This guide for aspiring entrepreneurs provides expert advice on every aspect of launching a new business. It is designed to be of particular value for academics wishing to exploit the commercial value of a new technology or business solution. Inspiring and readable, it shows how to evaluate the strength of a business idea, how to protect inventions, reviews legal steps and responsibilities, shows how to position products in the market, how to create a business plan and raise initial capital. Case studies, exercises and tips demystify the process of starting a business, build confidence and greatly increase the chances of success.

This book really does what it says on the cover and guides the reader in an easy-to-read, practical way on every aspect of the know-how needed to plan and start up their own business. From advice on putting together a business plan to useful tips on how to avoid the many pitfalls likely to be encountered, this is a compendium of how to do it and what problems to look out for. It will be invaluable both when setting up and running your own business. In over 25 years as a business adviser and trainer, Kim Hills Spedding has helped more than 5000 people set up businesses in the U.K. and understands that it is very often the very practical matters that are the most difficult hurdles for anyone setting out alone in business.

The non-technical guide to building a booming tech-enabled business Thinking of starting a technology-enabled business? Or maybe you just want to increase your technology mojo so you can do your job better? You do not need to learn programming to participate in the development of today’s hottest technologies. But there are a few easy-to-grasp foundation concepts that will help you engage with a technical team. Starting a Tech Business explains in practical, actionable terms how to formulate and reality test new ideas package what you learn into frameworks that are highly actionable for engineers understand key foundation concepts about modern software and systems participate in an agile/lean development team as the ‘voice of the customer’ Even if you have a desire to learn to program (and I highly recommend doing whatever unlocks your ‘inner tinkerer’), these foundation concepts will help you target what exactly you want to understand about hands-on technology development. While a decade ago the barriers to creating a technology-enabled business required a pole vault, getting started today only requires a determined step in the right direction. Starting a Tech Business supplies the tools prospective entrepreneurs and business enterprises need to avoid common pitfalls and succeed in the fast-paced world of high-tech business. Successful execution requires thoughtful, evidence-based product formulation, well-articulated design, economic use of systems, adaptive management of technical resources, and empathetic deployment to customers. Starting a Tech Business offers practical checklists and frameworks that business owners, entrepreneurs, and professionals can apply to any tech-based business idea, whether you’re developing software and products or beginning a technology-enabled business. You’ll learn: 1. How to apply today’s leading management frameworks to a tech business 2. How to package your product idea in a way that’s highly actionable for your technical team 3. How to ask the right questions about technology selection and product architecture 4. Strategies to leverage what your technology ecosystem has to offer 5. How to carefully define the roles on your team, and then effectively evaluate candidates 6. The most common disconnects between engineers and business people and how to avoid them 7. How you can apply process design to your tech business without stifling creativity 8. The steps to avoid the most common pitfalls tech founders encounter Now is one of the best times to start a technology-enabled business, and anyone can do it with the right amount and kind of preparation. Starting a Tech Business shows you how to move a product idea to market quickly and inexpensively—and to tap into the stream of wealth that a tech business can provide.

Do you dream of starting your own restaurant? Venturing into the restaurant business is the popular choice of many prospective entrepreneurs today. Yet of all the eateries cropping up at a rapid pace, only a few survive! The 3rd Edition includes two new chapters, more articles and several other updates. Discover how to manage risks associated with the business and make well informed choices for your startup. * If you simply wish to get a reality check on the trade, use this book as a primer. * If you are a serious entrepreneur looking to realise your restaurant dream, this book will help you develop a roadmap. * If you are a hospitality student or academician keen to revisit your understanding, this book will serve as a reference source. I have packed in information on the nuts and bolts of the restaurant industry as well as techniques to handle money, marketing, manpower and operational issues. I have shared proven techniques and strategies honed by hospitality professionals over decades, many of which I've used when conceptualizing and developing several food businesses. Whether you are a businessman with no knowledge of restaurants, a practising professional or an industry student, this book will help you avoid painful mistakes and do it right the first time....

Real-life “wildpreneur” Tamara Jacobi shares her insights on what it takes to successfully make the leap from a safe yet soul-crushing day job to chasing your dreams. This book illuminates how surf guides, ski builders, yoga and wellness instructors, environmental activists, nature lovers, podcasters, artisans, and other creatives achieve an adventurous lifestyle and financial viability. Whether you’re stuck in the nine-to-five grind, are an enterprising college grad, a dynamic retiree, or are just an out-of-the-box thinker, it’s time to embrace your free spirit and become a Wildpreneur! Entrepreneur and author Tamara Jacobi understands the challenge and reward of turning your passion into a business. Over ten years ago, she and her family started the Tailwind Jungle Lodge, a treehouse style eco-lodge in the jungle on the Mexican Pacific coastline. Jacobi shares the lessons she’s learned, alongside stories and wisdom from other Wildpreneurs. In Wildpreneurs, you will: Access a practical blueprint for starting and managing an unconventional business. Receive the support needed to stay on track with what can be a difficult path filled with unexpected challenges and is worth it in the end. Gain insights into the world of Wildpreneurship, its characters, and the lifestyle that is within anyone’s grasp. Discover an alternative to living on autopilot, an opportunity to move beyond fear, come alive, and tune into inspiration while also making a living. Let Wildpreneurs help you blaze the path to your own journey of meaning, purposefulness, and adventure—and start living the life of your dreams.

