Introduction 1
About This Book 1
Foolish Assumptions 2
Icons Used in This Book 2
Where to Go from Here 3
Chapter 1: Is Small Business for You? 5
Working for Yourself — A Dream Come True? 6
Doing what you love to do 6
Earning pots of money (here’s hoping) 6
Being your own boss 7
Staying home 8
Working for Yourself — Reality Strikes 8
Teetering on the edge 8
Working night and day for little pay 9
Weathering feast and famine 10
Factoring Yourself Into the Whole Deal 11
Staying Safe or Inventing the Wheel? 12
Playing it safe 13
Finding your own niche 14
Going out on a limb 15
Getting Clued Up 19
Joining the community 19
Seeking government advice 19
Believing in Yourself 21
Chapter 2: Finding the Path that Works for You 23
Deciding What Path You Want to Take 24
Doing the thing you love to do 25
Getting help and delegating what you can 26
Building a business that’s separate from you 27
Creating a system for business 29
Wearing Different Hats 30
Building a Business with a Life of its Own 32
Defining your difference 32
Documenting and building systems 34
Setting goals for you and your business 36
Planning for a graceful exit 37
Appreciating the Limitations of Your Business 37
Chapter 3: Creating Your First Business Plan 41
Getting Started with Your Plan 42
Step One: Describing Your Business 44
Setting off on your mission 44
Saying what you’re about 45
Step Two: Assessing the Environment 45
Analysing outside influences 46
Justifying market demand 48
Assessing your competitors 48
Staying alert to future threats 50
Spotting opportunities 52
Rating your strengths and weakness 52
Step Three: Plotting Your Plan 54
Connecting the dots 54
Identifying your secret weapon 56
Checking you’ve got the goods 58
Picking one competitive strategy (yes, only one!) 59
Step Four: Selling Your Marketing Plan 60
Step Five: Describing Your Dream Team 61
Step Six: Presenting Financials 62
Chapter 4: Getting the Legals Right 65
Picking a Business Structure 65
Independent and single 67
Tea for two 67
We’ve got company 68
Matching the Name to the Game 69
Using your own name 70
Thinking about how others will find you 70
Making sure you’re not on someone else’s patch 71
Checking for trademarks 72
Registering your business name 73
Avoiding trouble 73
Protecting Your Brand 74
Registering trademarks 74
Protecting other kinds of intellectual property 75
Registering with the Powers That Be 75
Getting that baby’s number 76
Signing up for taxes (unavoidable, I’m afraid) 76
Checking out what else you need 77
Working with Contracts 78
Understanding when you’re legally bound 78
Dealing with standard form contracts 79
Knowing what to look for in a contract 80
Signing on the dotted line 82
Negotiating Lease Contracts 83
Chapter 5: Projecting Your Profits 87
Forecasting Sales for a New Business 87
Understanding Costs 89
Costing services 90
Costing items that you buy and sell 91
Costing items that you make 91
Forecasting Expenses 93
Forecasting expenses for the year ahead 93
Allowing for loan repayments and interest 95
Building Profit Projections 97
Step one: Starting with sales 97
Step two: Adding variable costs 97
Step three: Showing gross profit 99
Step four: Revealing the bottom line 100
Chapter 6: Marketing With Your Heart on Your Sleeve 103
Laying Down the Elements of Your Plan 104
Going to the heart of the matter 105
Expressing your difference 105
Defining Who Your Customers Are 106
Analysing your customers 107
Understanding what it is your customers really want 108
Thinking creatively about channels 108
Researching the market 109
Analysing Your Competitors 111
Setting Sales Targets 112
Slicing goals into bite-sized chunks 112
Expressing goals in other ways 113
Building Sales Strategies 115
Growing a brand that people want 115
Pricing things right 116
Defining your social media strategy 117
Engaging customers and building trust 118
Expanding Your Reach Offline 120
Networking (yes, actually in person) 120
Investing in public relations 121
Creating marketing alliances 122
Keeping Yourself Honest 122
Measuring your speed 122
Monitoring customer satisfaction (CSAT) 122
Setting goals for customer retention 123
Tracking conversion rates 124
Chapter 7: Hiring Your First Employee 125
Becoming an Employer: The First Steps 125
Getting employees to fulfil their part of the deal 126
Covering employees for accidents 127
Ensuring your software is up to speed 128
Subscribing to super 129
Meeting Minimum Pay and Conditions 131
Understanding what laws apply 132
Choosing between part-time, full-time or casual 133
Playing Safe and Playing Fair 135
Being practical, not pedantic 135
Blonde jokes are over 136
Creating a Positive Workplace 138
Aiming for more 138
Rewarding with more than money 139
Chapter 8: Tracking Every Dollar 141
Figuring How Often to Do the Deed 142
Doing your books just once in a while 142
Doing your books regularly 143
Choosing Software that Fits 144
Creating Recordkeeping Systems 146
Keeping track of income 147
Tracking expenses 147
Treating receipts with respect 148
Storing your business records 149
Doing the bare basics 149
Reporting for business 151
Keeping Track of How Much You’re Owed 152
Asking nicely 153
Getting drastic 154
Meeting Bookkeeping Deadlines 156
Budgeting for Tax 157
Planning for that difficult second year 158
Budgeting for personal tax 158
Budgeting for GST and PAYG 159
Owning up if you’re short on cash 160
Chapter 9: Ten Tips For Getting Ahead 161
Focus on What Works 161
Remember You Need to Eat 162
Balance Reality against Ambition 163
Manage Growth Carefully 163
Play the Percentage Game 164
Recruit Staff Super Carefully 165
Deliver on Your Promises 165
Create a Customer Service Culture 166
Ask for (and Listen to) Feedback 167
Plan to Sell, Right from the Start 168
Index 171
