The Owner's Manual for Small Business. Rhonda Abrams

      

You recognize the value of continually learning about business and gaining new insight on how to run and grow a company.

      About Rhonda Abrams

      A syndicated columnist, best-selling author, and popular public speaker, Rhonda Abrams has spent more than fifteen years advising, mentoring, and consulting with entrepreneurs and small business owners.

      Her knowledge of the small business market and her passion for entrepreneurship have made her one of the nation’s most recognized advocates for small business.

      Rhonda’s weekly newspaper column, “Successful Business Strategies,” is the nation’s most widely read column about entrepreneurship, reaching more than twenty million readers through USATODAY.com, Inc.com, Costco Connection magazine, and 130 newspapers.

      Rhonda’s first book, The Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies, was acclaimed by Forbes magazine as one of the two best books for small business and by Inc. magazine as one of the six best books for startups. Now in its fourth edition, it is used as the primary text for business plan classes by more than one hundred business schools.

       Rhonda’s subsequent books include:

      

Six-Week Start-Up, helping entrepreneurs launch a business quickly and successfully by taking them week-by-week through the details of starting a business

      

Wear Clean Underwear, illuminating how great values make great companies

      

What Business Should I Start? guiding would-be entrepreneurs through a thoughtful process to identify the right business for them

      

Business Plan In A Day, showing time-pressed entrepreneurs how to quickly develop a compelling, well-written business plan

      Books by Rhonda Abrams have been translated into Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Dutch, Portuguese, and Russian.

      An experienced entrepreneur, Rhonda has started three companies, including a small business planning consulting firm. Her experience gives her a real-life understanding of the challenges facing entrepreneurs. Currently, she is the founder and CEO of The Planning Shop, which provides entrepreneurs with high-quality information and tools for developing successful businesses.

      Rhonda was educated at Harvard University and UCLA. She lives in Palo Alto, California.

      Table of Contents

       Who This Book Is For

       About Rhonda Abrams

       Introduction

       1. Thinking Like an Entrepreneur

       Feature: Common Traits of Successful Entrepreneurs

       What Inspires You?

       Do You Have What It Takes?

       Your Chance of Success

       Your Entrepreneurial Type

       From Employee to Entrepreneur

       It’s the Little Things

       Feature: Status Symbols for the Self-Employed

       Facing Our Fears

       Learning Courage

       Succeeding in Your First Business

       Feature: Keys to a “Training-Wheel Business”

       2. Your Business Concept

       Your Business Concept

       Feature: Discovering Your Business Concept

       How Good Is Your Business Idea?

       Choosing the Right Business

       Follow Your Passion?

       Yes, but Is It a Business?

       3. Turning Dreams into Reality

       Turning Dreams into Reality

       Goals versus Tasks

       Commit Yourself to the Turn

       Feature: Guidelines for Goals

       Seizing Opportunities

       4. Embracing Change

       Things Are About to Change

       Feature: Types of Changes Your Company May Face

       Is It Time to Throw in the Towel?

       Feature: Change Takes Time