How do I know if my idea will work? How do I decide on the business model? How do I find my audience? Your digital business start-up journey begins here. From the bestselling author of The Small Business Start-up Workbook, Cheryl Rickman brings you a thoroughly practical guide to starting up a digital business, covering the full journey from idea to exit, with easy-to-implement strategies to make your online venture an ongoing success. With a combination of tips, exercises, checklists, anecdotes, case studies and lessons learned by business leaders, this workbook will guide you through each step of digital business. Learn how to: • Assess whether your business idea will work online/digitally • Choose the right business model for your proposition and avoid wasting time • Assess demand, viability and uncover untapped needs and gaps in the market • Build a usable, engaging website and mobile app • Create a buzz using social networking • Drive high quality traffic to your site and convert visitors into paying customers • Use search engine optimization (SEO) and marketing (SEM) tools effectively • Raise finance and protect your business • Build and maintain a strong brand • Recruit and retain a strong team • Sell the business or find a suitable successor. Reviews for the book: “If you want advice on starting your own internet business, don’t ask me, read this book instead. It is more up-to-date and costs far less than a good lunch.” Nick Jenkins, Founder of Moonpig.com “This book excels in providing practical guidance on how to create a successful digital business which exceeds customer expectations and keeps customers happy each step of the way.” Scott Weavers-Wright, CEO of Kiddicare.com, and MD of Morrison.com (non-food) “If you read just one book on digital business, make it this one... It is inspirational, informative and interactive in equal measure. Highly recommended!” Rowan Gormley, Founder and CEO of NakedWines.com “Interspersed with inspiring and useful stories from successful entrepreneurs, this book can help aspiring business owners through a step-by-step process of refining their start-up ideas and building a solid business.” Elizabeth Varley, Founder and CEO of TechHub

After years of school and maybe even after some years of practice, you are ready to do it on your own. Running a profitable business takes more than just being a great doctor. Start Your Own Medical Practice provides you with the knowledge to be both a great doctor and a successful business owner. Whether you are looking to open a single practice office or wanting to go into partnership with other colleagues, picking the right location, hiring the right support staff and taking care of all the finances are not easy tasks. With help from Start Your Own Medical Practice, you can be sure you are making the best decisions for success. Don't let a wrong choice slow down your progress. Find advice to: --Create a Business Plan --Manage the Office --Raise Capital --Bill Your Patients --Market Your Practice --Build a Patient Base --Prevent Malpractice Suits --Keep an Eye on the Goal With checklists, sample letters and doctor's office forms, Start Your Own Medical Practice teaches you all the things they didn't in medical school and gives you the confidence to go out and do it on your own.

A Practical Guide to Entrepreneurship is a comprehensive framework for the study of entrepreneurship. More than just another book on enterprise, this is a step-by-step guide through the main issues faced by all new entrepreneurs, including: customers, profits, financial management, raising finance, law, operations, taxation, employing staff, managing risk, developing the firm, leadership and a systematic approach to growth. The book is complemented by insightful practical features, such as case studies, exercises, academic model summaries and tips, to help students apply their understanding to the real world. Developed from Kogan Page's successful and long-running title, Starting a Successful Business, A Practical Guide to Entrepreneurship is intended for those taking courses in entrepreneurship who wish to study the subject academically whilst preparing a business plan for their own enterprise, whether for academic or real-world use, or both. A range of support materials for students and lecturers is available, including over 350 PowerPoint slides covering the each chapter, a business plan template, instructors' manual and budget figures.

Making sound investments is tough enough without having to worry about unscrupulous financial advisers and outright frauds. But recently strengthened laws aren't enough to stop the "professionals" intent on profiting from--or just plain stealing--your money. As an Enforcement Branch Chief at the Securities and Exchange Commission, Pat Huddleston witnessed countless people lose their life savings to reckless stockbrokers and fraudulent schemes. Now an SEC-recommended Receiver andCEO of a securities and investment fraud investigation agency, Huddleston has intimate knowledge of how scam artists and bad brokers operate. In The Vigilant Investor, he explains WHY we fall for investment scams, HOW con artists play on our emotions, and WHAT we can do to protect ourselves from predators. With its unique look into the science of financial decision making, the book blows up the popular myths and simplistic "do's and don'ts" of investing while sharing techniques anyone can use to perform due diligence even better than the "experts." With gripping stories of actual cases, Huddleston sheds light on the dark corners of the investment industry and teaches investors and professionals alike how to spot fraud and guard themselves against financial catastrophe.

A Practical Guide to starting up your own business.