A how-to guide to small business anti-fraud protection and internal control Internal Control/Anti-Fraud Program Design for the Small Business is a practical guide to protection for businesses NOT subject to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Written by an expert with three decades of forensic investigation experience, this book is geared specifically toward private, non-public small businesses and their unique needs in the realm of fraud protection. Covering all elements of an internal control structure applicable to the small business community, this guide provides a step-by-step roadmap for designing and implementing an effective, efficient internal control structure/anti-fraud program tailored to your business's particular needs. Case studies are used throughout to illustrate internal control weaknesses and the fraud that can result, and follow-up analysis describes the controls that would have reduced the probability of fraud had they been in place. You'll learn how to analyze your company's internal control issues, and implement a robust system for fraud prevention. Guidance toward Sarbanes-Oxley compliance is readily available, but there is little information available for the many businesses not subject to the act until now. This book is the step-by-step guide for instituting an internal control program tailored to your small business. * Understand the five elements of internal control * Avoid gaps in protection with relevant controls * Design the ultimate anti-fraud program * Implement internal control tailored to your needs The majority of small business owners simply do not know the elements of or implementation process involved in internal control, and Sarbanes-Oxley guidelines don't necessarily scale down. Internal Control/Anti-Fraud Program Design for the Small Business helps you design and install the internal control/anti-fraud protection your business needs.

Scale at Speed gets your business over the hump of doing fine to triple revenue in two years. Unlike other business growth books, this is a how-to guide, matching theory with easily actionable steps. Scale at Speed has helped founders, entrepreneurs and business leaders: - Chart a clear route to business transformation - Build enthusiastic and talented support for your vision - Uncover your unique value proposition - Introduce processes and KPIs - Untangle yourself from the day-to-day - Become a market leader while reducing marketing costs - Achieve the best exit price Written in a clear, honest and engaging style by Felix Velarde, founder of the 2Y3X growth accelerator, which has been helping businesses scale since 2016. Velarde founded one of the world's first web design consultancies, before spending a twenty-year career creating, growing and selling digital marketing's highest-profile businesses.

While family businesses have existed for millennia all over the world, it is only in the past few decades that professional consultants have been utilized to help them function more effectively. This engaging, up to the minute volume explores the varied and complex world of family enterprises as they now exist in the third decade of the 21st century. Attention is given to the factors unique to family businesses in their attention to perpetuating family values, traditions, loyalties and their legacy to future generations. Consultants may be drawn from law, finance and accounting, organizational psychology, or family psychology (with its special emphasis on understanding the family relationship system). The book describes methods of assessment and how to effectively communicate the results as well as techniques of consulting and provides an invaluable description of what is necessary to be and become a family business consultant. Readers will benefit from explorations of A new model featuring 8 inter-related business domains Cybersecurity issues and how to handle them Working collaboratively with financial and legal professionals Comprehensive coverage of research based assessment instruments Given that over 85% of the businesses in the world, from small to multinational in size and scope are family businesses, the enormous amount of information conveyed in this volume can be extremely valuable to professional consultants and those in the C Suite (CEO's, CFO's, COO's) in helping businesses operate at maximum efficiency, productivity, profitability and satisfaction to all involved. "Throughout this well organized and well written book, the authors raise the pivotal questions that form the basis for becoming and being an exceptional family business consultant. Psychologists can learn to transform family business conundrums into healthy interactions between the family members of the enterprise before, during, and after transitions of the company. The various aspects of serving as a consultant are fleshed out in the carefully-researched chapters. Case studies show the patterns of behavior that can lead to continuing multigenerational successes or hard dissolutions. Their new model entitled "The Dynamic Interactive Multifactorial Family Enterprise Ecosystem Model" constitutes a major contribution to the field. The best part of the book remains its celebration of the importance and richness of family businesses across generations that will inspire any reader." G. Andrew H. Benjamin, JD, PhD, ABPPPast President, American Academy of Couple & Family Psychology Past President, American Board (ABPP) of Couple & Family Psychology Clinical Professor of Psychology & Affiliate Professor of Law, University of Washington

Author of cult classics The Pumpkin Plan and The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur offers a simple, counterintuitive cash management solution that will help small businesses break out of the doom spiral and achieve instant profitability. Conventional accounting uses the logical (albeit, flawed) formula: Sales - Expenses = Profit. The problem is, businesses are run by humans, and humans aren't always logical. Serial entrepreneur Mike Michalowicz has developed a behavioral approach to accounting to flip the formula: Sales - Profit = Expenses. Just as the most effective weight loss strategy is to limit portions by using smaller plates, Michalowicz shows that by taking profit first and apportioning only what remains for expenses, entrepreneurs will transform their businesses from cash-eating monsters to profitable cash cows. Using Michalowicz's Profit First system, readers will learn that: - Following 4 simple principles can simplify accounting and make it easier to manage a profitable business by looking at bank account balances. - A small, profitable business can be worth much more than a large business surviving on its top line. - Businesses that attain early and sustained profitability have a better shot at achieving long-term growth. With dozens of case studies, practical, step-by-step advice, and his signature sense of humor, Michalowicz has the game-changing roadmap for any entrepreneur to make money they always dreamed of.

