Your business relies on you for its survival, and its life-blood is sales. Build a robust platform is the most effective and sustainable way to attract prospects and convert them into customers. Literary agent and expert platform consultant Wendy Keller shares the secrets behind how to select the right promotion strategies for your business, market your products and services, develop an enthusiastic customer base, and ultimately create a strong platform that distinguishes your business from the rest--all without spending a fortune. Keller provides you with platform-building methods that are practical, proven, and easily implemented by anyone, this book helps build your brand perception to: Develop content that converts fans into customers Create a platform strategy that multiplies your marketing efforts overnight Showcase your brand, product, or company and attract new opportunities

Creating Good Work is a practical guide book, that recounts the stories of some of the most successful social entrepreneurial programs operating today, with real life examples of and how they overcame both physical and societal barriers to create a lasting impact on the world they encounter.

Social Entrepreneurship is a global phenomenon that impacts the lives of citizens by using innovative approaches to solving social problems. This book offers a comprehensive examination of this growing area of research and provides an excellent introduction to social entrepreneurship theory and a framework for future research.

The current trend towards globalization is posing a substantial challenge to SME clusters to restructure and reach out to distant markets and knowledge sources, while at the same time exploiting the advantages of local factors and agglomeration. This book represents a first attempt to analyze these issues in detail, employing novel empirical evidence. The authors focus on Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Italy and Taiwan, two countries in which these businesses characterize the national industrial structure. They find that in the current climate of globalization, there is no best practice model for organizing an industrial cluster since a diversity of successful institutional arrangements is possible. They demonstrate that over time SME clusters can evolve and that globalization can reshape their upgrading options by providing a variety of international knowledge linkages. Thus, the authors conclude that the development of local and global networks and new interactive modes of knowledge creation, which have co-evolved as a result of globalization, have provided the necessary conditions for competitive survival. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, the authors utilize a number of analytical tools to evaluate their survey data and present an original comparison between the experiences of two countries that are facing the challenges of globalization, often with differing strategies. This book will be of great interest to industrial and international economists, policymakers, and corporate and SME managers.

The majority of family businesses are both ill-prepared and ineffective at handling the emotional family related and the rational business related complexities they face. This book, a nine year study of multi-generational award winning family businesses, provides new and deep insights into their long-term success strategies.

Many social entrepreneurs struggle to take successful, innovative programs that address social problems on a local or limited basis and scale them up to expand their impact in a more widespread, deeper, and efficient way. In Scaling Social Impact , the editors address this issue with a comprehensive collection of original papers.

The Economics of Urban Diversity explores ethnic and religious minorities in urban economies. In this exciting work, the contributors develop an integrative approach to urban diversity and economy by employing concepts from different studies and linking historical and contemporary analyses of economic, societal, demographic, and cultural development. Contributors from a variety of disciplines geography, economics, history, sociology, anthropology, and planning make for a transdisciplinary analysis of past and present migration-related economic and social issues, which helps to better understand the situation of ethnic and religious minorities in metropolitan areas today.

The chapters in this cutting edge book comprise scholarly work on social capital in family business along with chapters written by family business owners and advisors. As the research in family business evolves, scholars are exploring the issues that are unique to the field. From the start, research has been closely tied to the real world issues faced by business families. The genesis for this book is a conference on family business and social capital in which a wide variety of issues were presented and discussed. Participants included academics, family business owners and business advisors. Topics covered in the book include social capital as it relates to governance, trust, family and business identity, communication, family councils, work-family balance, and the use of advisors and continuing education to build social capital. Novel in its approach of integrating the voices of scholars, business families, and advisors, this book is an invaluable tool not only for business research and classroom use, but also for business families and their advisors. Contributors: C.J. Bruess, J.C. Carr, M.A.T. Cronin, S.M. Danes, K. Eddleston, K.E. Goodpaster, K. Hayes, T. Hubler, T. McEnaney, W. Monson, A.W. Pearson, A. Pritchard, T.J. Rothausen, S. Shepard, T.S. Smith, R.L. Sorenson, K. Stafford

Coping with Retail Giants critically analyzes the modern retail market and identifies how businesses gain the competitive edge over the major retailers that currently control the market. Dr. Samli argues that as society advances economically, consumers will seek better values generated by the retailing sector.

Iran is estimated to have the third largest informal sector in the MENA region a major source of income for many low-income households whose numbers are growing as sanctions tighten. Gender and Entrepreneurship in Iran provides insight into the role of informal networks in employment creation in Iran from a gender perspective. Drawing upon theories of social capital, social network, and the postcolonial feminist critique of mainstream development, this analysis sheds light on the ways in which poverty and unemployment may be tackled.

