This books looks specifically at ICT adoption and learning trajectories in developing countries; a context characterized by skill deficiencies and weak institutional support. The authors employ a theoretical framework and research techniques to present firm-level evidence on learning in firms in an Internet-based production environment.

Are you a college student or recent graduate with a great idea for a business?

You're not alone. All across the country, more and more students are seeking advice on starting their own businesses. The entrepreneurial spirit is thriving at Harvard, where many students, past and present, have become successful business owners—even founders of Fortune 500 companies. Now, some of the bright minds of the Harvard Entrepreneurs Club, a recognized student organization of Harvard College, have compiled their business knowledge and experience into one comprehensive manual to aid students in making their entrepreneurial dreams come true. This professional and practical guide will take you step by step through the process of starting and maintaining a business. Poonam Sharma and fellow members of the Club have tailored this useful resource to the unique issues and obstacles that students will face. You'll receive invaluable advice on formulating a business plan, advertising, legal protection, business ethics, and much more.

Even if you have no professional experience, little marketing know-how, or even a small bank account, this book can teach you how to join the ever-growing ranks of students who know firsthand the pleasure—and the profit—that come from being your own boss and bringing your business idea to life.

The crucial link between theory and practice

In The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship Case Studies you'll meet people who have used the business theories and practices presented in The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship to start and run their own entrepreneurial ventures. You'll get a real sense of what it takes to conceive, develop, finance, and operate a business, and how particular elements, such as business plans and financial forecasts, function in the real world. These case studies cover a broad variety of service and product industries: retail, wholesale, mail order, and Internet. You'll discover the trials and rewards of starting a travel agency, launching a new glass-cleaning product, setting up a fashion Web site, and selling women's hosiery through direct mail. Other studies cover ventures in the computer industry, the restaurant business, automobile service franchising, and business consulting.

Each case study is illustrated with exhibits —financial statements, business plans, sample contracts, and more —and many are supplemented with end-of-chapter questions that help you analyze the viability of each entrepreneurial venture and test your ability to respond to the challenges you'll face in pursuit of your own entrepreneurial dreams.

Keeping track of the finances is fundamental to the success of every business, but tackling the task yourself can be intimidating. Help is at hand, however, with this complete guide to small business money management. Packed with expert advice on all aspects of business finance, including basic bookkeeping and accounting, monitoring profit and performance, managing payroll, tackling tax, and forecasting for growth, Small Business Finance All-in-One For Dummies helps you to take control of your finances, stay on top of the paperwork, and keep the cash flowing.

Streams of Income is a guide to making the ideal day an everyday occurrence by building multiple streams of income. Multiple streams of income might sound nice, but is it actually possible? YES! Anyone can build a business that creates multiple streams to supplement income or maybe even provides a way to leave their current job. In Streams of Income, online business coach Ryan Reger unpacks the three main online business models and helps readers determine which one is the best fit for them. He also provides the resources readers need to take action and even goes into discovering the "why" for starting an online business. Whether the goal is to spend more time with family, be able to give more to important causes, or saving for kids' college or retirement, Ryan gives readers the tools they need to reach their goals and live the multiple income streams dream.

It's estimated that professional pet sitters serve a million clients annually, and demand for their services is growing rapidly. Updated and expanded for today's entrepreneurs, Pet Sitting for Profit, Third Edition covers all the fundamentals of starting and operating a pet-sitting business. It addresses new challenges and concerns faced by novice and experienced pet sitters alike, as well as the issues fundamental to the field. With information on everything from office procedures and personnel to advertising and business forms, this book is invaluable to entrepreneurs interested in starting a pet-sitting business or making an existing business more profitable. It's laced with real-life stories from professional pet sitters--stories that show how to handle unexpected situations with furry, feathered, or finny pets or their owners.

It's estimated that professional pet sitters serve a million clients annually, and demand for their services is growing rapidly. Updated and expanded for today's entrepreneurs, Pet Sitting for Profit, Third Edition covers all the fundamentals of starting and operating a pet-sitting business. It addresses new challenges and concerns faced by novice and experienced pet sitters alike, as well as the issues fundamental to the field. With information on everything from office procedures and personnel to advertising and business forms, this book is invaluable to entrepreneurs interested in starting a pet-sitting business or making an existing business more profitable. It's laced with real-life stories from professional pet sitters--stories that show how to handle unexpected situations with furry, feathered, or finny pets or their owners.

