Uncommon Entrepreneur PDF
Preview Uncommon Entrepreneur
The Uncommon Entrepreneur How to start and operate your own successful business Books by the author The Uncommon Investor: A contrarian's guide to investing in the stock market The Canadian Small Business Survival Guide Plays by the author Curator's Park Dark Age's Romance (written with Guy Petzall) The Death of Parent God The Gray Zone (a translation of Jaromir Novak's work) Les Toilettes Pseudopod Rejects (written with Guy Petzall) The Suicide Parlour The Uncommon Entrepreneur How to start and operate your own successful business by Benj G@iII<anckr INSOMNIAC PRESS Copyright © 2000 by Benjamin Gallander All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior writ- ten permission of the publisher or, in the case of photocopying or other repro- graphic copying, a licence from CANCOPY (Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency), 1 Yonge St., Suite 1900, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5E 1E5. Edited by Kate Harding Copy edited by Melanie Morassutti Designed by Mike O'Connor Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Gallander, Benjamin, 1957- The uncommon entrepreneur Includes index. ISBN 1-895837-72-3 1. New business enterprises - Planning. 2. Small business - Management. I. Title. HD62.5.G344 2000 658.1'141 COO-930476-2 The publisher gratefully acknowledges the support of the Canada Council, the Ontario Arts Council and Department of Canadian Heritage through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program. Printed and bound in Canada Insomniac Press, 192 Spadina Avenue, Suite 403, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5T 2C2 www. insomniacpress .com Contents Acknowledgements 9 Preface 10 Parti What is a Small Business? 13 Types of Small Businesses 14 Can Small Business Compete? 16 Why Businesses Fail 17 The Pros and Cons of Operating you own Business 21 Three Critical Questions 23 Five Key Ingredients for Business Success 24 You! 27 Case Analysis 30 Case 1: The Decision 31 Part II Cycles 33 What Type of Business Organization? 37 Proprietorship 37 Partnership 39 Corporation 43 But Where Will I Obtain the Money? Financing the Business 47 Time Management 50 Critical Path Scheduling 52 Factors Affecting Sales 53 Predicting Sales 56 Case 2: Hot Dogs!!! 60 Part III Cost-Benefit Analysis 61 Risk and Insurance 62 Coping with Risk 63 Finding an Agent 64 Types of Policies 64 The Accountant 66 The Lawyer 67 The Banker 68 Employees 69 Entrepreneurial Style 73 The Payroll System 74 Computers and Small Business 78 Government: Friend or Foe? 83 Other Government Related Areas 87 Taxes 99 Government Publications Worth Taking a Look At 102 Business Ethics 103 Minimize Those Taxes 104 Buying an Existing Business 112 The Franchise Option 116 Case 3: Herbert's Variety Store 119 Case 4: Barb's Blues 119 Part IV Eight Quick Tips 123 Collect Those Accounts Receivable 125 Inventory 128 The Inventory Count 129 Choosing Your Location 136 Where to Set Up: The Home Versus Office Dilemma 139 Layout 143 Marketing 146 What's in a Name? 151 Who Will Your Customers be? 152 Preparing a Marketing Plan 156 Case 5: Joan's Stuffed Dolls 15 8 Case 6: The Jonson Saga: Part 1 159 PartV How I Hate Those Numbers! 161 Profit or Loss? The Income Statement 161 The Balance Sheet 164 Case 7: Jim's Fix-It: Part 1: Bookkeeping 169 Case 8: Jim's Fix-It: Part 2: Planning Your Cash Flow 175 Case 9: The Jonson Saga: Part 2: The Break Even Analysis 182 Case 10: A Case on Wood and Stuff: Ratio Analysis 188 Case 11: Jill's Crafts 194 Part VI The Business Plan 197 Conclusion 208 Appendix I: Case Solutions Case 1: The Decision 209 Case 2: Hot Dogs!!! 210 Case 3: Herbert's Variety Store 212 Case 4: Barb's Blues 213 Case 5: Joan's Stuffed Dolls 215 Case 6: The Jonson Saga: Part 1 219 Case 7: Jim's Fix-It: Part 1 221 Case 8: Jim's Fix-It: Part 2 223 Case 9: The Jonson Saga: Part 2 229 Case 10: A Case on Wood and Stuff 232 Case 11: Jill's Crafts 234 Appendix II Glossary 240 Appendix III Index 246 The Contest 250 Charts, Checklists, Exhibits, Graphs, and Tables Starting and Operating your own Business 23 Entrepreneurial Self-Survey 29 The Business Cycle 34 The Product Life Cycle 36 Partnership Agreement Checklist 42 Comparison of Proprietorships, Partnerships and Corporations 46 Sales Prediction Checklist 59 Total Payroll Sheet 76 Employee Payroll Sheet 77 Comparison Chart of Business Options 118 Accounts Receivable Table 126 Physical Count Card 130 Perpetual Inventory Control Card 132 Inventory Control Checklist 136 Location Checklist 139 Home Versus Office 143 Space Valuation 145 Marketing Mix Strategies 151 Sample Income Statement: Non-Manufacturing Business 164 Sample Income Statement: Manufacturing Business 165 Sample Balance Sheet 168 Trial Balance Worksheet 176 ABC Ltd.: Income Statement 177 ABC Ltd.: Balance Sheet 177 Cash Flow Worksheet 183 Break Even Graph 187 Break Even Formulas 188 Business Plan Chart 204 Business Plan Checklist 204 This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgements A number of people have been wonderful in helping me put this book together, and to them I express my deep appreciation for their aid and their friendship. Some of these people include: Yeing-Moi Yeung, who stands steadfast by my side and gives me support to do projects like this; Carol Pauker, who spent many hours turning my "English" into a real, compre- hensible language. Carol's knack of criticizing constructively and initiating improvements is an art; David Ossea, who also spent numerous hours edit- ing this work. I would be remiss if I did not mention that David still turns a great pivot on the double play; Ben Stadelmann, who has been a friend and business partner for over twenty years and seems to either lend a hand or be instrumental in almost all my various and sundry projects and escapades; Max Abramowitz, who has contributed the chapter on computers and small business, and lets me stay at his apartment in New York; Insomniac pub- lisher and longtime friend Mike O'Connor, who is taking another gamble on one of my books; Kate Harding, who did the final edit on this book to make certain that all of the i's were dotted and t's were crossed; my parents, who stood by me, even when it appeared I wasn't doing one heck of a lot, except maybe a tiny bit of thinking. Also, I would like to thank Mike Speyer, Todd Vercoe, Nancy Turk, Tony Hawke, Lloyd Davis and Ellen and Candy Pauker, who lent their skills in various aspects of this guide. Thanks.
The list of books you might like
