Foreword xiiiIntroduction xv1 Small-Business Hell 12 So You Want to Be a Small-BusinessEntrepreneur? 91. Risks 112. Are You a Self-Starter and a Hard Worker? 113. Leadership 124. Your Specific Field of Expertise 125. Sell, Sell, Sell 136. Accounting and Financials 137. Responsible and Reliable 138. Life Changing Commitment 149. Money 1410. Challenges and Heartaches 15vi Avoid Small-Business Hell3 Prepare a Business Plan 191. Financial Projections 201.1 Balance sheet 211.2 Statement of earnings and retained earnings 212. Write Your Business Plan 243. Financing 274 Meeting Your Customers' Objectives 315 Faster, Cheaper, Better 391. Faster 412. Cheaper 413. Better 424. Good Project Management Will Help You AchieveFaster, Cheaper, Better 425. Managing the Project Process 426 Sales 471. Can You Sell? 492. Top Ten Ways to Sell Your Product and/or Service 522.1 Repeat business 522.2 Social media and word of mouth 532.3 Referrals 532.4 Websites 532.5 Personal sales calls 542.6 Advertising 542.7 Community involvement and special events 542.8 Agencies 542.9 Sales staff 552.10 Responding to customer requests 557 The Importance of Quality Productsand Services 571. Make Your Brand Recognizable 59Contents vii8 Employees 611. Preparing a Job Description 632. Be Thorough in the Interview 663. The Relationship between the Employer and Employees 689 Account for It 711. Hire Someone to Help You 712. Invoicing and Collections 733. General Accounting 744. Banking 745. Costing 776. Asset Management 787. Financial Reporting 798. Cash Flow 8010 Suppliers 831. Supplier Credit 8611 Partnerships 8912 Competition 9513 Risks 991. Identify the Risks 1002. Selling It Risks 1002.1 Misunderstanding customers' buying objectives 1002.2 Customer misunderstandings about objectivesand pricing 1012.3 Underestimating the cost of what you are selling 1012.4 Bidding too low 1012.5 Lack of understanding of complexity andunforeseen conditions 1012.6 Lack of resources to undertake your commitments 1022.7 Issues with subcontractors and suppliers 1022.8 Unscrupulous customers 1022.9 Poor relationship with the customer 102viii Avoid Small-Business Hell2.10 Lack of vision 1033. Cost Risks 1033.1 Not meeting your customers' buying objectives 1033.2 Sale mismanagement 1033.3 Not providing Faster, Cheaper, Better service 1043.4 Not producing the product or service for lessthan you sold it for 1043.5 Inaccurate and unreliable cost-tocompleteestimates 1044. Account for It Risks 1054.1 Undercapitalization 1054.2 Not getting paid by your customer on schedule 1054.3 The customer has financial difficulties 1054.4 Personnel problems 1064.5 Inaccurate and unreliable cost reporting 10614 Family 10715 Succession Planning 1111. Family 1112. Partnerships 1153. Sale of the Business 1164. Employee Buyout 1185. Business Wrap Up 1186. Valuing Your Small Business 11916 Small-Business Hell for the Small-Business Entrepreneur 12317 Small-Business Hell for theSmall-Business Entrepreneur 12718 Making Money 1331. What Happens to the Profits in Your Company? 134Conclusion 137Download Kit 139Contents ixSamples1 Statement of Earnings 222 Balance Sheet 233 Sources of Capital and the Implications of Each Source 284 Job Description and Duties 645 Job Posting 666 Cash-Flow Statement with All Accounts ReceivableCollected on Time 817 Cash-Flow Statement with Some Accounts ReceivablesNot Collected on Time 82Worksheets1 Are You Suited to Be a Small-Business Entrepreneur? 162 Are You Ready to Make Personal Sacrifices? 17
