Discover what every entrepreneur wishes they had known before they started their business!

So, you?re starting a business? Or thinking about it? Chances are you?ll be full of ideas, very excited but a little bit daunted. And you?ll certainly have a hundred and one questions about what you should and shouldn?t do. Because this is important and you want to get it right.

The good news is you?re not alone because thousands of entrepreneurs have been where you are now. And in this book you can learn from their mistakes and discover everything they wish they had known before they started out so you can get it right first time.

From Acorns is the essential ?how to? guide to starting a business that doesn?t bog you down in complex financial forecasting and the intricacies of tax law (because we know you?ve got enough to worry about this week). Instead it tells you everything you absolutely need to know to get your business off to a fantastic start and nothing else. Discover-

how to tell if you?ve got a great business idea

what goes on in the mind of a bank manager

how to price your product/service

why you need a dragon to look after your cash flow

how to be a great guerilla marketer

plus hundreds of other tips and pieces of practical advice that make the difference between success and failure.

From Acorns is the first book to show how simple ? and fun ? starting a business can be!



Synopsis

This is the book that tells you what the other books on starting a business don't tell you. A lively, practical and very easily understood guide that tells you only what you absolutely need to know.



Table of Contents:

Do you really want your own business?

- the downside

- why do it?

- the upside

Do I have what it takes?

- what is an entrepreneur?

- born or made?

Some skills you might need...

Where are you going? A simple and effective business plan

Inside the mysterious mind of a bank manager

The numbers bit

Your income

The dreaded legals

Keep planning

Guerilla marketing

- Your product or service

- Is the price right?

- Promoting Your Business

- Keep your customers loyal

- Cross selling

- The Holy Grail - word of mouth marketing

- Direct marketing

Do I need a website?

PR

Advertising

Networking

Free marketing

Sales

- Prepare Yourself for rejection

- 7 essential sales tips

Finance

- In praise of bootstrapping

- Some bootstrapping techniques

- Borrowing

- How to get a bank to lend you money

- Cash is King

- Getting People to Cough Up

Staff

- Delegation

- How to get the talent

- How to keep it

- Leadership

When things go wrong...

The tool kit

Useful sources of information

About the Author

Caspian Woods is a serial entrepreneur, and has been since his teens. His business start-ups have included an event management company called 'Let me hold your balls for you', an enterprise producing university yearbooks for students and a custom publishing business. He was recently appointed by Prince Charles as an ambassador for his youth business trust.