Cadence is a parable of a business owner and triathlon coach named JJ who left his stable job as a teacher to fulfill his dream of becoming an entrepreneur. Unfortunately, two years after opening his bike shop, JJ finds himself in a place that is all too familiar to most business owners-struggling to stay afloat. That all changes, fast, when an athlete he coaches teaches him how to turn the store's profitability around with seven key "10% Wins." Cadence uniquely communicates entrepreneur and advisor Pete Williams's "7 Levers" approach to business growth through the vehicle of a story. Instead of offering a list of do's and don'ts for business success, Cadence imparts wisdom by inviting readers on a journey into the lives of two characters who each have something valuable to teach the other. Through the use of down-to-earth dialogue and realistic business challenges, readers will immediately be pulled into the story of JJ and Charlie, and how they each learn to hit their stride and turn profitability around.

LAUNCHING NEW VENTURES, 7e provides tomorrow's entrepreneurs with the tools to launch a successful new business in a global marketplace. The text follows the logical development process: from initial idea, to developing and testing a business model, to designing a business and preparing for growth. The seventh edition represents the most current thoughts, ideas, and practices in the field of entrepreneurship. Allen focuses on the pre-startup and startup stages of a new business, with special emphasis on the process and activities that must take place prior to opening a new business. The student-friendly material includes real-world case studies, new venture action plans, and advice from successful entrepreneurs and the author herself. Part One introduces the foundations of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial opportunity that are important to understanding the decisions that entrepreneurs make, the environment in which they make those decisions, and the tasks they must undertake before launching a new company. Part Two addresses the heart of entrepreneurial activity--the development and testing of a new business model through feasibility analysis. Part Three focuses on the planning that goes into designing an effective, scalable startup organization. Part Four looks at planning for growth and change in the new organization.

This is one of the first books of its kind to highlight family firms in a Latin American context, helping students to understand the distinctive nature and challenges of Latin American family businesses and how these issues compare to family businesses around the world. Building on their experience in teaching, research, speaking, and consulting on the subject of family firms in Latin America, the editors explain the need to implement and adapt traditional frameworks in the changing Latin American reality. Each section provides background on the most important topics in the management of family firms, including strategy, entrepreneurship, and performance, followed by illustrative cases and a discussion of how this knowledge is similar to or different from other parts of the world. The book's clear writing and in-depth approach will appeal to undergraduate and graduate students of international business, business in Latin America, and family business.

The sponsorship of the entrepreneur as an agent of economic growth is now at the centre of a vast promotional industry, involving politicians, government departments and higher education. This book examines the origins of this phenomenon and subjects its mythologies, hero-figures and policies to an empirically based critical examination.

Dig into the fruits of your labor! Profitable, innovative organic fruit farming strategies and skills for modern growers of any scale. The Berry Grower is an innovative guide for growing and marketing organic small fruits and berries that offers intelligent strategies and solutions for successful small-scale, non-chemical fruit production in the 21st century. Coverage includes: History, innovations, and 21st-century challenges in modern fruit farming Creating your own market farming reality Farm planning for efficiency and profitability Factoring in climate change, drought, and extreme weather Soil fertility, efficient weed management, and organic pest control Modern tools of the trade for efficiency * Harvesting, fruit handling, and packing Fruit profiles including raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, currants, gooseberries, figs, tomatoes, and more, including new cultivars Innovative marketing methods and thinking beyond fresh fruit with multi-product strategies to maximize profit Learn from other experts through interviews with successful growers and marketers from diverse areas around the USA. From the market garden and small farm to the homestead and backyard, The Berry Grower is the essential guide for both new and aspiring organic small fruit growers and seasoned farmers looking to produce high-quality organic fruits and products for local markets and self-sufficiency.

Succession in Asian Family Firms examines the history and survival of family businesses in the South Asian Diaspora from an international perspective. The book presents unique research across three continents, focusing on significant communities in the UK, USA and Kenya. The book analyzes the influences on both the start up and survival of family firms, exploring how family members negotiate their working practices. The discussion provides a new perspective on issues central to the debate on family business succession whilst developing ideas on less familiar areas such as the role and influence of women through different cultural contexts.

