Like much of SMEs research, innovation studies of small enterprises have commenced later and are less numerous. The focus of such studies remains high-technology enterprises, which continue to attract both academic and popular interest, oblivious to the innovative endeavours of people in traditional low-tech industries. This book attempts to address this imbalance through a comprehensive analysis of innovation in this largely neglected area. Based on case studies of seven small innovative food companies, this book presents an in-depth analysis of innovation in the Scottish food and drinks industry and unravels a lesser-known approach to effective low-cost product innovation, which is simple and economical, yet elegant and successful. Using careful data collection and rigorous statistical testing, the analysis and findings in this book address a wide spectrum of interests: academics in business schools, policy makers in governments and executives and entrepreneurs in food and other low-technology sectors.

The small business marketing experts at Demandforce help owners kick off their online strategy

Small business owners are exceptional at delivering on their product or service. Many, however, don't know where to start when it comes to online marketing. "The Small Business Online Marketing Handbook" will show you how to effectively leverage email, social, online, and network marketing to get new customers and keep existing customers coming back. Author Annie Tsai shows you how to refocus just a small percentage of an offline marketing budget and create exponential return for your business.Author Annie Tsai is a popular blogger and Chief Customer Officer for Demandforce, an automated Internet marketing and communication company specializing in small- to medium-sized businesses, recently acquired by IntuitFeatures spot interviews and "do this now" advice from resident experts at Demandforce, including the founders

With the proliferation of social media and the consumer voice on the web, small business owners need to take a deliberate approach to leveraging this new marketing channel to effectively convert online conversations into offline sales. "The Small Business Online Marketing Handbook" shows you how.

'No freelance stone is left unturned with this book. I wish this book had existed when I started freelancing 20 years ago' - Paul Jarvis, author of Company of One Award-winning entrepreneur and freelancer, Alison Grade, guides you through absolutely everything that you need to know to start your successful self-employed life. Starting from day one, she will help you develop your personal brand, pick up the financial essentials, grow your client base, manage your work-life balance, negotiate deals and value your time as you become more established. This is your complete guide to turning your talent into a fulfilling and sustainable career. 'If you have talent and passion this is a very practical guide to turning that into a career, from someone who's not just done it but taught many others how to do it too' - Mike Southon, co-author of The Beermat Entrepreneur and Entrepreneur in Residence, Cass Business School

This is a guide to financial management written particularly for people either thinking of setting up a small business or actually running one. It sets out to help the small business person improve their understanding of financial and management accounts. It is written for people wishing to: Present a plan to a bank manager or other financial institutionimprove the profitability of their business by introducing appropriate financial monitoring procedures and control systemsproduce their own accountsimprove their knowledge so that they no longer feel at the mercy of their accountant.

Take an in-depth look into the gig economy to see how tech professionals and entrepreneurs can earn a living as freelancers and contractors. Build your own business. The pros and cons of the lifestyle and what to expect from it are discussed. In this book, author Adam Sinicki explains the impact of the gig economy and the forces that led to it as it relates to technology and working online. You will understand how to make a living supplying tech skills on a "per gig" basis. Practical instructions, advice, and tips are provided on goal setting, lifestyle design, and selecting the types of work and contracts that further your goals and support the things you value as you transition from a 9-5 job. What You'll Learn Know the types of work that a tech freelancer can offer: coding, SEO, web development, 3D modeling, and more Find and manage clients Negotiate pay and contracts Stay productive without a manager Discover useful tools, websites, and apps to build your business and ensure a steady income Who This Book Is For Entrepreneurs who are already a part of the gig economy and want to learn more about their options, tech professionals looking to transition to purely freelancing/contracting, companies interested in learning more about this change in the jobs market, technologists interested in exploring how the Internet is shaping the way people live and work, and professionals interested in lifestyle design or becoming "digital nomads"

Jane Hilburt-Davis and W. Gibb Dyer— two of the country's foremost experts in the field of family business— offer in one comprehensive volume a systematic approach for developing the skills and competencies you need to consult with these unique systems. This practical, hands-on resource shows you how to manage each stage of the consulting process— from the first contact to the last— and reveals how to plan strategically and deal with the complex relationship issues that are commonplace in family businesses.

Are you running your business or is it running you? Running a small business can take over your life but it doesn't have to be that way. Choosing and using the right technology and systems can transform the way your business works and this book shows you how! No matter how technophobic you are, Sorted! will quickly help you find the small changes that will make a big difference to your business. If you're more tech savvy, you'll love the ninja tips to take your business to the next level. Feel more confident in your choice of technology and systems for the future, because whatever your plans are, you need the right systems in place to help you achieve them.

