The Best Secrets of Great Small Businesses: Creative, Innovative and Cost-Saving Ideas from Great Business Minds

by Ray Silverstein

Overview

Do you have a problem you've never faced before? Are you looking for an idea that will be your next big breakthrough? You are not alone. Every day, thousands of entrepreneurs are creating innovative solutions to business problems. The best of the best are here, in one of the most useful business guides to date.

The Best Secrets of Great Small Businesses is the ultimate entrepreneurial guidebook. It contains a wealth of phenomenal ideas straight from business's best minds, such as:

--The company that schedules meetings at odd times (8:37) to encourage on-time attendance
--The owner who discovered a way to get a fee from any customer who poached an employee
--An entrepreneur who found a way to skip UPS zones on shipping, turning the savings into profits
--The manager who issued "Benefits Report Cards" to raise awareness and boost employee morale

And more essential advice that will build your business!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781402232039
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	09/01/2006
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
File size:	1 MB

Read an Excerpt

Chapter 1

The business Owner's role/management strategies

It's one thing to start a business; it's quite another to keep it growing. At some point, it's no longer enough to be your company's number one employee. You need to be the boss.

One of the great ironies of entrepreneurship is that it's not enough to be good at what you do. To grow your company, you must also be a good leader, goal setter, delegator, motivator, and visionary. Somewhere along the way, you must move your thinking from "me" to "us."

Like caterpillars transforming into butterflies, entrepreneurs must evolve into leaders if their companies are to grow. Let the metamorphosis begin!

Table of Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -
INTRODUCTION-The Power of Peer Groups -
- Where did all these concepts come from?
- What a peer group can offer you
- Other Types of Business Groups and Boards
- What's Different About Paid Peer Groups
- How to Use This Book

CHAPTER 1-The Business Owner's Role/Management Strategies -
- Responsibilities
- Management Styles
- Riding the Horse vs. Driving the Team
- Leadership
- Improving Internal Communications
- Delegation
- Goal Setting and Performance Evaluation
- Miscellaneous Management Strategies and Ideas

CHAPTER 2-Sales -
- Your Unique Selling Proposition
- The Sales Funnel
- Expanding the Sales Force
- Referrals

CHAPTER 3-Sales Management -
- Sales Management Responsibilities
- Recruitment
- Sales Priorities
- Miscellaneous Ideas

CHAPTER 4-Marketing -
- Branding, Positioning, and Differentiation
- The Marketing Plan
- Tactics

CHAPTER 5-Performance and Organization -
- Organization Concepts and Structure
- Employee Evaluation
- Terminations
- Incentives/Compensation

CHAPTER 6-Human Assets -
- Recruiting
- Interviewing
- Staying Out of Trouble
- Cutbacks, Layoffs, and Outplacement
- Ideas for Your Benefit Program
- Enhancing Employee Attitude

CHAPTER 7-Innovation and Implementation -
- The Necessity of Change
- Implementation

CHAPTER 8-Finance: Money-Find It, Get It, Keep It -
- Cash flow
- Banking Relationships
- Miscellaneous Issues

CHAPTER 9-Succession and Transition -
- Having a Life Plan
- Exit Strategies

CHAPTER 10-Diagnostic Tests -

EPILOGUE -