This third book in the series focuses on how small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) contribute to achieving and sustaining growth and performance in their economies, as well as the ways in which governments can assist and enhance that contribution. This is of particular concern given the trauma suffered by East Asian economies in the wake of the financial and economic crisis of 1997-98. Faced with the need to restructure and reform their economies and thereby achieve a firm foundation for future sustainable growth, many East Asian countries actively pursued SME growth, focusing on the encouragement of entrepreneurialism in the private sector. Drawing on the insights of a wide range of SME experts, the book provides a broad coverage of important aspects of SMEs, including: the contribution of micro-enterprises to economic recovery and poverty alleviation measurement and evaluation issues managing knowledge development ethical values in SMEs the internationalisation process entry mode decisions in export markets technological sourcing use of the Internet. Presenting a contemporary analysis of SME developments in East Asia, both academics and policymakers will find Sustaining Growth and Performance in East Asia of great interest.

Family business is the most prominent form of business organization, and its importance to the global economy cannot be under-estimated. Until recently, the impact of the family on entrepreneurial firms has been under-researched, leading to a conceptual gap between the two areas of study, and an underestimation of the contribution of family systems to entrepreneurial success. Starting from the consideration that family is an intimate and essential aspect of entrepreneurship, this book considers connections between family, family members, entrepreneurial behavior, family business, society and the economy. Bringing together a unique range of international contributions, it offers new theoretical perspectives and empirical insights as well as an in-depth consideration of the diversity of contexts and processes associated with entrepreneurship in family settings. Above all, this book opens up a comprehensive research agenda on the linkages between family, family firms and entrepreneurship and will be of interest to researchers, educators and advanced students of entrepreneurship, small firms and family business.

Sport Startups: New Advances in Entrepreneurship examines the global growth of startup enterprises in the sports sector and addresses how they contribute to new developments in business innovation and entrepreneurship. Highlighting the unique challenges faced by startups in this sector, Vanessa Ratten explores approaches to business model development, branding and marketing, and the utilization of new technologies to build successful enterprises, underpinning her study with a clear theoretical framework rooted in institutional theory. Sport Startups is one of the first books to specifically focus on the role of startups in sport. Analyzing the inherent start-up aspect of the sporting sector, due to the combination of profit and non-profit ties, which means that many sport enterprises are developed as new start-up business ventures as they link in with the community. The book foregrounds how startups in sport are vital in developing a better global society that emphasizes the role of health and fitness in communities. Sport Startups will be illuminating reading for all scholars of innovation, entrepreneurship, sports management and business studies.

Entrepreneurial Behaviour: Unveiling the Cognitive and Emotional Aspects of Entrepreneurship provides a range of scholarly explorations of how decisions permeate the success of entrepreneurial ventures throughout their life cycle. This bridges the gaps in current research on entrepreneurship and innovative behaviours with decision making and negotiation. The success, longevity, and survival of SMEs are deeply linked to the effectiveness of individual decision-making processes, and established firms need to develop an entrepreneurial decision-making processes to maintain competitive advantages in a continuously changing and increasingly turbulent environment. The book leads off with the core themes of the series and incorporates new perspectives around entrepreneurial emotions, passion and trust. Previous research has not studied in sufficient detail the negotiation processes in entrepreneurship. This edited work explores these negotiation processes in depth, while also providing a discussion forum for scholars interested in researching and understanding how decisions permeate the life of entrepreneurial ventures during their life cycle.

This book provides an extensive evaluation of the numerous policy instruments used by regional governments in Europe to promote innovation activity in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The instruments are compared and benchmarked in order to identify 'good practice', in an effort to bridge the gap between the theory of regional innovation and real-world policy implementation. The authors argue for a new policy paradigm and highlight the value of an interactive style of policy intervention. Since the majority of SMEs have a limited resource base with regard to innovation, they need external orientation to understand and adapt to their environment. Thus, the main role for policy should be to increase the innovative capacity of a region and its SMEs by fostering interactive learning both within firms, and within the region as a whole. The authors also collect extensive data on the efficiency of innovation-driven policy measures and introduce three key concepts for successful regional innovation policy: coherence, interactivity and cumulative character. This volume will provide practical lessons and useful comparative results for a variety of professionals working on SME-oriented innovation at the EU, national and regional level. In particular, the mix of theoretical and empirical material will be of considerable interest to academics and researchers studying regional innovation systems and their role in knowledge-based economies. The book will also appeal to professional consultants, practitioners and policymakers who will find the frameworks for the evaluation and design of innovation policies to be of immense value.

"Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion." Jack Welch, former CEO, GE The Innovative Leader stresses the importance of innovation and creativity in modern business to help organizations secure competitive advantage over rivals. It shows how to apply the methods described to the individual, to others and to the organization. Author Paul Sloane demonstrates the importance of setting out your vision clearly and emphasizes the need for continual evaluation of the process. Numerous international examples illustrate how organizations such as Virgin, Body Shop, WPP and 3M have benefited from this approach, encouraging excellence and entrepreneurship through setting challenging goals to keep employees motivated and engaged.

Start a Business-We'll Show You How. Entrepreneur magazine's Startup series presents everything you need to know about starting and running more than 55 of today's hottest businesses. As a successful import/export agent, you can net a healthy six-figure income by matching buyers and sellers from around the globe, right from your own home. This book is loaded with valuable insights and practical advice for tapping into highly lucrative global markets. You'll learn every aspect of the startup process, including: Choosing the most profitable goods to buy and sell Setting up and maintaining a trade route Using the internet to simplify your transactions How the government can help you find products and customers Essential trade law information to keep your business in compliance How to choose a customs broker The latest government policies Proven methods for finding contacts in the United States and abroad Plus, you'll gain the tricks of the trade from successful importers/exporters and hundreds of valuable resources help you become a player in the lucrative world of international exchange.

Innovation is crucial for small enterprises to become and remain competitive in the global economy. In this book, the authors have combined theoretical insights with comprehensive case studies on innovation among small-scale enterprises in developing countries, paying particular attention to technological change in clusters of small firms.The authors deliberately use a broad definition of innovation in order to emphasise the fact that technological change and innovation adoption takes place on a wider scale and in a greater number of forms than is frequently assumed. The unusual case studies such as the Kenyan food processing sector, furniture making in Nicaragua and tile manufacturing in Indonesia highlight the patterns of innovation adoption and diffusion, and serve as a unique and fascinating backdrop to the study. The authors pay specific attention to innovation by small enterprises in times of economic crisis and go on to assess the mechanisms employed to promote innovation. They demonstrate that although radical innovation among small enterprises occurs on a limited scale, innovation through gradual incremental improvements in production processes and products is continuous. Innovation and Small Enterprises in the Third World will be widely read by academics, researchers and policymakers concerned with innovation adoption and diffusion, and third world development issues.

Resourcing new ventures is-all important for entrepreneurs, and creating a successful business plan can be make or break when it comes to attracting investment. Written by an experienced academic and consultant, this book provides a concise guide for producing the optimal business plan. Business plans are vital when it comes to making strategic decisions and monitoring progress. Writing a Business Plan is designed to teach you how to write your business plan without relying on someone else or internet templates. It will take you through each stage of business-plan writing, with chapters on generating ideas; describing business opportunities; drawing a business road map; and considering marketing, financial, operations, HR, legal and risk. The book includes a range of features to assist you, including worked-through examples. This unique book provides a one-stop shop for entrepreneurs and students of entrepreneurship to hone their skills in writing a useful and comprehensive business plan.

Lay down the foundations of a successful business venture through a thoroughly researched and competitive business plan.

Based on tried and tested business methodology used at the leading business school, Cranfield School of Management, this 10th edition of The Business Plan Workbook guides you through all the necessary steps to constructing a winning business plan. This is a practical run-through of 24 key areas of development of strategic planning. It will allow you to think of these areas in isolation through the use of assignments that ensure you have stress-tested your business proposition. This guide covers how to

• Come up with a winning business idea
• Complete market and competitive research
• Set up a winning marketing strategy
• Forecast watertight financials and projections
• Define realistic operations and staffing
• Deliver an unforgettable pitch to potential backers and investors

This new and fully updated edition includes 67 business case studies that show you how successful entrepreneurs have dealt with strategic planning in the past. The content has been streamlined to focus on the most critical parts of business planning, ensuring you spend time where it matters and stay competitive. With new information resources and financial planning consideration, this is an invaluable guide for entrepreneurs, business executives and students.

This workbook accompanies the textbook Small Business Management: Theory and Practice. The textbook familiarises students with the theory and practice of small business management and challenges assumptions that may be held about the way small business management can or should adopt the management practices of larger firms. For students interested in establishing and managing their own small firm, this book helps them to focus their thinking on the realities of life as a small business owner-manager - both its challenges and its rewards. For postgraduate students that are keen to 'make a difference', this text enables them to understand how they might consult to small firms and assist owner-managers to establish and grow their ventures. In addition to students, this book is also useful to small business owner-managers as a general guide on how they might better manage their operations. Managers in large corporations and financial institutions who deal with small businesses as clients or suppliers, and professionals such as accountants, lawyers and consultants who provide advice and other services to small businesses will also find the book of interest.