***BUSINESS BOOK AWARDS 2022 SHORTLISTED TITLE*** So you have a great idea... but you're not an entrepreneur, right? Wrong! Every entrepreneur started with the same fears, doubts and anxieties that you have right now. The difference between them and you? Nothing more than the next choice you make. Ignite will take you step by step through the process, turning that small spark into a flaming success. This simple, easy-to-read guide will walk you through what may seem today like an impossible journey. From business planning to balancing wellbeing and hectic life schedules, this book breaks down the seemingly impossible journey into small manageable steps that you can cover over a matter of weeks, months or even years. You can use the helpful reflections tool to note your thoughts as you go along so even if you come back to the journey at a later date you can pick up right where you left off! Jo Richardson has over 20 years' experience as a HR professional coaching and mentoring women in business. She has supported female entrepreneurs and small business owners to break through barriers and overcome personal and professional challenges.

From popular startup support company Square comes practical, proven advice to help you launch, manage, and grow your small business Leaders of large businesses rely on boards and their managers for guidance, but entrepreneurs like you have few, if any, experienced advisors to count on. Now, Self-Made Boss provides the community of advisors you need to help make the right decisions every time. Drawn from real-life stories directly from Square's Seller's Community, which is composed of millions of small businesses, the book shows you exactly what works and what doesn't. Told through the eyes of small business owners, Self-Made Boss is filled with rich, colorful examples, and valuable lessons. These are the lessons you learn only when you're an entrepreneur. They include a second-generation ice cream shop owner on how to manage price increases; a NYC restaurant owner on how to hire and manage employees; a Black female roofer on how to break through in a male dominated industry; a dentist who is transitioning out of his business; and stylist who quit her corporate job to pursue her passion. These entrepreneurs share all the things you learn on the job and wish you knew before you started your business. The book provides answers to important questions on a wide variety of topics, including: * Turning a personal passion or side hustle into a career * Setting up your business for success * Getting the word out and build loyalty * Building the right team * How to transition out of your business and much more With Self-Made Boss you have everything you need to make life and business decisions with knowledge, insight, and confidence.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) dominate the market in terms of sheer number of organisations; yet, scholarly resource materials to assist in honing skills and competencies have not kept pace. This well renowned textbook guides students through the complexities of entrepreneurship from the unique perspective of marketing in SME contexts, providing a clear grounding in the principles, practices, strategies, challenges, and opportunities faced by businesses today. SMEs now need to step up to the terrain of mobile marketing and consumer-generated marketing and utilise social media marketing tools. Similarly, the activities of various stakeholders in SME businesses like start-up accelerators, business incubators, and crowdfunding have now gained more prominence in SME activities. This second edition advances grounds covered in the earlier edition and has been fully updated to reflect this new, dynamic business landscape. Updates include: A consideration of social media imperatives on SME marketing; Discussion of forms of capital formation and deployment for marketing effectiveness, including crowdfunding; Updated international case studies drawn from diverse backgrounds; Hands-on practical explorations based on real-life tasks to encourage deeper understanding. This book is perfect for students studying SMEs, Marketing and Enterprise at both advanced undergraduate and postgraduate levels, as well as professionals looking to obtain the required knowledge to operate their businesses in this increasingly complex and turbulent marketing environment.

6 Books in 1 Generate high-impact marketing campaigns There's more to a successful campaign than spinning the marketing wheel of fortune and hoping for the best. This all-encompassing guide shows you how to develop and execute winning plans that result in growth and revenue every time. Get ready to incorporate tried-and-true marketing methods that will put your small business on top. 6 Books Inside...* Setting Up Your Marketing Foundation * Getting Started with Your Campaign * Content Is King: Content Marketing * Using Social Media * Incorporating Traditional Marketing * Measuring Results

This volume represents a comprehensive state-of-the-art picture of family business and entrepreneurship issues in countries belonging to the Gulf Cooperation Council. It provides major theoretical and empirical evidence which depicts the current processes in each GCC country including problems, faced by family business owners and entrepreneurs, such as succession, financial constraints, and conflicts. The chapters offer recommendations to policy makers on how to improve the general business environment and encourage potential investors, researchers, academicians, and professionals to be more involved in the region. The book is an outcome of a long-lasting endeavor and includes contributions from highly reputed authors and experts from the region and abroad.

