The final entry in this all-you-need-to-know series summarizes the best points in the previous 12 books, updates many of them, and integrates must-have knowledge into a unified, indispensable whole. Entrepreneurs need authors who will speak to them as equals, sharing the secrets they found as they built their own businesses. Crafted in that spirit, Praeger's Entrepreneur's Guide series provides practical, accessible, and authoritative advice on the major considerations in establishing and growing a new venture. Each book includes wisdom, tales from the trenches, worksheets, templates, sample documents, and resource lists to help entrepreneurs leverage their time and money. The Entrepreneur's Guide to Running a Business distills and shares the important points from each of the series' previous books, making the road to success smoother and more certain. This culmination of the professional development series takes the reader through all the important steps of starting and running an enterprise. It includes such essentials as writing the business plan, hiring the team, raising capital, managing technology, doing market research, and, of course, marketing the product. Once the business is up and running, the book can be consulted for advice on managing growth and inspiring and retaining employees, as well as for knowledge about handling crises and flourishing even during a recession. Combines knowledge, expertise, and personal experiences from a group of successful entrepreneurs Delves into the nitty-gritty of actually starting and running a business, covering the full cycle of business ownership, not just the initial steps Shares insights into personal growth necessary for success, including leadership and strategic management skills Explores new ways of obtaining capital such as "crowdsourcing," soliciting for investors over the Internet

Software. Hardware. Networks. Wireless. Entrepreneurs face a bewildering array of choices and decisions when it comes to incorporating technology into the fabric of their businesses. Yet nothing could be more important these days. Aligning information technology (IT) with business strategy is essential to meet and beat the competition. As business strategy and technology expert CJ Rhoads shows, managing information technology effectively is an essential skill that all entrepreneurs must develop, just as they develop skills in sales or finance. However, due to the immaturity of the IT industry, making good decisions about information technology is very difficult. Reliable and unbiased information is hard to find, and technical people are often unable to convey information in a way that makes sense to entrepreneurs. The Entrepreneur's Guide to Managing Information Technology to the rescue! Reading this book could mean the difference between having reliable, effective systems that help your business flourish--or stumbling into hidden sink holes that drain employee motivation and hack away at profits. In addition to helping you level the playing field with technology salespeople hawking everything from handheld devices to complex networks, Rhoads answers the following questions: -How do I get the promised benefits of information technology? -How do I avoid the risks? -How do I plan for the information technology that I will need as the business grows? -How do I choose wisely from the plethora of platforms, products, and services that are available? -How do I avoid wasting money on technology that won't work for me? -How do I implement and coordinate technology so that it runs smoothly? -Howdo I manage the people, processes, and systems for the best value? Understanding the answers to these questions and putting them to work could mean the difference between success and failure in any entrepreneurial venture. Readers will learn to recognize hype when they see it, and they will focus on how to profit the most from IT. At the very least, readers will avoid thousands of dollars in lost costs by avoiding risky technology projects. The knowledge contained in this book separates the winners from the whiners in the quest to better employ information technology. Which would you like to be?

Turbulence is not new to the business world. In fact, turbulence is increasing, and managers are seeing teams spinning their wheels. Management systems are in a state of crisis and operations are more complex. The old top-down operations mode no longer suffices. Today's businesses demand speed and increased accuracy, forcing everyone to re-evaluate chains of command and tear down the walls between functions. Amid the responsibilities of traditional management lies problem solving. The push is toward moving decision-making authority down the ladder to all levels. Managers are no longer equipped to or capable of making the number and variety of necessary decisions in a vacuum. The current mode is to have employees deal directly with workplace issues and take corrective action without complaint and without management involvement. Coping with this reality and preparation for these improvements in workplace problem solving requires interest and motivation. Strategic Decision Making for Successful Planning can facilitate this by demystifying and simplifying the process. The book bridges philosophy and theory and puts together a practical integration of all the tools necessary to get results from your investment of time, energy, and money. What is unique about this book is while it's based on a strong academic foundation, it does not get bogged down in the human-planning or psychological process of solving problems. It doesn't provide "pie-in-the-sky" creative solutions or a five-year process for solving problems and planning for the future. Numerous techniques and tools are included to make the book the right balance between practical and academic. The book also includes an extensive case study to illustrate points made in the text.