Want to start your own business, but not sure where to begin? 'Mind Your Business' is the ONLY book that teaches you everything you need to know about how to build a successful business from scratch. From developing your brand to designing products to identifying your legal and tax needs, this comprehensive guide will take you through every step of the process and help you create a unique and customised roadmap for your business. This book is for aspiring entrepreneurs who are driven, ambitious, creative and determined to build a business and life they love.

The process of the transition to a market-oriented economy for countries from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) started some 25 years ago. A new technology base triggered the fast growth of new investments into intangible assets by global economic leaders at the beginning of the 1990s, providing the basis for a move towards a knowledge economy. During the past 25 years, entrepreneurs in CEE and the CIS have reshaped traditional industries and created new industries, combining innovative ideas with traditional competencies. Yet we still do not know very much about how and why companies led by entrepreneurs develop, how they expand globally and what the role of new knowledge and innovation is in the internationalization process. Understanding the pathways of entrepreneurial development, especially growth through internationalization, is important for the overall development of countries in transition and beyond. Entrepreneurship in Central and Eastern Europe: Development through Internationalization provides an overview of entrepreneurship in a range of important emerging markets. This book aims to fill the gap in the literature by providing up-to-date data and case-based evidence. With coverage of a range of national firms from countries including Belarus, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine, this book will be vital supplementary reading around international entrepreneurship and essential reading for those studying the business environment in this vital emerging market.

This open access book focuses on Switzerland-based medium-sized companies with a longstanding export tradition and a proven dominance in global niche markets. Based upon in-depth documentation and analysis of 36 Swiss companies over their entire history, an expert team of authors presents several parallels in the pathways and success factors which allowed these firms to become dominant and operate from a high-cost location such as Switzerland. The book enhances these insights by providing detailed company profiles documenting the company history, development, and how their relevant global niche positions were reached. Readers will benefit from these profiles as they compile a diverse selection of industries, mainly active within the B2B sector, with mostly mature companies (60 years to older than 100 years since founding) and different types of ownership structures including family firms. 'Masterpieces of Swiss Entrepreneurship' brings unique learning opportunities to owners and leaders of SMEs in Switzerland and elsewhere. Findings are based on detailed bottom-up research of 36 companies -- without any preconceived notions. The book is both conceptual and practical. It fosters understanding for different choices in development pathways and management practices. Matti Alahuhta, Chairman DevCo Partners, ex-CEO Kone, Board member of several global listed companies, Helsinki, Finland Start-up entrepreneurs need proven models from industry which demonstrate the various paths to success. "Masterpieces of Swiss Entrepreneurship" provides deep insights highlighting these models and the important trade-offs entrepreneurial teams must consider when choosing the path of high growth or of maximum control, as they are often mutually exclusive. Gina Domanig, Managing Partner, Emerald Technology Ventures, Zurich

"Small Store Survival should challenge retailers' views of small store retailing by questioning key areas of business. What is the vision for the store in 10 years? How have the customers changed over the past few years? How current are the managers about what customers genuinely like and dislike? What is being done to attract, educate, and motivate the best retail talent in the area? How effective is the merchandising strategy? What plans exist for succession?

"The real lesson of this study is that the best retailers never stop learning. They never stop growing. They never lose their enthusiasm for the customers and the business. And they never cease to revel in change and the chance to deal with it." —from the Executive Summary of Small Store Survival

Small Store Survival

Over the past decade, thousands of small retail stores have fallen victim to overwhelming competition from huge discount chains determined to take in every retail dollar in sight. But not everyone succumbs to the megastore invasion; many small retailers grow and prosper in spite of this cutthroat competition. How do they do it? Even more important, how can you do it?

Small Store Survival is the how-to book that belongs behind the counter of every independent retail store. It analyzes small-store operation in detail and lays out optimal survival strategies and tactics for seven key areas of business practice that are critical to success: customer service, marketing, merchandising, store operations, management, human resources, and finance. Its clear and logical organization enables you to evaluate your business practices function by function, identify strengths and weaknesses, and develop action plans to improve operations in each of these crucial functions.

