How 2 What

Having made your decision to start a business, you must look into some legal requirements for the start up, such as the kind of ownership you are looking for, the name/title of the business organization and your relationship with your partners.

Learn how to:

• Choose the right business legal form

• Maintain working relationships

• Select a name for your business

Every successful start up business needs a profound understanding of its target customers and the marketplace it plans to operate in. This understanding enables you to focus on your target customers' needs, sell professionally, compete effectively and identify and harness new opportunities. Conducting such market research on target customers and your potential competitors will enable you to acquire vital knowledge.

Learn how to:

• Conduct your market research

• Interpret market research results

• Consider your competition

• Seek expert help

When starting a new business, it is essential to have a viable business plan for your new venture. A good business plan helps you gain the requisite financial support from your creditors and bankers, garner support from your customer base and focus your efforts on what is important.

Leanr how to:

• Identify your target audience for your business plan

• Write a good business plan

• Appreciate the importance on an Executive Summary

• Present your business plan

In the business world where we are dealing with money, money and lots of money, it is imperative to have the right accountant doing this job for you. Hence, if you aren't an expert at accounting, it would make sense to hire an accountant; someone who can save you time and money and help you manage your business more effectively.

Learn how to:

• Appreciate the importance of an Accountant

• Begin your search for an Accountant

• Short list an Accountant

• Manage the relationship with your accountant

Franchising allows you to run your business without starting from the basics. This way you, as a franchisee, benefit from the support of your franchisor and can enjoy the perks of self-employment without undertaking a lot of risks.

Learn how to:

• Differentiate between different business formats

• Identify the pros and cons of different franchise businesses

• Conduct a preliminary assessment of a franchise

• Work out the costs of a franchise business

• Evaluate a franchise

When starting any new business, a solid financial base is very important as the correct financing package can prove to be very beneficial for your business.

Learn how to:

• Find out how much money you need

• Find sources for financing

• Search for suitable finance options

While conducting your market research prior to starting a business, you must find out about the various types of grant schemes available. New grant schemes are often introduced, but you must have an idea as to which kind of grants your business is eligible for and whether or not it is worth applying for them.

Learn how to:

• Prepare for a grant application

• Access possible grant schemes

• Receive grant payments

For any start- up, the task of selecting business premises can come across aver challenging; especially if you have minimal resources for your disposal. You have to make the right decision and adapt a well-planned approach.

Learn how to:

• Identify what sort of premises you want

• Draft a property requirement specification

• Search for a suitable property

• Decide on a contract arrangement

Setting up your office premises is a very crucial part of starting your business, as you have to have the right equipment and systems to contribute to the right environment which leads to efficiency in your business. Like all other elements given due importance for a start-up; you should have a plan for the office as well.

Learn how to:

• Furnish your office

• Set up electronic communications

• Invest on stationary

• Assess viability of working from home

In today's age, no business can survive without the use of information technology (IT), consequently every start-up business needs to invest a significant amount in setting up and starting its IT system. The IT investment yields good returns and therefore the investment should be carefully planned and executed in sync with the business requirements.

Learn how to:

• Set a basic business IT strategy

• Select and set up an appropriate IT system

• Connect with customers

• Secure your data

Business is very risky as anything could go wrong at any moment; insurance provides you with the financial compensation in case of unexpected events and most business risks can be insured against. You can select the risks against which you wish to insure yourself, but you must remember that paying insurance premiums also becomes a costly affair.

Learn how to:

• Identify what should be insured

• Choose the right cover

• Select an insurer

• File a claim

Behind every successful business there is the time and effort of highly skilled and equipped employees. For any start up business, investing in the right employees at the very beginning can yield fruitful results.

Learn how to:

• Decide who you need

• Find the right candidates

• Short-list and interview

• Select the right recruits

• Welcome a new employee

This volume, titled "How to Build Your Start Up Business", consists of twelve How2What articles addressing all you need to know about setting up and starting a new business. Purchase 12 titles for the price of 10.

Learn how to:

• Form a business

• Research your market

• Develop a business plan

• Select an accountant

• Become a franchisee

• Finance your business

• Apply for grants

• Search for premises

• Set up your office

• Set up your IT system

• Insure your business

• Recruit skilled employees

When launching your start up business, you should be aware of certain basic business laws governing your commercial activities of purchase, sale, lease etc. This basic understanding of business law will help you to avoid or face any legal difficulties which you may encounter.