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.

Financial statements hold the key to a company's fiscal health--so learn to read them

In order to gauge a company's health--as well as the competition's--managers must know how to properly read and understand financial statements. "The Business Owner's Guide to Reading and Understanding Financial Statements" will introduce managers and business owners to various types of financial statements and explain why they are important. Serving as a desktop reference, especially for managers without a strong background in finance, this book will discuss the difference between internal and external financial statements and explain how they can be used for financial decision-making in order to avoid common missteps.

Whether you're planning for major capital projects or simply managing the fiscal aspects of your department, this nontechnical, results-driven guide will arm you with the fundamentals to: Understand the budget process and why it is importantManage assets and track inventoryGauge profitabilityMonitor success throughout the year using internal reportingSet prices and make key cost decisions

Financial statements are essential to determining a company's fiscal health. Understand where your company stands so that you can make informed decisions about its future.

Fuel your growth through some of your most valuable and strategic contacts Building sustainable relationships, both professionally and personally, is the biggest competitive advantage in a world where automation, artificial intelligence, and machine learning are eliminating the human experience, which is what creates emotional connections. In the newly revised and completely re-written third edition of Relationship Economics: Transform Your Most Valuable Business Contacts into Personal and Professional Success, renowned growth strategist, innovation consultant, and international speaker David Nour delivers an eye-opening discussion of how to prioritize and maximize your return on strategic relationships to fuel unprecedented professional and personal growth. Drawing on the author's extensive experience consulting with leaders of Fortune 500 clients, the book demonstrates how to invest in people for extraordinary returns. You'll gain a deeper understanding of how the global pandemic and its onslaught of disruptive forces are impacting every facet of digital, in-person, and global relationships. You'll also find: Actionable tactics to employ in relationship management, like Relationship Currency(R) and Relationship Capital(R) Deep discussion of the fundamental measures of business relationships Impactful strategies for turning your contacts into better executions, performance, and results A must-read for executives, managers, and other business leaders, the third edition of Relationship Economics will also earn a place in the libraries of professionals seeking to improve their ability to attract, retain, and convert clients.

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.

Teaching yoga online can help you to grow your business, help more students, while also allowing you to work more flexibly to suit your lifestyle. However, whether you want to move fully online, or even blend in-person teaching with an added digital offering, it can be daunting trying to incorporate a style of teaching that you've otherwise never had to engage with. This book is for you if... * You've been sticking your head in the sand, reluctant to start online teaching. * You've been struggling to adapt to online teaching and would like to streamline your business with the right tools and software. * You've stopped teaching and need to get started again. * You lack confidence and feel overwhelmed trying to figure teaching online out. * You would like to access a larger student base. This down to earth guide will offer you advice and reassurance on all of the above in succinct, straightforward, and mindful chapters. It speaks candidly on goal setting, planning, fruitful mindsets, equipment and much more, allowing you to develop a thriving online yoga business whilst embracing the accessibility benefits that come with this form of teaching. The book is supported by worksheets to aid with planning and video tutorials to help you get to grips with equipment and software.

Now more than ever, business owners need a reality check. As we see the economy flattening and businesses struggling to stay afloat, "Profits Aren't Everything, They're the Only Thing" is a wakeup call for the 23 million small businesses across America who need to get their business fundamentals in order. George Cloutier reveals 13 no-nonsense, tough-love maxims that small businesspeople may not want to hear at first, but will thank him for in the end. Among his controversial (yet proven!) ideas are: forget teamwork, micromanage like crazy; pay raises are over; fear is the best motivator; and, if your business fails during a recession, it's your fault. His contrarian message, regular media appearances, thriving business, and growing speaking and consulting platform are all testament to his successful philosophy at work. And despite his in-your-face message, Cloutier is a charming figure who's earned the right to give such candid advice through years of hard work and tremendous success with his own small business.

Family businesses are the most common business form in the world, ranging from the millions of small local businesses to giants such as Walmart. This book showcases the crucial contribution that family businesses make to the world economy and informs students of the existing and potential research in this area. Drawing upon global academic research and case studies, theories of family businesses are explained and prevailing myths and assumptions are tested. Features including exercises linked to case studies develop skills in applying theories in practice. This concise textbook is essential reading for students of family business and useful additional reading for those interested in entrepreneurship more broadly.

Despite the seemingly relentless march of the multinationals, small businesses continue to thrive across the globe and form a vital part of all successful economies. The Economics and Management of Small Business provides an international perspective on this important topic, and includes many useful pedagogical features such as questions for discussion, international case-studies and empirical research.

Graham Bannock's accessible writing style is key to the reader gaining a good understanding of this important area, and students of small business and entrepreneurship courses will find this book extremely useful.