Written by a team of experts from Arthur Andersen LLP, this guide presents detailed solutions and best practices culled from retailer surveys, site visits, and industry research. Its recommendations are applicable to a broad variety of retail formats, including stores that specialize in apparel; appliances; books; drugs, health, and beauty care products; electronics; hardware; home and garden supplies; pets and pet supplies; as well as other specialty stores. Numerous case studies illustrate the problems that plague many retailers and demonstrate ways you can overcome these obstacles and improve your business. You'll learn how to:

• Identify customer expectations and meet or exceed them at every turn
• Identify, pursue, and capture a distinct customer market
• Establish a vision and culture for your store, plan where the company needs to go, and take steps to get there
• Compete for quality employees and, once you hire them, keep them
• Establish budgetary controls and contain costs
• Negotiate effectively for favorable terms from vendors and suppliers

The most successful retailers never stop learning, growing, and adapting to changing circumstances. The hundreds of sound ideas presented in this study were developed and implemented by the most successful small store operators in the industry. Here is your chance to learn and grow with them by adapting these solutions to your own business needs.

Europe is waking up to the challenge of technology and innovation. We see EU commitment to spend 3% of GDP on R&D, but who is thinking about how to spend? Who is thinking about technology management? Does the corporate board have the means to manage this spend? Should some percentage of the R&D be spent on improving technology and innovation management? This is where this book makes a contribution. It brings together the latest practice, research findings and thinking, presented in a way that addresses top management requirements. The goal is to secure the economic future of the firm, in the context of a sustainable industry and society. Using the ideas and methods in this book, the board can assess and improve its own ability to deal with the challenge of technology and innovation.

A complete how-to guide to a 100% financed business… How to Buy a Great Business with no Cash Down Bestselling author Dr. Arnold Goldstein has successfully purchased 12 companies—including retail stores to printing plants—and he did it without investing any money of his own! Using his proven formula for success, he also has guided hundreds of other enterprising but financially limited people into their own 100% leveraged businesses. Now, the master of the "No Cash Down" takeover is ready to help you too. In this important new book, he reveals all his secrets, including how to successfully find, qualify, evaluate, structure, finance, negotiate, and take over any type or size business…using little or no cash of your own. In How to Buy a Great Business With No Cash Down, you’ll

• Get over 50 proven "no cash down" techniques, strategies, and formulas that insure success through each phase of the buy-sell process
• Discover how to prospect the very best no-cash deals
• Learn how to avoid costly errors and common pitfalls
• Find out how to calculate what a business is worth
• Get all the same handy checklists, forms, and sample agreements the author uses
• Learn how to attract the right investment partners
• Discover how to negotiate a winning deal…each and every time!
• Find out how to quickly sell the business for an unbelievable profit

This book focuses on the process of commercialisation and innovation management in small firms. Although commercialisation and new product development (NPD) has been covered quite extensively, relatively little attention has been given to how small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) engage with these issues. The book explores this topic in depth, taking a close look at the reasons why decisions are made and mapping this behaviour against established theories and "best practice" models of NPD and commercialisation. The book uses case studies to analyse the relationship between entrepreneurial decision- making and commercialisation, and investigates how and why NPD and commercialisation decisions are made, which offers valuable insights from both a theoretical and applied perspective.

Winning the Chain Restaurant Game

Are you ready for success?...

Find out what it takes in this insider's guide to making it in today's most exciting growth industry.

In this instructive and inspiring book, award-winning authors and foodservice industry experts Charles Bernstein and Ron Paul tell how the most successful restaurant companies win with bottom-up management, putting the customer on top. Based on interviews with more than a hundred industry executives and packed with enlightening examples as well as a few historic failures, this unique book teaches important lessons for restaurateurs and other entrepreneurs:

• Presents the first authoritative, in-depth look at the restaurant chain industry as a whole
• Tells how successful chain CEOs produce results with varied winning styles
• Isolates and clearly describes the eight crucial factors, or strategic "links," vital to restaurant chain success
• Tells how chains can capitalize on bulk purchasing, brand identity, consistent execution, an individual sense of style and—most of all—finding unique ways to please the customer

Few success stories so thoroughly embody the twentieth-century American dream as those of restaurant chains such as McDonald's, KFC, Pizza Hut, Wendy's, Little Caesar's, and Taco Bell. But besides the "true grit" demonstrated by entrepreneurial heros like McDonald's Ray Kroc and Wendy's Dave Thomas, what does it take to build and maintain a successful restaurant or retail chain? Find out in this first book to give a broad, long-term perspective on one of the nation's leading growth industries and to offer crucial lessons for all entrepreneurs, no matter what the business.

