In Good Company : The Essential Business Start-up Guide for Women

In Good Company is a must-read for all women who are thinking of starting their own business. Written by Rebecca Jordan and Kirsty Weir, Young Entrepreneurs of the Year 2003, In Good Company will inspire women of all ages and backgrounds to gain the confidence, contacts and knowledge they need to set up on their own. Using Rebecca and Kirsty's own experiences of setting up Gapwork.com, as well as featuring the experiences of other female entrepreneurs, In Good Company covers the essential elements of a successful business start-up. Direct, accessible and humorous, this book covers all you need to know about ideas, money, people and growth. COVER......Page 1 TITLEPAGE......Page 4 COPYRIGHT......Page 5 CONTENTS......Page 6 THANKS......Page 11 About us......Page 12 The ‘entrepreneur’ thing......Page 13 The ‘small business’ thing......Page 15 The ‘woman’ thing......Page 16 How the book works......Page 17 The right idea......Page 20 The right attitude......Page 22 Identifying the best idea......Page 24 3 How much value potential does the idea have?......Page 25 The right time......Page 26 How the idea for Kirsty’s previous business came about......Page 29 Finding your inspiration......Page 32 Top tips for finding inspiration......Page 33 Get the basics: you don’t always need your own idea......Page 34 Finding out about your competition......Page 37 Get the basics: protecting your intellectual property......Page 38 Protecting your idea......Page 41 Having a Plan B......Page 44 Ten of the best business ideas – ever!......Page 45 And ten of the worst . . .......Page 48 Your elevator pitch......Page 49 The power of the written word......Page 51 Our goal-writing guidelines......Page 52 Get an ideas process......Page 54 2 MONEY......Page 57 Advertising and sponsorship......Page 60 Get the basics: choosing your trading status......Page 61 Get the basics: selling company shares to raise equity finance......Page 66 Get the basics: funding your business......Page 74 Get the basics: costing your business......Page 83 Managing your money......Page 88 A crash course in electronic book-keeping......Page 89 Writing a business plan......Page 94 Get the basics: why write a business plan?......Page 95 What your business plan should contain......Page 97 FAQs......Page 100 3 PEOPLE......Page 102 Human resource planning......Page 104 Write a job description and a job specification......Page 106 Where to find staff......Page 109 Conducting interviews......Page 117 The job offer......Page 120 Personnel files......Page 124 Contracts of employment......Page 125 Managing staff......Page 127 Understanding yourself and your role as a leader......Page 131 Retaining your staff......Page 133 Get the basics: maternity and paternity leave......Page 134 Managing the performance of staff......Page 136 If you need to get rid of someone......Page 138 To sum up . . .......Page 141 4 FINDING PREMISES......Page 142 Get the basics: premises – your three main options......Page 144 Office hunting......Page 150 How to find business premises......Page 158 To sum up . . .......Page 160 5 GROWING YOUR BUSINESS: MARKETING......Page 161 Identify your market......Page 162 Find a channel to your market......Page 164 Get the basics: writing marketing copy......Page 174 Get the basics: search engine optimisation......Page 182 Get the basics: writing a press release......Page 194 Branding......Page 196 Writing your marketing plan......Page 197 To sum up . . .......Page 198 6 GROWING YOUR BUSINESS: SALES......Page 200 The sales process......Page 202 How to win prospects and influence people......Page 205 Decision-makers......Page 208 Networking FAQs......Page 210 To sum up . . .......Page 215 7 YOUR BUSINESS AND YOU......Page 216 Balancing business and kids......Page 217 Balancing work time and personal time......Page 222 Balancing your business and your health......Page 226 Manage your time......Page 229 Your personal wellbeing account......Page 232 Dealing with stress......Page 234 Looking the part......Page 235 To sum up . . .......Page 239 8 EXIT......Page 240 How long do you want to run the business for?......Page 241 To what extent do you want out?......Page 242 Typical exit options......Page 243 Valuing your business for sale......Page 244 MBOs and MBIs......Page 245 To sum up . . .......Page 246 THE END?......Page 247 USEFUL LINKS AND NUMBERS......Page 249 INDEX......Page 254 Helps women of all ages and backgrounds to gain the confidence, contacts and knowledge they need to set up on their own. Using the authors' experiences of setting up Gapwork.com, this book covers all you need to know about ideas, money, people and growth. it is useful for women who are thinking of starting their own business. This volume helps women of all ages and backgrounds to gain the confidence, contacts and knowledge they need to set up on their own. Using the authors' experiences of setting up Gapwork.com, this book covers all you need to know about ideas, money, people and growth