Rhonda Abrams

For over 15 years, Rhonda Abrams has provided business planning expertise to literally hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs and businesses. She is the author of the bestselling The Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies. Rhonda’s weekly newspaper column, “Small Business Strategies,” is America's most widely-read column about entrepreneurship, reaching more than 20 million readers through 130 newspapers.
 

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This book is for you if:
- You're currently in the process of starting your own business and want to get things done as efficiently as possible, yet still do them right.
- You want to make certain you take care of all the details of getting a business underway, organize the process, and get some good advice.
- You're going to start a business soon and need a plan on how to go about it.
- You have an idea for a business but don't know where to start.
- You already run a business but would like to improve operations, marketing, and/or take care of essential aspects of growing a company.
- You're a student in an entrepreneurship or small business class and need to launch a complete business in a limited time period.

Six-Week Start Up follows the following topics:

Week 1: Lay the Foundation

(includes identifying personal goals, identifying your strategic position, what are your business values, choosing your company name)

Week 2: Get the Information You Need

(includes contacting industry associations, defining your target market, identifying your competitors and finding suppliers)

Week 3: Cut Through Red Tape

(includes company structure, tax issues, intellectual property, use of sub-contractors and employment law)

Week 4: Take Care of Operations

(includes rent space, home office working, production processes, IT, getting online)

Week 5: Deal With Money Issues

(includes dealing with accountants, credit, bank accounts, financial forecasting)

Week 6: Open Your Doors

(includes developing your marketing plan, the elevator pitch, making sales)

Do you hate attending networking events? Do you hide at the back of the room when you have the opportunity to present your business? Are you uncomfortable approaching people you don't know? Does the thought of speaking in public fill you with dread? If so, then you share anxieties in common with almost everyone who has ever worked and had to present themselves in a formal setting. In 1984 a New York Times Survey on Social Anxiety placed death third in the list of people's biggest fears. The top two responses were walking into a room full of strangers and speaking in public. Winning Presentation In A Day will help you overcome your fears and deliver a powerful message, every time.

Understanding how to give a winning presentation is an absolute necessity in today's world. Sooner or later, everyone has to give a presentation, whether at work (a sales call, a briefing to the boss, participating in a seminar) or in personal life (a class report, speaking at a community organization). Yet the idea of getting up in front of others is absolutely terrifying for many people. This handy guide shows readers how to overcome their fear and create a great presentation quickly and easily. This book covers all the most important aspects of developing and delivering a successful presentation, including content; organizing an effective message; delivery techniques, including pacing, humour, statistics, and storytelling; handouts, graphs, charts, and other tools; managing the Q&A; making a good impression; and conquering stage fright. Also included are equipment tips and techniques for videoconferences and teleconferences.

From The Planning Shop website www.theplanningshop.com

At the Planning Shop, we have one goal: helping you develop a successful business plan for a successful business.

Our mission is to be the number one provider of business planning resources for the serious entrepreneur. Our books and products are based on years of real-world experience, sharing insight and adviceĀ­-secrets and strategies-from entrepreneurs, funding sources, CEOs, strategic partners and more-with our readers.

In the US, hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs have used The Successful Business Plan to develop their business plans. It's widely adopted by business schools; tens of thousands of MBA students have used it to create business plans and to enter business plan competitions.

Entrepreneurs throughout the world have turned to The Successful Business Plan to guide their business development. USAID programs (United States Agency for International Development) adopted it to assist novice entrepreneurs emerging from Communist rule; entrepreneurs and students in places as far apart as Thailand, Ghana, Greece, Uruguay and even Afghanistan use it.

The ultimate purpose of developing a business plan is to have a successful business. In the long run, it is fruitless to write a business plan that can raise the funds you seek if your enterprise is so poorly conceived it is bound to fail. So a successful business plan should address the long-term needs of your business and devise strategies that enhance both the overall performance of your company and your personal satisfaction.

Table of contents:

Section I Starting the Process
The Successful Business
Getting Your Plan Started
Making Your Plan Compelling

Section II Business Plan Components The Executive Summary
Company Description
Industry Analysis & Trends
Target Markets
Competition
Strategic Position & Risk Assessment
Marketing Plan & Sales Strategy
Operations
Technology Plan
Management & Organisation
Community Involvement & Social Responsibility
Development, Milestones & Exit Plan
The Financials
The Plan's Appendix

Section III Putting the Plan to Work
Preparing, Presenting & Sending Out Your Plan
Looking for Money
Using Your Plan for Classes & Competitions
Internal Planning for Existing Businesses & Corporations
Time Saving Tips

Section IV Special Considerations
Considerations for Internet, "e-businesses"
Considerations for Retailers
Considerations for Manufacturers
Considerations for Service Businesses

Section V Reference
Outline of a Business Plan
Business Terms Glossary
Funding Sources
Research Sources Entrepreneur's Sources

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