Winning the Chain Restaurant Game, by award-winning authors and noted foodservice industry experts Charles Bernstein and Ron Paul, documents the critical success factors required for one of the toughest, most competitive industries.

Highlighting the winning styles of more than a hundred chain executives, their triumphs, trials, disappointments, and turnarounds, this fascinating and instructive book identifies the eight strategic "links" that lead to victory in the chain restaurant business. With surgical precision, Bernstein and Paul explore such key factors as leadership, motivation, bulk purchasing, marketing, identity, consistency, and expansion. But they place focus ahead of everything and conclude that the entrepreneurial passion of an executive who deeply believes in his concept is the ultimate catalyst for success.

Small- to medium-size chains are going public at a dizzying pace and there are enormous financial opportunities for savvy restaurant owners. Winning the Chain Restaurant Game arms operators with the vital know-how needed to win the game.

More than 15 years ago, the staff at Entrepreneur Media introduced bestseller "Start Your Own Business." Since release, "Start Your Own Business" has sold more than 300,000 copies and has been called "the best startup book of all time." At it again, the staff at Entrepreneur delivers a new dose of fundamental startup how-to, backed by 33+ years at the forefront of small business--"Write Your Business Plan." A comprehensive companion to "Start Your Own Business," this business library essential takes aspiring entrepreneurs past one of the hardest steps of startup second to committing to their business goal--defining how to achieve it.
Tell friends you're starting a business, and you will get as many different pieces of advice as you have friends. One piece of wisdom, however, transcends all others: Write a business plan.
Following the lead of its bestselling counterpart, "Start Your Own Business," each chapter in this detailed guide is devoted to analyzing, explaining, and presenting practical instruction on developing a business plan relevant to today's marketplace and lending landscapes.
Appropriate for existing companies and brand-new startups, this guide is divided into three sections: "Before Writing Your Business Plan, Writing Your Business Plan," and "Enhancing Your Business Plan." Starting with basic FAQs such as "how long should a business plan be? When should it be developed?" And, "what role does it play in business startup?" Our experts then lead readers into evaluating their venture, identifying what type of plan they need (one plan does not fit all), and gathering what they need to get their plan on paper and polished for their intended audience.
Aspiring entrepreneurs uncover how to calculate a business break-even ratio; current lending options, including crowdfunding, and how to approach them; tools for gathering essential data; what role social media and visual media can play; how to include current staff if applicable; and much more. Coached by a diverse group of experts and successful business owners, readers gain an in-depth understanding of what's essential to any plan, what's appropriate for their industry, and what they can do to ensure success.
Following the practical format of companion book Start Your Own Business, alongside practical instruction and information, the editors at Entrepreneur present definitions of important terms, contact information for useful resources, warnings of especially common or serious mistakes, and pointers to steer readers in the right direction. Each chapter is supported by exercises, worksheets, examples, and expert advice. Sample business plans from a variety of industries are included as well as resource listings, and a glossary.

The Consultant’s Manual If you’re serious about starting your own consulting practice, there’s something you should know … … No matter how knowledgeable you are in your field.… No matter how expert your advice or impressive your credentials.… If you don’t bring an air of consummate professionalism to every phase of your practice—from proposal-writing and fee-setting, to drawing up contracts and issuing reports—you’ll almost definitely lose out to the professional who does. But don’t worry, because with Tom Greenbaum and The Consultant’s Manual in your corner, you can make sure that never happens! Growing out of the author’s Harvard consulting course, this book offers level-headed, expert advice on virtually every practical aspect of starting, building, and marketing your consulting practice. Centered around the theme of developing and working an exhaustive business plan for your firm, it leads you step-by-step through the research, planning, and problem-solving stages. Positioning your firm, giving it a name, targeting your market, establishing a sales culture, maintaining top-flight customer service, cash flow, billing, and fee setting … it’s all in here, and much more.