This book deals with dynastic business families. Such families are characterized by a circle of owners comprising more than 50 family members, which typically face specific issues and challenges for which there has been little research knowledge and practical approaches until now. The book presents results and findings from a special research project on "big family management" where 7 representatives of dynastic families from Germany were studied over a 3-year period. The result was the identification of six topic areas that management in these business families has to deal with. At the same time, the study observes that dynastic business families hardly follow the logic of classic families anymore, but can rather be understood as networks with common family backgrounds. The study also reveals that a large number of business families are heading for large shareholder groups due to changed inheritance practices. The contents outlined here provide an orientation framework for the growing business family.

Essential and effective advice from an expert for anyone seeking to launch a thriving cloud-based business This guide for readers who want to create a cloud-based professional service business is based on Jennifer Brazer's deep, personal experiences while building her company, Complete Controller. Her business, which disrupted and reinvented client accounting services (CAS), is one of the first completely cloud-based accounting services in the country. Jennifer Brazer documents how she listened to and learned to rely on her inner voice to guide her through the creation of an entirely new business model and to power through the ups and downs of 'solopreneurship' and building a company.

Typically, business tenets advise: never go into business with your family. This book proposes that this discrepancy may actually be at the core of modern problems: social harm and environmental problems are largely related to advancements focused on current dualistic metaphors that value only the business dimension and devalue the family. This book aims to offer an alternative viewpoint, by discussing how core beliefs linked to various metaphors change the way we conduct and perform in our lives and businesses, so that the reader can practice sustainable methods, which also includes the family. Situating family businesses as the primordial way of social organizing, chapters explore definitions of organizational symbolism, metaphors, and archetypes in order to guide readers and change the way we consider the family role within business and the economy.

Unlike other economies, family businesses in China are greatly affected by the derived Confucian culture, excessive marketization, as well as the seemingly endless institutional supervision by a transitional Chinese government. China has a strong historical legacy, devoted to patriarchal values and strong family-centered traditions. This volume discusses the current status, upcoming challenges, and future prospects for family businesses in China. It explores unique organizational characteristics that are associated with Chinese family firms, such as being entrepreneurial, having concentrated power in the hands of the family business owners, and extensive family and semi-family involvement in the business. It also discusses shared features of strategic actions among Chinese family firms that include technology innovations, diversification, and internationalization, as well as the political connections that Chinese family firms often have. This book offers researchers a comprehensive overview of small family firms that are likely to be home-based microenterprises as well as large publicly traded business groups that are frequently owned by business families.

So you've got the drive to start a business. You might even have the Big Idea all mapped out. But then you realise that you've got no money to take it to the next stage. Back to the day job? No way. That's where "Freesourcing" comes in. Believe it or not, you don't need money to start a business. There's an entire industry out there waiting to help you take your idea and make it happen... for free. All you need to know is where to find the help and how to get your hands on it.

"Freesourcing" is the definitive guide to free business start up resources, showing you exactly where to go and who to talk to when you're starting a business on a shoestring. Freesourcers don't just think outside the box - they find out where they can get the box for free too. You'll find information on free: PremisesMoneyComputersTravelOnline resourcesStationeryAdvice and supportLegal helpBankingNetworking opportunitiesMarketing and PRStock

No cash? No problem. So what are you waiting for?

INCREASE THE LIFE SPAN OF YOUR SMALL BUSINESS

The average small business has a life span of about five years, and inadequate internal controls are the main cause of failure. Cyber fraud, the leading culprit today in internal criminal activity, occurs when advanced technologies are used to steal money or property. The majority of such crimes occur in-house, and the lack of sufficient capital and technological resources committed to protecting company assets makes small businesses especially vulnerable. Awareness of the dangers of internal theft by computer, illegal access to information systems, credit card fraud, and Internet scams is integral–especially as auditors, business owners, and managers are increasingly held responsible for negligence.

Providing critical guidance on what auditors and businesses can do to better prevent and detect the growing number of occurrences of cyber fraud, the information in this one-of-a-kind manual:

• Protects outside auditors by supplying the knowledge to ensure they meet their responsibilities
• Protects small business owners by providing them with the necessary tools to meet due diligence requirements in cyber fraud prevention
• Focuses on the key areas of vulnerability

Take the first step in protecting your company–and your future–with Avoiding Cyber Fraud in Small Businesses, the only book committed to helping you keep your small business free of computer crime.

