Running Your Own Business Made Easy

Table of Contents:
About the author vi Introduction vii 1 Is running a business for you? 1 Self-assessment questionnaire 3 Assessment results 4 Personal objectives and assessing risk 6 Seeking a business idea 8 If your business is specialised 9 Putting down the right foundations 11 Turning dreams into realities 12 2 Will your ideas work? 15 Field research 18 Interpreting market information 21 Knowing who your customers are 22 Pricing your goods or services 24 Learning about competitors 25 Finding your market 26 Using a market research agency 28 The nuts and bolts of marketing 29 3 Promoting and selling your wares 31 Getting your business noticed 32 Newspapers and magazines 33 Radio and TV advertising 36 Your unique selling point 37 Point of sale advertising 38 Direct mail 39 Writing a sales letter 41 Brochures 42 Designing a website 44 Designing your firm's image 45 Getting customers to buy 46 Terms of trade 49 Looking after existing customers 50 Every business needs a customer service agenda 51 Dealing with customer complaints 53 What about the customer from hell? 54 4 Do you have sufficient resources? 57 Operations 58 Premises 59 Fire protection 61 Managing waste 61 Equipment 62 Health and safety 64 Reporting accidents 65 Stock and suppliers 65 Key personnel and skill shortages 67 Training 69 Getting the most from your resources 70 5 Recruiting and managing staff 71 Recruiting employees 72 Job descriptions 73 Employment contracts 75 Conducting staff appraisals 77 Managing performance 80 Disciplinary and grievance procedures 83 Letting people go 86 Staff handbooks 89 6 Being in control 91 Survival income 92 Cash flow forecasting 94 Notes on the cash flow forecast 96 Profit and loss forecasting 97 Notes on the profit and loss forecast 100 Understanding book-keeping 100 Sales ledger management 104 Summing up your finances 108 Knowing your business 108 Data protection 111 7 Funding your business 113 How much do you really need? 116 Where to raise capital 117 Unconventional financing 119 What a factor can do for you 120 What leasing or contract hire can do for you 120 Finance for the small exporter 121 Grants and the Small Firms Loan Guarantee scheme 122 Analysing your business funding 123 8 Structuring your business plan 125 Why you need a business plan 126 Basic ingredients 127 Constructing your business plan 128 Mission statements 129 Practical steps to get you started 131 Choosing the right name 132 Business plan digest 133 9 Tax and other things 135 Preventing money laundering 138 Insurance 139 Compulsory insurance 139 Non-compulsory insurance 140 Forms of trading 141 Help and advice 144 Time to recollect 146 Further sources of information 146 Accounting and credit 147 Finance 148 Franchising 148 General business 148 Legal 148 Research 148 Appendix 149 Index 167

About the Author :
Roy Hedges is a freelance writer, entrepreneur and consultant. His practical business guides draw on extensive hands-on experience of starting up, buying and selling businesses himself, ranging from retail grocery outlets to garages and property. His career as an entrepreneur peaked when a firm of bankers' agents that he started grew into a finance company with seven branches, offering trade and consumer finance facilities, before becoming a bank. From this subsidiary, insurance, property and leasing companies emerged. Later, he was to become one of the founding directors of London Trust Securities and Equilease Commercial Finance Ltd. More recently, Roy has been a director of a leading management consultancy and a board member of the leasing subsidiary of a major trade financier and invoice discounter. Besides addressing manufacturing and trade association gatherings and small business forums on various business topics, he lectures in business studies at Havering College of Further Education and has broadcast on BBC Radio Essex.