Marketing Your Services You may be one of the best doctors, consultants, accountants, caterers, or investment advisors around, but when it comes to marketing your service, you may also be the first one to admit, "I don’t know what to do." Now, here’s a book that shows you, step by step, how to market your services—painlessly, confidently, profitably. Marketing Your Services shows you:

• How to define and promote your services to the right market
• How to differentiate your business from other similar businesses
• How to price and package your services
• How to turn qualified prospects into customers and build long-term relationships with clients

How did she do it? You've probably seen your share of moms lately thriving in the whirlwind of motherhood and entrepreneurship, having taken their designer onesie or gluten-free cookie and turned it into a profitable venture, and wondered if that could ever happen to you. It can! And quicker and easier than you think!In Venture Mom, author and founder of VentureMom.com Holly Hurd recounts inspiring stories from women who have channeled their passions into money-making products and services, and delivers 12 steps--each achievable in a week--to simplify the process and turn your idea into a budding enterprise. Without sacrificing precious time with their children, moms will learn about:* Tips and techniques for honing a concept, doing just enough research, and finding the perfect name* 5 factors that improve the odds of success* Free resources for logos, web design, and branding* Strategies for leveraging email, blogging, and social media* And much more!Don't fall for the lie that you could never do what they did. It's time to strip away the mysteries surrounding launching a business and unlock a fast, easy formula that anyone can utilize. Whether the goal is adding to the family finances or building a major enterprise, Venture Mom can help anyone get started.

Human Resource Management in Small Business fills a gap in our understanding of economic performance. Small businesses are more numerous, have more employees, and contribute more to the economies of nations throughout the world than do large organizations. This book examines a range of issues, including the significance of human resource management (HRM) practices to small business success, the management of work hours and work stressors, work and family issues, succession planning, employee recruitment and selection, and managing staff. It also explores how individuals develop HRM skills, and learn from their own and others' experiences. The role of HRM practices in successful small businesses is illustrated through a range of case studies.Including contributors who are internationally recognized academics from a range of countries; this book will prove to be an essential resource for postgraduate students and academics in management. Professional managers and owners in SMEs will also discover great insights from this admirable book. Contributors include: R. Burke, G. Castrogiovanni, S. Clarke, C. Collins, E. Drew, S. Fielden, M. George, E. Hamilton, C. Henry, A.-L. Humbert, A. Noblet, T. Pett, J. Pollack, A. Rauch, G. Seijts, M. Troilo

Ever wish your company could raise capital the Kickstarter(R) way? Equity crowdfunding is finally here, opening new funding avenues for small businesses and start-ups. In April 2012, President Obama signed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups--or JOBS--Act into law. This groundbreaking legislation empowers privately-owned companies to raise capital from investors without going through the rigorous IPO and private placement processes. When the SEC hands down the last regulations, the floodgates will open and companies will be free to compete for funding. Small business and legal expert Cliff Ennico has followed the equity crowdfunding story since its inception. Now, in "The Crowdfunding Handbook," he explains the JOBS Act and translates the regulations into a clear set of do's and don'ts for entrepreneurs and small-business owners looking to get in early--and do things right. Need help pricing your securities? Pitching a project to the public? Choosing between funding platforms? Figuring out disclosure documents and reporting requirements? This book delivers targeted answers--whether crowdfunding is your best bet, picking the right legal entity, selecting types of securities to offer, reaching the most promising investors, keeping crowds under control, and more. IPOs are expensive, and venture capital nearly impossible to attract. Crowdfunding is changing the game for private companies . . . and this book will lead the way.

Captures the insights of leading academics and practitioners based on decades of research around the globe on factors of success and failures of private wealth, over time. It presents a deep and broad approach to understanding why and how wealth is created, managed and preserved over generations.

Provides a wide insight into the construction business, showing the reader how a contractor organizes a construction company and controls his work. Offers a practical and direct approach and describes how a business starts up, how it's organized and how it's financed. Also covers estimating, cost keeping systems, labor relations, equipment, safety, and insurance. Augmented with numerous case histories, forms and sample agreements to keep a job on schedule and within budget.

Captures the insights of leading academics and practitioners based on decades of research around the globe on factors of success and failures of private wealth, over time. It presents a deep and broad approach to understanding why and how wealth is created, managed and preserved over generations.

This book explores different topics in the field of female entrepreneurship, such as motivational factors of female entrepreneurs, career perspectives of women, social female enterprises, tourism and hospitality, and emotional and institutional support of female entrepreneurial initiatives in the perspective of different transitional countries.

This Fifth Edition retains the practice-oriented approach and informal writing style that made the previous editions so popular. Presents the techniques and methods used in the day-to-day running of a small business enterprise, with updated and extended coverage of the business plan and the growing use of microcomputers. Other topics include franchising, operations, marketing and the role of the government.

Financing Life Science Innovation reviews the literature on venture capital, corporate governance, and life science venturing and presents a study of the Swedish life science industry and the venture capital investors being active in financially and managerially supporting life science start-up firms.

This book presents a collection of nine studies which contribute to a more robust and richer understanding of entrepreneurship, self-employment and retirement in a diversity of settings, including the Netherlands, Canada, the United Kingdom, Singapore and the US, by drawing on both qualitative and quantitative data.