SA Business Owner & Company

Business Plans For Dummies

Christoff Oosthuysen — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 08:14:41 +0000

Business Plans for Dummies by Paul Tiffany and Steven D. Peterson. Published by Wiley Publishing.

IT IS never a good idea to take a trip to a new destination without a map or good directions. And if you do you’ll probably never do that. However, it is astounding how many business owners go full speed ahead into starting a business without even having a plan in mind, much less a map or an idea on how to get there. That’s why so many businesses never make it.

In South Africa today, more than half of all new businesses fail within the first five years. Some business owners never make the connection between having a sound business plan and a successful business.

They let others do the writing, never making it their own road map and seeing their plans coming to fruition.

Business Plans For Dummies, 2nd Edition helps to keep your businesses on track and reach your goals by assisting you to:
* Realistically determine where your business is and where you want to go.
* Create a detailed business plan and put it into action instead of in a drawer.
* Use the plan to secure financing.
* Prepare for opportunities to avoid common pitfalls.

You’ll discover how to:
* Identify and approach potential financial backers, including venture capital firms, bankers, and others.
* Clarify and crystallise your company’s mission, vision, and values.
* Analyse your industry and your competition.
* Identify your customers, including their needs, habits, purchase triggers, and decision-making processes.
* Objectively analyse your company’s strengths and weaknesses.
* Analyse your financial situation in order to do realistic forecasts and budgets.
* Recognise trends and anticipate changes, both in the overall economy and in your industry.
* Plan for growth, considering the product life cycle, new products, or new markets.
* Structure your organisation and nurture leadership.

Business Plans For Dummies comes complete with diverse techniques and approaches plus a sample business plan.

The book gives you detail on designing a dynamic business plan that will keep you on course in spite of the inevitable detours that comes your way in today’s marketplace.

Cut to the Chase

Christoff Oosthuysen — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 08:11:25 +0000

Cut to the Chase and other 99 rules to liberate yourself and gain back the gift of time by Stuart R Levine, published by Random House.

I tried skimming through Cut to the Chase, but found myself caught up almost against my will. I say almost, since I was embarrassed to find myself described in more than one of those 100 rules to curb the wasting of time.

We like to think other people waste our time, but it is mortifying to discover that you could be the cause of your own lack of time.

Once I got over my embarrassment, however, I found it to be quite a handy little book that is easy to read and allows you to jump chapters and return to them later without losing anything.

Stuart R Levine, the author, has gathered 100 lessons to help readers to get to the point, stay focused and concentrate on what is important to help you make the most of your time and energy – both in your business life and in your home life.

In fact, he claims these rules will improve your home life since you will be able to spend less time at work by being more effective and efficient with your time. And who wouldn’t like to find more time to spend with your family or free some time for a weekend getaway?

They are practical tips, things that we do all the time like hammering home a point for 15 minutes, when the person you’re talking to got the point 10 minutes ago and you could have moved on from there.

How not to sound like the meeting waffler – you know the one that rambles on through meetings saying the same thing in 20 different ways – by thinking in bullets. Precision thinking he calls it.

Or when driving to work and someone cuts you off in traffic and you bring that anger and aggression to your workplace and allow it to cloud your judgement and you find fault with everything and slow down processes because you’re being difficult. To curb this, he has rule number seven: get over it.

There is nothing new in these rules, though. But it is good to hear them again and think about them – really think about them.

If you want to buy a book to read on a plane or a book for some light reading on a weekend, this is the one.

Ladder to Success

Christoff Oosthuysen — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 08:04:14 +0000

The Ladder of Success by Tanya Jovanovski, published by Tanya Jovanovski.

BUSINESS owner and motivational speaker Tanya Jovanovski writes in her latest self-published book, The Ladder of Success, that she always wanted to write her own book. But with poor spelling and few funds, her dream seemed doomed to failure before it even began.

But she didn’t let this stand in her way. Instead, as any crafty entrepreneur would, she sought alternate ways of publishing and distributing her book.

She started a business networking forum through which she was able to market her books and then approached businesses at shopping malls to fund networking events in return for advertising space on pamphlets she handed out at these networking events.

It was through thinking both positively and creatively that she reached her goal, something she advocates in The Ladder of Success, her ninth and latest book. At only 157 pages, the book is a quick read. I finished it in only a few hours.

The book is aimed at those that are considering starting a business but have never had the courage to put their idea into action.

She includes real examples of those from her business network who took the challenge of starting and running their own business.

One downside is the fact that the book is peppered with references to her networking forum, the Business Network, which makes you wonder whether you’re not unwillingly being subject to some kind of subliminal adverting campaign from Jovanovski.