Learn how to:

• Recognize when to seek help

• Understand contractual requirements and implications

• Seek the help of a solicitor

For most of the new businesses, effective purchasing can lead to an increase in profits and improve efficiency. Most of the time, when businesses are troubled because of high prices charged by their suppliers, the managers step in to negotiate with the other suppliers and knock a few percentages off their price. Even a minor reduction in their prices can lead to major savings for the business and boost their quality.

Learn how to:

• Specify your purchasing requirements

• Select your suppliers

• Maintain a good relationship with your suppliers

• Consider alternatives to purchasing

For many start-ups, negotiation is considered as a waste of time and embarrassing. However, as a seller, it is important to have good negotiation skills so that you do not waste money by needlessly giving out discounts or missing out on the chance to increase your sales.

Learn how to:

• Set a negotiation strategy and objectives

• Be confident when negotiating

• Purchase at lower prices and sell at higher prices

• Seal a good deal

Deciding on the price of your products and services is a very crucial step as the right price could help you to double your profits instantaneously. There are many methods for selecting your price, although most new businesses opt for cost-plus pricing in which a certain mark-up is added to each cost figure.

Learn how to:

• Build your cost structure

• Check your competitors' prices

• Offer discounts

• Increase prices

Planning and preparing your budget helps you to set out the financial targets for your business. Budgeting will help you to prepare in advance for any cash flow problems and helps in comparing your expectations with the actual performance of the business.

Learn how to:

• Prepare your sales and expenditure budget

• Prepare financial projections

• Review your budget

Relations, in the broader sense, can be defined as a method of effectively communicating with your audience to ensure they understand your company's goal and objectives. You can win a lot of customers by developing a positive image for your company through effective PR. Hence the right PR strategy is very important for any start-up business.

Learn how to:

• Define your need for PR

• Approach the media and sell your story

• Come up with new ways to reach your audience

• Format your press release

Advertising can be a critical component of your business marketing strategy, as it directly promotes your business and communicates critical information you want to send to your target audience, usually with the aim of increasing sales or making people aware of your products or services.

Learn how to:

• Target your customers

• Write an advertisement.

• Position your advertisement appropriately

• How advertising can help your business

Direct mail allows you to communicate information about your products and services directly with those who may be interested in them. However; it is often dismissed as junk mail. Direct mail can be highly effective in both business and consumer markets if it is properly planned and researched.

Learn how to:

• Set your objectives for direct mail

• Mail your existing customers

• Compile a mailing list

• Rent a mailing list

The biggest hurdle faced by start-up businesses is making sales. This is a very important factor in deciding the success of your business. No matter what your company is selling, the basic approach for sales is the same.

Learn how to:

• Define your sales target

• Reach decision makers

• Promote your products

A very important part of running any business is the credit control function. Many new start-ups can fail in the same year because of poor credit control. Hence, a businessman must have a clear idea of everyday credit control.

Learn how to:

• Check the creditworthiness of your customers

• Decide on your credit limits and agreements

• Manage everyday credit control

• Avoid and manage delayed payments

All successful businesses have an excellent customer care service. Defined as caring for your customers during and after their purchase and presenting them with value for money, customer care yields very fruitful results for the business. Satisfied and contented customers become loyal to your business and might also start recommending your company to other friends and acquaintances. It is always easier for business to retain old customers than find new ones.

Learn how to:

• Establish contact with customers

• Devise a control system

• Follow up on sales

• Handle complaints

• Care for your customers

Benchmarking can be defined as the process of comparing your business performance with that of the industry average. It is of statistical importance and is used to highlight the gaps in your business or the areas that need improvement in order to achieve business growth. But benchmarking is only a tool and does not provide any solutions on how to bridge the gap. Usually, the business statistics are compared with those which are the best in your field.

Learn how to:

• Establish what parameters to benchmark

• Set a plan for benchmarking

• Gather information

• Carry out a benchmark exercise

This volume, titled "How to Manage Your Start Up Business", contains twelve How2What articles. It concerns with all you need to know to successfully manage your start up business. Purchase 12 titles for the price of 10.

Learn how to::

• Manage legal issues

• Purchase

• Negotiate

• Price your product

• Prepare your budget

• Manage your PR

• Write an Advertisement

• Manage direct mail

• Improve your sales

• Manage credit control

• Care for your customers

• Benchmark your business. Sample PDF