Getting Started in Small Business For Dummies

Table of Contents:
Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Foolish Assumptions 2 Icons Used in This Book 2 Where to Go from Here 3 Chapter 1: Is Small Business for You? 5 Working for Yourself — A Dream Come True? 6 Doing what you love to do 6 Earning pots of money (here’s hoping) 6 Being your own boss 7 Staying home 8 Working for Yourself — Reality Strikes 8 Teetering on the edge 8 Working night and day for little pay 9 Weathering feast and famine 10 Factoring Yourself Into the Whole Deal 11 Staying Safe or Inventing the Wheel? 12 Playing it safe 13 Finding your own niche 14 Going out on a limb 15 Getting Clued Up 19 Joining the community 19 Seeking government advice 19 Believing in Yourself 21 Chapter 2: Finding the Path that Works for You 23 Deciding What Path You Want to Take 24 Doing the thing you love to do 25 Getting help and delegating what you can 26 Building a business that’s separate from you 27 Creating a system for business 29 Wearing Different Hats 30 Building a Business with a Life of its Own 32 Defining your difference 32 Documenting and building systems 34 Setting goals for you and your business 36 Planning for a graceful exit 37 Appreciating the Limitations of Your Business 37 Chapter 3: Creating Your First Business Plan 41 Getting Started with Your Plan 42 Step One: Describing Your Business 44 Setting off on your mission 44 Saying what you’re about 45 Step Two: Assessing the Environment 45 Analysing outside influences 46 Justifying market demand 48 Assessing your competitors 48 Staying alert to future threats 50 Spotting opportunities 52 Rating your strengths and weakness 52 Step Three: Plotting Your Plan 54 Connecting the dots 54 Identifying your secret weapon 56 Checking you’ve got the goods 58 Picking one competitive strategy (yes, only one!) 59 Step Four: Selling Your Marketing Plan 60 Step Five: Describing Your Dream Team 61 Step Six: Presenting Financials 62 Chapter 4: Getting the Legals Right 65 Picking a Business Structure 65 Independent and single 67 Tea for two 67 We’ve got company 68 Matching the Name to the Game 69 Using your own name 70 Thinking about how others will find you 70 Making sure you’re not on someone else’s patch 71 Checking for trademarks 72 Registering your business name 73 Avoiding trouble 73 Protecting Your Brand 74 Registering trademarks 74 Protecting other kinds of intellectual property 75 Registering with the Powers That Be 75 Getting that baby’s number 76 Signing up for taxes (unavoidable, I’m afraid) 76 Checking out what else you need 77 Working with Contracts 78 Understanding when you’re legally bound 78 Dealing with standard form contracts 79 Knowing what to look for in a contract 80 Signing on the dotted line 82 Negotiating Lease Contracts 83 Chapter 5: Projecting Your Profits 87 Forecasting Sales for a New Business 87 Understanding Costs 89 Costing services 90 Costing items that you buy and sell 91 Costing items that you make 91 Forecasting Expenses 93 Forecasting expenses for the year ahead 93 Allowing for loan repayments and interest 95 Building Profit Projections 97 Step one: Starting with sales 97 Step two: Adding variable costs 97 Step three: Showing gross profit 99 Step four: Revealing the bottom line 100 Chapter 6: Marketing With Your Heart on Your Sleeve 103 Laying Down the Elements of Your Plan 104 Going to the heart of the matter 105 Expressing your difference 105 Defining Who Your Customers Are 106 Analysing your customers 107 Understanding what it is your customers really want 108 Thinking creatively about channels 108 Researching the market 109 Analysing Your Competitors 111 Setting Sales Targets 112 Slicing goals into bite-sized chunks 112 Expressing goals in other ways 113 Building Sales Strategies 115 Growing a brand that people want 115 Pricing things right 116 Defining your social media strategy 117 Engaging customers and building trust 118 Expanding Your Reach Offline 120 Networking (yes, actually in person) 120 Investing in public relations 121 Creating marketing alliances 122 Keeping Yourself Honest 122 Measuring your speed 122 Monitoring customer satisfaction (CSAT) 122 Setting goals for customer retention 123 Tracking conversion rates 124 Chapter 7: Hiring Your First Employee 125 Becoming an Employer: The First Steps 125 Getting employees to fulfil their part of the deal 126 Covering employees for accidents 127 Ensuring your software is up to speed 128 Subscribing to super 129 Meeting Minimum Pay and Conditions 131 Understanding what laws apply 132 Choosing between part-time, full-time or casual 133 Playing Safe and Playing Fair 135 Being practical, not pedantic 135 Blonde jokes are over 136 Creating a Positive Workplace 138 Aiming for more 138 Rewarding with more than money 139 Chapter 8: Tracking Every Dollar 141 Figuring How Often to Do the Deed 142 Doing your books just once in a while 142 Doing your books regularly 143 Choosing Software that Fits 144 Creating Recordkeeping Systems 146 Keeping track of income 147 Tracking expenses 147 Treating receipts with respect 148 Storing your business records 149 Doing the bare basics 149 Reporting for business 151 Keeping Track of How Much You’re Owed 152 Asking nicely 153 Getting drastic 154 Meeting Bookkeeping Deadlines 156 Budgeting for Tax 157 Planning for that difficult second year 158 Budgeting for personal tax 158 Budgeting for GST and PAYG 159 Owning up if you’re short on cash 160 Chapter 9: Ten Tips For Getting Ahead 161 Focus on What Works 161 Remember You Need to Eat 162 Balance Reality against Ambition 163 Manage Growth Carefully 163 Play the Percentage Game 164 Recruit Staff Super Carefully 165 Deliver on Your Promises 165 Create a Customer Service Culture 166 Ask for (and Listen to) Feedback 167 Plan to Sell, Right from the Start 168 Index 171

About the Author :
Veechi Curtis is a qualified accountant and consultant who loves the challenges and rewards of building successful businesses. She is the author of Bookkeeping For Dummies, MYOB® Software For Dummies and Creating a Business Plan For Dummies.