about Terry's Start-Smart Mentoring Groups!
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Profile
Terry H. Hill THH
An Entrepreneur's Mentor
Terry H. Hill is the founder and Managing Partner of Legacy
Associates, Inc. a small business consulting services firm and its parent
company, Training for Entrepreneurs.com. Mr. Hill is a veteran chief
executive. His three decades of work with business owners of privately-held
companies has been instrumental in helping them deal with the challenges
they face in each stage of their business life cycle. Mr. Hill is the author of the
book, How to Jumpstart Your Business, a practical guide for down-to-earth
answers to questions and challenges that every business owner faces. Mr. Hill
writes regularly about a variety of business topics. His writings appear in the firm's weekly Business Insights
Blog and Tech for Business Blog as well as numerous other business publications.
Mr. Hill is the co-creator of and the mentor/instructor for the Training for Entrepreneurs.com
suite of e-Learning business soft skills training courses and virtual mentoring programs.
The TFE Get-Business-Smart Series of Group Mentoring Programs includes: The Start-Smart
Mentoring Program is for individuals who need guidance with starting their new business; Grow-Smart
Mentoring Program is for individuals who need guidance with growing their existing business; Plan-Smart
Mentoring Program is for individuals who want to learn and implement practice-proven strategic planning,
thinking, and managing methods; Brand-Smart Mentoring Program is for individuals who want to learn and
incorporate high-impact branding and marketing strategies that will generate a rich flow of new business
opportunities; and Exit-Smart Mentoring Program is for business owners who want to maximizes the value
of their business at the time of their exit.
The GO SAMMY Strategy System™ is a strategy development and implementation program for
business owners and executives who aspire to achieve extraordinary results. The program
provides a set of critical and tactical actions that helps owners/executives make better decisions. The GO
SAMMY Strategy System™ focuses on combining “practice-proven” strategic planning, thinking, and
managing methods with new insights and ideas for break-away-from-business-as-usual strategies. The
GO SAMMY™ key strategies are based on time-tested strategic planning approaches, on decades of
hands-on entrepreneurial experiences, and on best-in-class business practices. GO SAMMY Strategy
System™ training is available via the TFE Plan-Smart Virtual Mentoring Program. The weekly series of virtual
mentoring sessions are packed with "no-nonsense" tips, tools, and tactics that will help you to implement
the key strategies of GO Sammy in your business.
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The YOU ADVANTAGE Marketing System™ is a highly-effective marketing process that
optimizes an individual’s own unique business acumen and leverages his existing knowledge,
prior experiences, and personal/business contacts in such a way as to position him as an expert
in their particular field. We call this process — establishing you as the expert – The YOU Factor.
The YOU Factor influences and encourages people to want to do business with you. Every week,
throughout the TFE Brand-Smart Virtual Mentoring Program, Terry will demonstrate how to incorporate
high-impact YOU-ADVANTAGE Marketing System™ strategies that will generate a rich flow of new
business opportunities. Terry expertly guides you in the use of the most effective marketing tools and
tactics that can help your business venture not only survive, but also grow!
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Profile
Training for Entrepreneurs.com TFE
An Online Small Business Community for Business Skills
Training, Virtual Mentoring, and Networking Opportunities
Training for Entrepreneurs.com (TFE) is a knowledge and relationship
development website of Legacy Associates, Inc. Legacy Associates is a small
business consulting and management services firm located in Lakewood Ranch,
Florida, USA. TFE serves the world-wide web in three primary areas: Facilitators of a
web-based entrepreneurial development community, Creators & Publishers of educational
content for small businesses, and Trainers & Mentors of online e-Learning courses and
virtual mentoring programs.
As Facilitators of a Web-based Entrepreneurial Development Community, Training for
Entrepreneurs.com (TFE) manages an online small business resource center and membership
community that affords its members access to digital content that is presented in text, graphics,
audio, and video formats. The TFE online community of paid members are entitled to secured-access
(password-protected) to the TFE Content Vault that contains an assortment of valuable content
(assessment tools, audio and video clips, special reports, white papers, article library, premium blog, and
podcast content). Additionally, TFE manages the members' community discussion forums -- TFE
Business Chat Forums as well as the community's online business directory TFE Marketplace Directory.
As Publishers of Educational Content for Small Businesses, Training for Entrepreneurs.com
(TFE) creates, develops, and publishes business informational and instructional content which
includes: articles and insights for both the Business Insights Blog and Tech for Business Blog; pre-recorded
audio programs for the Business Talk Podcast Series; live instructional presentations for the Being at the Top of
Your Game Webinar Series; instructor-narrated, self-paced e-Learning courses for the TFE Skills Training
Courses; instructional material for TFE Virtual Classroom Mentoring Programs; and the Select Insider Members'
Newsletter.
As Trainers & Mentors of Online e-Learning Courses and Virtual Mentoring Programs, Training
for Entrepreneurs.com (TFE) trainers teach a series of online, interactive business soft skills
training and certification e-Learning courses in personal productivity, leadership skills, time management,
interpersonal skills, creative problem solving, managing conflict, project management, strategic management, presentation
skills, change management, customer driven organization, and negotiation skills.
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Training for Entrepreneur.com Virtual Mentoring is a series of individual and group enrichment
programs for aspiring entrepreneurs, owners, executives, and independent professionals that are
associated with small business enterprises. The TFE Virtual Mentoring Programs are facilitated by a
highly-experienced senior business executive who performs the dual role of acting as both a business
mentor and general business advisor. Based on years of personal business experiences, the TFE Business
Mentor is a valuable source for business information and is a sounding board for ideas, strategies, and
plans.
The TFE Virtual Mentoring Programs are based on a blended learning approach. This blended
learning approach is a combination of virtual interactive classroom sessions, a variety of business activity
exercises, and instructional strategies via alternative communication media.
Training for Entrepreneurs.com offers two (2) Virtual Mentoring Program options: Individual
and Group.
The TFE One-to-One Virtual Mentoring Program is a fee-based, month-to-month service that
focuses entirely on the individual's specific business issues and challenges.
Learn more and enroll in TFE One-to-One Mentoring!
Each Program within the TFE Virtual Group Mentoring Series is priced individually. The TFE
Get-Business-Smart Series of Group Mentoring Programs include:
• Work-Smart Mentoring Program: For individuals who want to become more super
productive.
• Start-Smart Mentoring Program: For individuals who need guidance with starting their new
business.
• Grow-Smart Mentoring Program: For individuals who need guidance with growing their
existing business.
• Plan-Smart Mentoring Program: For individuals who want to learn and implement practice-
proven strategic planning, thinking, and managing methods.
• Brand-Smart Mentoring Program: For individuals who want to learn and incorporate high-
impact branding and marketing strategies which generate a rich flow of new business
opportunities.
• Exit-Smart Mentoring Program: For business owners who want to maximizes the value of
their business at the time of their exit.
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Both the TFE individual and group mentoring benefit business owners and executives because
they help them apply their business knowledge and help them master specific business skills –
tactics, techniques, and strategies that are critical to business development. Acquiring specific
knowledge and skills, and interacting with a TFE Business Mentor, helps individuals gain confidence that
will advance their business development success.
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