Entrepreneur Blanchard presents a manual for planning, nurturing, maintaining and selling a small business, with timely advice for the current recession.
Think local, consider your values and see the world from the customer’s viewpoint when planning your business, Blanchard urges. He also advises to allow sufficient time–one to three years–for thorough planning. The author reviews the risks and benefits of business ownership while stressing the need for a strategic business plan and strong leadership. A brief entrepreneurship personality assessment follows a review of personality traits that may lead to success in business ownership–such as working with ideas and numbers, being customer-oriented and an ability to prioritize. Large business has been dominant in the United States for much of the past century, and Blanchard provides a great deal of information and advice to help workers make a transition. He explains ways to pursue success in this big-business world and how to proceed in the event of failure, with notes on debt and medical insurance. The author strongly cautions entrepreneurs that years may pass until they draw a salary from their venture. He also discusses protecting the informational assets of a business when working with suppliers and others outside the company, reminding that suppliers are neither friends nor customers. Blanchard recommends tech-savvy measures like a Web interface and notes that social networking can be a useful tool. Since pricing strategies have a major impact on success, the author discusses the concepts involved in successfully entering the market. He also reviews the endpoint–offering the carefully nurtured business up for sale–and recommends methods for pricing the business. While additional tables and charts may have been useful, the text is thoroughly footnoted and includes examples and case studies. The last section addresses special concerns of small businesses during times of recession, making the book relevant to today’s financial climate.
Thorough, clear and valuable information for entrepreneurs.
