You Can Do It Too: The 20 Essential Things Every Budding Entrepreneur

by Rachel Bridge

Overview

Starting a business is one of the most exciting and fulfilling things one can do - and it can make the entrepreneur extremely rich.  Unfortunately it can also be very unpredictable, and statistically it is far more likely to end in failure than success.  So how does one shift the odds in their favor?  The answer is to learn from the people who have already succeeded.

 

You Can Do It Too brings together the collective knowledge and wisdom of successful British entrepreneurs in the form of 20 essential elements to focus on when starting a business.  Each lesson in this valuable blueprint is illustrated by a real entrepreneurial story which looks at why it is important and how to incorporate it into one’s own business venture.

 

You Can Do It Too is the first step to a successful business and an inspirational masterclass for all budding entrepreneurs.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780749455576
Publisher:	Kogan Page, Ltd.
Publication date:	10/28/2008
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	176
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Rachel Bridge is the Enterprise Editor of The Sunday Times in London. She writes the "How I Made It" column each week for the paper as well as regular features about entrepreneurs and small and growing businesses. A regular speaker on the subject of entrepreneurs, she is also the author of My Big Idea and You Can Do It Too (both also published by Kogan Page).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements x

Introduction 1

1 Find a niche 5

Profile: Giles Henschel, founder of Olives Et Al

2 Choose a good name 13

Profile: Ross Lee, founder of The Barcode Warehouse

3 Be clear what you are trying to achieve 21

Profile: Thea Green, founder of Nails Inc

4 Get a mentor 29

Profile: Sanjay Bhandari, founder of Farmacia Urban Healing

5 Do proper research 37

Profile: Adam Pritchard, founder of Pomegreat

6 Find a business that can be scaled up 45

Profile: Oliver Brendon, founder of ATD Travel Services

7 Protect your idea 53

Profile: Laura Tenison, founder of JoJo Maman Bebe

8 Make sure the numbers add up 61

Profile: Loyd Hitchmough, founder of Cheshire Cookers

9 Get your timing right 69

Profile: Jan Smith, founder of EOL IT Services

10 Test your commitment 77

Profile: Annabel Karmel, founder of Annabel Karmel group

11 Learn to love technology 85

Profile: Richard Downs, founder Iglu.com

12 Think twice before parting with equity 93

Profile: Justine Cather, founder of Burnt Sugar

13 Don't assume your customers will find you 101

Profile: James Murray Wells, founder of Glasses Direct

14 Think big 109

Profile: Hilary Devey, founder of Pall-Ex

15 Make it easy for luck to strike 117

Profile: James Hibbert, founder of Dress2Kill

16 Learn how to sell 125

Profile: Robyn Jones, founder of Charlton House

17 Start networking 133

Profile: Neil Duttson, founder of Duttson Rocks

18 Build a strong team around you 141

Profile: Sean Phelan, founder of Multimap

19 Learn from your mistakes 149

Profile: David Speakman, founder of Travel Counsellors

20 Accept that it will always take longer than you think 157

Profile: Edward Perry, founder of Cook

Appendix: Useful websites 165