"There is no one more qualified to write a book on how to succeed in the special events business than Joe Goldblatt and Frank Supovitz. Joe Goldblatt, one of the industry’s pioneers and visionaries, has truly legitimized what has been a cottage industry—and today is a huge global business that produces results. This work will ‘shift the gear’ to greater awareness and professionalism for those in this business today and those who want to be a part of its future." —William Morton, Chairman and Chief Executive, The Jack Morton Company "Dr. Goldblatt has been instrumental in defining event management as an industry and a profession. This book takes the process another step further by providing a specific road map to becoming a financially successful event professional. A must read for anyone in and around the business of events." —John Baragona, Publisher, Event Solutions "A practical, thorough, and inspirational how-to guide for the industry." —Kate Fitzgerald, Editor, Advertising Age Start, grow, and manage your special events career! To succeed in the world of special events management, you need to develop a vast array of skills and acquire a broad knowledge base that covers everything from planning and management to consulting, production, lighting and sound, decor, catering, and more. You’ll also need the critical business know-how that will enable you to plot a course for success, measure your progress along that course, and adapt to changes in the business environment along the way. In short, you need Dollars and Events. The first and only book written specifically for aspiring and established special events professionals, Dollars and Events provides all the information you need to start, grow, and manage a special events-related business or career. You’ll learn how to develop a vision, a mission, and a strategy; manage your finances; find the capital you need; create a marketing plan; and hire and keep employees that will help your business thrive. You’ll also find:

• Advice and direction from outstanding special events entrepreneurs and intrepreneurs
• Help in adapting proven business concepts such as benchmarking, best practices, and quality teams to your business or career
• End-of-chapter activities to help you learn by doing

Whether you are starting your own special events business, running or working in an established firm, or involved in the special events department of a large corporation, this book gives you the tools you need to advance your business, enhance your career opportunities, and enrich yourself and your clients both now and in the future.

The age of the distributed team is upon us. Teams can now operate and collaborate from locations other than a central office, and events surrounding the 2020 COVID pandemic have thrown its practicality into sharp relief. Managing a team whose members are distributed across several locations requires a different mindset and will remain a must-have for all areas of business from this point forward. Building and Managing High-Performance Distributed Teams explains what the distributed teams concept means to the future of your company. Author Alberto S. Silveira Jr. leverages his industry knowledge to explore why the high-performance distributed team model is vital to the future of business, and explains how to build and maintain one through times of change. You will learn to differentiate between distributed teams, remote work, offshoring, and what each means in a modern context. Silveira also weaves in stories from his other life as a boater and sailor, using analogies and lessons gained from humankind's thousands of years of maritime adventure to illustrate the value of well-managed teams, and to also convey the importance of life-work balance in today's working world. The book analyzes team management strategies from some of the great successes and failures in recent years so that you can learn from the experiences of others. Building and Managing High-Performance Distributed Teams is your definitive guide for building a dynamic distributed team, using collaboration technology to attract and engage the most important element of any business-your people. Whether you are a department head, a business owner, or a team leader, this book presents the no-nonsense knowledge you need now to chart your course for success. What You Will Learn Understand what the new era of connected business means, and the role distributed teams will play. Differentiate between distributed teams, remote work, nearshore, and offshoring, and what each means to modern business. Discover the true heart of a high-performance distributed team (hint: it's not the technology). Find out what the era of distributed teams means to existing infrastructure. Uncover what we can learn about team management from some of the great successes and failures of recent years. Appreciate the techniques honed by seafarers, pilots, and software designers combined to create a successful project plan for team management and company navigation. Comprehend the effective simplicity of the "power of three" in building successful teams. Apply proven techniques of measurement and metrics without leaving the human factor behind to improve team morale and productivity. Who This Book Is For Team leaders or officers of small-ish companies, with populations in the tens through to the mid-hundreds. It's also for managers of somewhat autonomous departments within larger companies, and for everyone else in the boat because everyone in a company ultimately needs to know what being in a distributed team is all about.

The final volume of Catanzaro's benchmark series on building a veterinary practice, this is also the series' keystone, providing the ways and means to keep a veterinary business going and growing under all sorts of circumstances. Creativity is the key to healthy change, and it is also the key to Catanzaro's approach as he helps the vet and clinic staff to "colour outside the lines"--to think in new ways that will enhance procedures and employee morale in any practice.

A noted veterinary practice management consultant, Catanzaro draws on his own extensive experience and that of other consultants, writers, and speakers to bring together the essential tools for individual brainstorming and organisational restructuring. Liberally illustrated with examples, tables, chats, and forms, and full of exercises for stimulating creativity, this volume focuses on hiring strategies and job redesign, establishing leadership and building a client base, learning and teaching new techniques, and, last but not least, money matters. It offers advice and insights on a wide range of particulars, from marketing gimmicks to computerised medical records to fiscal shelters. Culminating and capping an indispensable series, it will be essential to the ongoing success of any veterinary practice.

