The Small Business Lifecycle


Book Description

Small businesses have much different growth patterns than large corporations. Small business owners who look to large corporations for insight and guidance on how to grow their own businesses often feel overwhelmed and demotivated. "The Small Business Life Cycle" lays out the five stages of small business growth and explains how you can navigate each stage in your business. To be successful, you have to take the right steps at the right time. Each stage has different challenges, strengths, inconvenient truths, and ways forward. This guide shows you where to focus your resources in each stage so you can grow your business efficiently. Whether you're thinking about starting a small business or you've been in business for a while, "The Small Business Life Cycle" will give you a better gauge to evaluate where you are and what you need to do next. If you're growing fast and want to keep growing, this book will show you how to do it strategically. And if you're stuck and don't know what to do, you can determine what stage your business is in now and figure out what you need to do next to get unstuck. This guide will specifically help you work through: Questions to ask before you start your own small business How to get a foothold in the market and why you should be marketing fewer things to fewer audiences Why some "successful" products and services will cause you to get stuck and lose momentum What four things must be in place to grow your business How not to break a successful, scalable small business once you've got it there This no-fluff guide will lay out the foundation upon which you can grow your small business. The only question left to answer is: what's your next action?




The Small Business Life Cycle


Book Description

Small businesses have their own unique growth patterns. Each of the five stages of the small business life cycle has its own strengths, challenges, inconvenient truths, ways forward, and catalytic moments.




Introduction to Business


Book Description

Introduction to Business covers the scope and sequence of most introductory business courses. The book provides detailed explanations in the context of core themes such as customer satisfaction, ethics, entrepreneurship, global business, and managing change. Introduction to Business includes hundreds of current business examples from a range of industries and geographic locations, which feature a variety of individuals. The outcome is a balanced approach to the theory and application of business concepts, with attention to the knowledge and skills necessary for student success in this course and beyond. This is an adaptation of Introduction to Business by OpenStax. You can access the textbook as pdf for free at openstax.org. Minor editorial changes were made to ensure a better ebook reading experience. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.




The Facts of Business Life


Book Description

IF YOU BELIEVE THAT: Being your own boss can be a great career choice Success is what you decide it is Doing what you have a passion and talent for can be very profitable Monetary risk, hard work, and new ideas should be financially rewarded Understanding the business basics every successful owner focuses on—and in what order—would be beneficial Success works for you only after you’ve worked for it Marketplace battles are won before they are played Knowing what owning a business is really like would make ownership success a lot easier Change can create great opportunities Knowing when to exit a business is as important a life and business decision as becoming an entrepreneur in the first place THEN THE FACTS OF BUSINESS LIFE IS FOR YOU! Written by a successful business owner with four decades of experience, The Facts of Business Life is full of real-world concepts that owners must use and embrace if they want to become and stay successful. This multiple award-winning book has been endorsed by some of America’s top business leaders, like Steve Forbes and Ken Fisher, and has been recognized as “one of the best five business books of the year” and “a must read for entrepreneurs or those wanting to be one.” McBean begins with clear explanations and real-life examples of the seven Facts of Business Life that every successful business owner knows and executes consistently, including exactly what they are as well as how and when to use them. He then goes on to show how those facts impact on the five levels every successful business passes through, from “Ownership and Opportunity” to “Moving On When It’s Time to Go,” explaining that while the facts themselves remain the same, as a business becomes successful and moves through its life cycle, the way they are applied must change to fit changing circumstances. But there are even more reasons why this breakthrough business book is a must read, including: Its principles are based on the author’s own experience in starting and running successful businesses in a variety of industries. It shows that the most successful businesspeople create profitable opportunities rather than wait for them to present themselves. It enables readers to analyze the likelihood of their own success based on the characteristics most successful owners have. It reveals the #1 priority for all owners and their employees, and why every owner needs to continually focus on it (Hint: it’s not being profitable). It emphasizes that becoming successful is no guarantee that success will last, and that success itself can be a trap that eventually leads to failure. It shows that a business’s culture isn’t just a mission statement but also the processes created to operate the business and the employees who implement them. It discusses the steps that must be taken even before a business is started to increase the odds of its becoming a lasting success. It covers every step in a business’ life cycle, including the last one, showing that the best time to exit a business is when you don’t have to, and that unless you pick that time, someone else will. MANY BUSINESS BOOKS INCREASE THEIR READERS’ KNOWLEDGE—THE FACTS OF BUSINESS LIFE NOT ONLY INCREASES THAT KNOWLEDGE, IT SHOWS YOU HOW TO TURN IT INTO PROFITS.




