Starting a Business All-in-One For Dummies (For Dummies (Business & Personal Finance))

Introduction
	About This Book
	Foolish Assumptions
	Icons Used in This Book
	Where to Go from Here
Book 1: Moving from Idea to Reality
	Chapter 1: Your Business in Context
		An Overview of Feasibility Analysis
		Understanding Your Industry
		Researching an Industry
		Defining Your Market Niche
		Zeroing In on a Brand-New Product
	Chapter 2: Refining and Defining Your Business Idea
		Recognizing the Power of a Good Idea
		Brainstorming New Business Ideas
		Identifying Business Opportunities
		Putting a Promising Idea to the Test
	Chapter 3: Creating a Business Model
		Identifying Who Needs a Business Model
		Common Aspects of All Business Models
		Business Models in Their Simplest Form
		Examples of Business Models
		Finding Success with a Business Model
	Chapter 4: Finding Your Target Market
		Gauging the Target Market
		Determining Industry Attractiveness
		Looking for Niche Attractiveness
		Checking Out Customer Attractiveness
		Finding Your Place on the Industry Value Chain
	Chapter 5: Considering a Franchise
		Understanding What a Franchise Is
		Recognizing the Importance of Brands in Franchising
		Identifying the Three Types of Franchising
		Being Aware of the Roles and Goals of Franchisors and Franchisees
		Reviewing Franchise Relationships
		Nuances of the Franchisor/Franchisee Relationship
		Considering the Pros and Cons of Franchising
Book 2: Planning for Your Business
	Chapter 1: Writing a Business Plan
		Selling Yourself on the Importance of Business Planning
		The Anatomy of a Business Plan
		Setting Out Your Planning Objectives
		Identifying Your Business Plan Audiences and Key Messages
		Establishing Your Plan’s Time Frame
		Preparing for the Real World
	Chapter 2: Finding the Funding
		Starting with a Plan
		Tapping Friends and Family
		Finding an Angel
		Daring to Use Venture Capital
		Selling Stock to the Public: An IPO
		Finding Other Ways to Finance Growth
		Guarding Your Interests
	Chapter 3: Setting Your Franchise’s Wheels in Motion
		Surveying Your Options for Locale
		Finding Your Franchise’s Habitat
		Protected Areas, Exclusive Areas, and Encroachment Policies
		Signing the Lease
		Meeting Your Franchise’s Requirements
		Getting the Goods: Merchandise and Supplies
		Receiving Merchandise
		Maintaining Inventory
		Getting Good Training for Yourself and Your Management
	Chapter 4: Starting a Home-Based Business
		Looking at the Basics of Home-Based Business
		Examining the Good News and the Bad
		Taking the Home-Based Business Quiz
		Starting Something from Scratch
		Transitioning into Your Home-Based Business
	Chapter 5: Creating an Online Presence for Your Business
		Feng Shui-ing Your Website
		Creating Content That Attracts Customers
		Nip and Tuck: Establishing a Visual Identity
		Inviting Comments from Customers
		Moving from Website to Web Presence
	Chapter 6: Starting with the Right Legal Structure
		Introducing the Legal Business Classifications
		Going It Alone: The Sole Proprietorship
		Choosing a Partner: The Partnership
		Going for the Gold: The Corporation
		Offering Flexibility: The S Corporation, the LLC, and the Nonprofit Corporation
		Benchmarking Your Best Choice
Book 3: Handling Your Finances
	Chapter 1: Setting Up the Books
		Bookkeepers: The Record Keepers of the Business World
		Wading through Basic Bookkeeping Lingo
		Pedaling through the Accounting Cycle
		Tackling the Big Decision: Cash-Basis or Accrual Accounting
		Seeing Double with Double-Entry Bookkeeping
		Differentiating Debits and Credits
		Outlining Your Financial Road Map with a Chart of Accounts
		Starting with the Balance Sheet Accounts
		Tracking the Income Statement Accounts
		Setting Up Your Chart of Accounts
	Chapter 2: Reporting Profit or Loss in the Income Statement
		Presenting Typical Income Statements
		Taking Care of Housekeeping Details
		Being an Active Reader
		Deconstructing Profit
		Pinpointing the Assets and Liabilities Used to Record Revenue and Expenses
		Reporting Unusual Gains and Losses
		Watching for Misconceptions and Misleading Reports
	Chapter 3: Showing Financial Condition in the Balance Sheet
		Expanding the Accounting Equation
		Presenting a Proper Balance Sheet
		Judging Liquidity and Solvency
		Understanding That Transactions Drive the Balance Sheet
		Sizing Up Assets and Liabilities
		Financing a Business: Sources of Cash and Capital
		Recognizing the Hodgepodge of Values Reported in a Balance Sheet