David Stockman, Ronald Reagan's budget director, proclaimed the Small Business Administration a "billion-dollar waste -- a rathole", and set out to abolish the agency. His scathing critique was but the latest attack on an agency better known as the "Small Scandal Administration".

Loans to criminals, government contracts for minority "fronts", the classification of American Motors as a small business, Whitewater, and other scandals -- the Small Business Administration has lurched from one embarrassment to another. Despite the scandals and the policy failures, the SBA thrives and small business remains a sacred cow in American politics.

Part of this sacredness comes from the agency's longstanding record of pioneering affirmative action. Jonathan Bean reveals that even before the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the SBA promoted African American businesses, encouraged the hiring of minorities, and monitored the employment practices of loan recipients. Under Nixon, the agency expanded racial preferences. During the Reagan administration, politicians wrapped themselves in the mantle of minority enterprise even as they denounced quotas elsewhere.

Created by Congress in 1953, the SBA does not conform to traditional interpretations of interest-group democracy. Even though the public -- and Congress -- favors small enterprise, there has never been a unified group of small business owners requesting the government's help. Indeed, the SBA often has failed to address the real problems of "Mom and Pop" shop owners, fueling the ongoing debate about the agency's viability.

With more than 60,000 copies sold, this amazing manual has become a classic in its field—and rightfully so. Nowhere else will you find—in one book—so much valuable information on achieving success in the mail order business. Dr. Bill Cohen has drawn on his decades of experience testing, researching, and constantly refining the mail order techniques described in this invaluable guide. Building a Mail Order Business offers a virtual treasury of techniques and methods guaranteed to work in the real world of selling through the mail. You'll get practical advice and learn tricks of the trade that will get you started quickly, with the fewest missteps and greatest chances for success.

Thorough and completely up-to-date, this authoritative guide covers every aspect of the mail order business, from the basics of getting started to the details of product selection, preparing a marketing plan, copywriting, designing graphics, printing, protecting yourself from competition, telemarketing, and advertising through magazines, radio, and television. In addition, a handy appendix lists hundreds of valuable contacts with complete addresses.

In this new Fourth Edition, you'll learn the latest trends in mail order—what works and what doesn't, the most effective look in ads and mailing pieces, how to put together the most attractive offers, and much more.

For entrepreneurs, direct marketers, business owners, and others eager to get into the mail order business,

Building a Mail Order Business has proven itself to be an indispensable resource for the ideas, techniques, and expert advice that will lead to success.

All the success secrets of one of America's best-known and most respected experts on mail order and direct marketing—Now in a new edition!

BUILDING A MAIL ORDER BUSINESS

Fourth Edition

Complete, authoritative, and now in a new edition, this best-selling guide to mail order success covers everything from getting your business started to handling legal issues, preparing copy and graphics, selecting mailing lists, telemarketing, and advertising in all types of media—an unbeatable source of direct marketing ideas that really work.

Here's what the pros have said about previous editions of Bill Cohen's Building a Mail Order Business:

"Dr. Bill Cohen's book thoroughly explores the many facets, and pitfalls, facing the budding mail order entrepreneur."— Henry R. "Pete" Hoke, Jr., Publisher, Direct Marketing

"It took a mail order businessman who is also an educator to put direct mail and mail order guidelines all in one place—and in language we can all understand."—Freeman F. Gosden, Jr., President, Smith-Hemmings-Gosden, one of the nation's largest direct marketing advertising agencies

"An outstanding primer for our industry. It gives you the nuts and bolts necessary to carry you through almost every aspect of mail order from the very rudimentary basics to the same techniques used by the pros."— Joe Sugarman, JS&A

"One of the best books I've ever read on the subject. I enthusiastically recommend Building a Mail Order Business to any man or woman who is serious about getting involved in this fascinating activity."— E. Joseph Cossman, President, Cossman International, Inc., author of How I Made a Million Dollars in Mail Order

"An excellent, informative, comprehensive, illustrative workbook that will help anyone get started making money in the fascinating field of mail order. I highly recommend this professional book."— Melvin Powers, mail order entrepreneur

"...must reading for the entrepreneur whose mind is on mail order."— Paul Muchnick, Chairman, National Mail Order Association

"Its good sense and nuts-and-bolts, bottom-line approach make it a delightful guide through the mail order world."— DM News