Chapter 1
Micro-enterprise: A very small business, usually measured as having fewer than five business. Opreations, often family-based firms, which typically have just one or two people.
Business plan----- purpose, preparation, content
Purpose: planning checklist Communicating the plan Making the idea tangible
Preparation:
Formats: reader requirements Length
Getting started: procrastination Re-writing
Content: introduction Products/ service The customers The opportunity The owner The legal organization
Legal forms of business, sole proprietor, partnership, corporation--- describe each of them
Sole proprietor: a legal form of business where only one person owns and has the legal right to operate the company. The sole proprietor has unlimited liability for the company’s debts.
Partnership: a business where two or more people own and have the right to manage the company. Each owner in a general partnership has unlimited liability for all the debts of the company.
Corporation: a legal form of business that exists separately from its owners (shareholders), who have limited liability for the company’s debts.
Partnerships---- documenting
The contract between two or more people who are entering business ownership together.
Who puts in how much of the capital------contribution
Who gets what portion of any profit-------profit entitlements
Who has authority over which decisions----authorities
What are the responsibilities of each partner----- responsibilities
How can disputes among the partners be settled------ alterations/ dissolution
Chapter2
5 things to consider when selecting a new site for a business
Close to customers, Transportation, Suppliers ,Various service
Leasing vs ownership------ advantages, disadvantages
Ownership
Advantages: not having to travel to the office Being home for the kids Saving money on a site
Disadvantage: never being away from the office The kids being able to interrupt work Unprofessional image for firm
Leasing:
Advantages: willing to move, or make demands of landlords, to meet changes in the market.
Disadvantage: landlord in the business
Estimating sales for a new business
Sales forecast: an estimate of how much money a business will bring in over a given period.
Source: Industry Statistics
Customer Buying Intentions
How Long It Takes to Get Customers Expert Opinion
How Much the Competition Gets
All the Business Out There–
The Amount the Firm Can Handle
Patents------value to a new business
Exclusive rights to a useful invention, granted by a government fir a specified period of time. Protection for an invention
4 methods to protect a new business
Patent: protection for invention
Copyright: protection covers software and works of art including writing, music, and visual arts.
Trade mark: protect a word, phrase, or symbol that identifies company, and its products.
Industrial design: protection applies to a pattern, a shape, or an ornamental design of mass- produced manufactured products.
Market research for small business---- examples if a business only has a small budget
Internet, government web, business publication, trade magazine
Chapter3
4 method to promote a new business
Product or service strategy: Considerations, Added Value Services
Pricing strategy, Distribution strategy, Promotion strategy
Pricing strategies
Pricing Low, Pricing High, Pricing the Same, Negotiation
Negotiating skill
Research, Plan, Co-operative Approach
Selecting distribution channels
The legal or contractual elements of how a service or product gets from the producer to the end- user.
Direct,
Intermediaries
Chapter4
Logistics---value to a business
The study and management of the planning, procurement, transportation, and storage of products. Keeping supplied in an economical fashion.
Compensation,