The Entrepreneurial Dilemma in the Life Cycle of the Small Firm


Book Description

This book explores the different stages in the life cycle of the small firm, and ways to solve entrepreneurial dilemmas that the entrepreneur faces during and in-between these different stages of development.




Project Management for Small Business


Book Description

Project management can help companies become more efficient and profitable. But classic project management models often prove too cumbersome for smaller businesses with limited staff resources, tight budgets, and next to no time to devote to learning complex methodologies. These smaller enterprises need the core principles and techniques of project management in a streamlined package. Project Management for Small Business offers simple, repeatable practices for planning, executing, and controlling projects in smaller environments in which one team member may wear multiple hats. Readers will learn how to: ò Define project requirements and scope ò Create a project schedule based on resource availability ò Estimate, budget, and control project costs ò Identify and minimize project risks ò Manage workflow ò Communicate effectively ò Control project change ò And more. Grounded in real-world experience, this practical guide skips the complicated theory and goes straight to the heart of what it really takes to make a project a success.




The Entrepreneurial Dilemma in the Life Cycle of the Small Firm


Book Description

This book explores the different stages in the life cycle of the small firm, and ways to solve entrepreneurial dilemmas that the entrepreneur faces during and in-between these different stages of development.




Starting, Growing, and Expanding Your Small Business Globally


Book Description

Have you ever wondered why some small businesses survive while others don't? Or why some businesses grow and become large companies while others remain small forever? There are four major stages of a business life cycle (the start-up stage, the growth stage, the mature stage, and the decline stage). Unfortunately, many small businesses fail in the start-up stage of the business life cycle; that is, within the first to fifth year of operation. Additionally, many small businesses stay small and never really become large companies. But then, every large company today was once a small company when they started, such as Amazon, Facebook, and Apple. What makes some companies grow and move to the next phase, while others don't? The answer is in this book. After reading various business school case studies about the rise and fall of businesses and a review of 75 successful publicly traded companies in five industries, I have found that companies that survive to the next stage all have certain things in common. 1.They have a business strategy.2.They are aware of the unique problems facing each stage of a business life cycle.3.They take process innovation and customer responsiveness very seriously.4.They are aware of the external environment that affects their business operations.5.They understand and take seriously the story their financial statements tell.6.They follow their customers wherever they are globally. After all, 95% of the world population lives outside of the United States.7.They are aware of the basic business technology needed for small business operation. This book will show you how to start, grow and successfully expand your small business globally.




Entrepreneurship and Small Business


Book Description

Thoroughly updated with new video feature and expanded range of global case studies, the new edition of this bestselling text synthesizes theoretical depth and practical skills-building, developing critical understanding and good management practice. A holistic approach to the issues facing small businesses from start-up to growth and maturity.




Product Lifecycle Management


Book Description

Product Lifecycle Management (2nd edition) explains what Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is, and why it's needed. It describes the environment in which products are developed, realised and supported, before looking at the basic components of PLM, such as the product, processes, applications, and people. The final part addresses the implementation of PLM, showing the steps of a project or initiative, and typical activities. This new and expanded edition of Product Lifecycle Management is fully updated to reflect the many advances made in PLM since the release of the first edition. It includes descriptions of PLM technologies and examples of implementation projects in industry. Product Lifecycle Management will broaden the reader’s understanding of PLM, nurturing the skills needed to implement PLM successfully and to achieve world-class product performance across the lifecycle. “A 20-year veteran of PLM, I highly recommend this book. A clear and complete overview of PLM from definition to implementation. Everything is there - reasons, resources, strategy, implementation and PLM project management.” Achim Heilmann, Manager, Global Technical Publications, Varian Medical Systems “Product Lifecycle Management is an important technology for European industry. This state-of-the art book is a reference for those implementing and researching PLM.” Dr. Erastos Filos, Head of Sector "Intelligent Manufacturing Systems", European Commission “This book, written by one of the best experts in this field, is an ideal complement for PLM courses at Bachelor and Master level, as well as a well-founded reference book for practitioners.” Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dr. h.c. Sandor Vajna, University of Magdeburg, Germany “This comprehensive book can help drive an understanding of PLM at all levels – from CEOs to CIOs, and from professors to students – that will help this important industry continue to expand and thrive.” James Heppelmann, President and Chief Executive Officer, PTC “PLM is a mission-critical decision-making system leveraged by the world’s most innovative companies to transform their process of innovation on a continuous basis. That is a powerful value proposition in a world where the challenge is to get better products to the market faster than ever before. That is the power of PLM.” Tony Affuso, Chairman and CEO, Siemens PLM Software