	Chapter 4: Reporting Cash Sources and Uses in the Statement of Cash Flows
		Meeting the Statement of Cash Flows
		Explaining the Variance between Cash Flow and Net Income
		Sailing through the Rest of the Statement of Cash Flows
		Pinning Down “Free Cash Flow”
		Looking at Limitations of the Statement of Cash Flows
	Chapter 5: Controlling Costs and Budgeting
		Getting in the Right Frame of Mind
		Getting Down to Business
		Looking into Cost of Goods Sold Expense
		Focusing on Profit Centers
		Reducing Your Costs
		Deciding Where the Budgeting Process Starts
		Homing In on Budgeting Tools
		Preparing an Actual Budget or Forecast
		Understanding Internal versus External Budgets
		Creating a Living Budget
		Using the Budget as a Business-Management Tool
		Using Budgets in Other Ways
	Chapter 6: Satisfying the Tax Man
		Tax Reporting for Sole Proprietors
		Filing Tax Forms for Partnerships
		Paying Corporate Taxes
		Taking Care of Sales Taxes Obligations
		Keeping Up with and Researching Tax Strategies and Rules
		Paying for Tax Help
Book 4: Managing Your Business
	Chapter 1: Tackling the Hiring Process
		Starting with a Clear Job Description
		Defining the Characteristics of Desirable Candidates
		Finding Good People
		Becoming a Great Interviewer
		Evaluating Your Candidates
		Hiring the Best (and Leaving the Rest)
	Chapter 2: Setting Goals
		Knowing Where You’re Going
		Identifying SMART Goals
		Setting Goals: Less Is More
		Communicating Your Vision and Goals to Your Team
		Juggling Priorities: Keeping Your Eye on the Ball
		Using Your Power for Good: Making Your Goals Reality
	Chapter 3: Embracing Corporate Social Responsibility
		Understanding Socially Responsible Practices
		Developing a CSR Strategy for Implementation
		Doing the Right Thing: Ethics and You
	Chapter 4: Managing with Technology
		Weighing the Benefits and Drawbacks of Technology in the Workplace
		Using Technology to Your Advantage
		Getting the Most Out of Company Networks
	Chapter 5: Delegating to Get Things Done
		Delegating: The Manager’s Best Tool
		Debunking Myths about Delegation
		Taking the Six Steps to Delegate
		Sorting Out What to Delegate and What to Do Yourself
Book 5: Marketing and Promotion
	Chapter 1: Optimizing Your Marketing Program
		Know Yourself, Know Your Customer
		Finding Your Marketing Formula
		Controlling Your Marketing Program
		Refining Your Marketing Expectations
		Revealing More Ways to Maximize Your Marketing Impact
	Chapter 2: Laying a Foundation for Growth
		Measuring the Growth Rate of Your Market
		Responding to a Flat or Shrinking Market
		Finding Your Best Growth Strategies
		Growing a Market Segmentation Strategy
		Developing a Market Share Strategy
		Designing a Positioning Strategy
		Growth Hacking to Build Leads and Market Share
		Selling Innovative Products
	Chapter 3: Taking Stock of Your Business Image
		Making First Impressions
		Auditing the Impressions Your Business Makes
	Chapter 4: Forging Your Brand
		Recognizing What Brands Are and What They Do
		Building a Powerful Brand
		Your Market Position: The Birthplace of Your Brand
		Conveying Your Position and Brand through Taglines
		Balancing Personal and Business Brands
		Maintaining and Protecting Your Brand
	Chapter 5: Creating Marketing Communications That Work
		Starting with Good Objectives
		Developing Effective Marketing Communications
		Making Media Selections
		The Making of a Mass Media Schedule
		Evaluating Your Efforts
	Chapter 6: Social Marketing: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest
		Using Facebook for Engagement That Builds Sales
		Building Your Twitter Presence
		Igniting Your Social Presence on Instagram
		Expanding Your Network through LinkedIn
		Promoting Your Brand with Pinterest
Book 6: Staying in Business
	Chapter 1: Developing Employees Through Coaching and Mentoring
		Understanding Why Employee Development Is Important
		Getting Down to Employee Development
		Coaching Employees to Career Growth and Success
		Finding a Mentor, Being a Mentor
	Chapter 2: Keeping Your Customers Loyal
		Retaining Your Customer Base
		Dealing with Dissatisfied Customers
	Chapter 3: Cultivating a Growing Business
		Recognizing Growth Stages
		Resolving Human Resources Issues
		Addressing Time-Management Issues
		Choosing Your Management Tools
		Troubleshooting Your Business Challenges
		Redefining Your Role in an Evolving Business
Index
About the Authors
Connect with Dummies
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