Turbulence is not new to the business world. In fact, turbulence is increasing, and managers are seeing teams spinning their wheels. Management systems are in a state of crisis and operations are more complex. The old top-down operations mode no longer suffices. Today's businesses demand speed and increased accuracy, forcing everyone to re-evaluate chains of command and tear down the walls between functions. Amid the responsibilities of traditional management lies problem solving. The push is toward moving decision-making authority down the ladder to all levels. Managers are no longer equipped to or capable of making the number and variety of necessary decisions in a vacuum. The current mode is to have employees deal directly with workplace issues and take corrective action without complaint and without management involvement. Coping with this reality and preparation for these improvements in workplace problem solving requires interest and motivation. Strategic Decision Making for Successful Planning can facilitate this by demystifying and simplifying the process. The book bridges philosophy and theory and puts together a practical integration of all the tools necessary to get results from your investment of time, energy, and money. What is unique about this book is while it's based on a strong academic foundation, it does not get bogged down in the human-planning or psychological process of solving problems. It doesn't provide "pie-in-the-sky" creative solutions or a five-year process for solving problems and planning for the future. Numerous techniques and tools are included to make the book the right balance between practical and academic. The book also includes an extensive case study to illustrate points made in the text.

Improving the quality of healthcare, while increasing accessibility and lowering costs, is a complex dilemma facing rural communities around the world. The Center for Rural Pennsylvania believed that telehealth, the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support long-distance clinical healthcare was a viable solution so it recently provided grants to conduct a thorough investigation into the factors involved.Telehealth in Rural Hospitals: Lessons Learned from Pennsylvania reports the outcome of this year-long investigation. Illustrating telehealth implementations in rural settings, it supplies an overview of telehealth as well as an assessment of its economic impact.The book skillfully intertwines the research and academic aspects of telehealth with helpful insights from the author. One of the most important discoveries made by the author and her team of researchers is that all too often money is wasted by implementing telehealth for services that don't impact many people. This book shares valuable insights on using telehealth for integrative health practices that could improve the health of a greater portion of the population.This book illustrates how telehealth can, indeed, be the healthcare savior that some people believe it will be, but only under the right circumstances. It details exactly what those circumstances are so that everyone, including clinicians, patients, government entities, and vendors, can steer toward the best future path.The author identifies the obstacles preventing wider implementation of telehealth and explains how recent federal legislation will affect telehealth implementation in rural communities. She also points out the folly of developing electronic health records before federal data standards are put into place.The book concludes by detailing best practices and lessons learned for implementing a telehealth program in any state. It also outl

Improving the quality of healthcare, while increasing accessibility and lowering costs, is a complex dilemma facing rural communities around the world. The Center for Rural Pennsylvania believed that telehealth, the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support long-distance clinical healthcare was a viable solution so it recently provided grants to conduct a thorough investigation into the factors involved. Telehealth in Rural Hospitals: Lessons Learned from Pennsylvania reports the outcome of this year-long investigation. Illustrating telehealth implementations in rural settings, it supplies an overview of telehealth as well as an assessment of its economic impact. The book skillfully intertwines the research and academic aspects of telehealth with helpful insights from the author. One of the most important discoveries made by the author and her team of researchers is that all too often money is wasted by implementing telehealth for services that don't impact many people. This book shares valuable insights on using telehealth for integrative health practices that could improve the health of a greater portion of the population. This book illustrates how telehealth can, indeed, be the healthcare savior that some people believe it will be, but only under the right circumstances. It details exactly what those circumstances are so that everyone, including clinicians, patients, government entities, and vendors, can steer toward the best future path. The author identifies the obstacles preventing wider implementation of telehealth and explains how recent federal legislation will affect telehealth implementation in rural communities. She also points out the folly of developing electronic health records before federal data standards are put into place. The book concludes by detailing best practices and lessons learned for implementing a telehealth program in any state. It also outlines helpful recommendations for health systems providing healthcare services in rural communities.