Business Plans For Dummies

Inc. Magazine, January, 1999
What's Hot: Save It! "Business Plans For Dummies." This guide by Paul Tiffany, a management consultant and business-school professor, and Steven D. Peterson, a software designer and entrepreneur, is, quite frankly, the best work that you'll find on this subject. What makes this 354-pager a standout is that it urges business owners to write plans that are not only informative but captivating. Five stars!


Financial Times, April 21, 1998
Twenty-three books published in 1997 have been selected as finalists in five main categories for The Financial Times, Booz-Allen & Hamilton Global Business Book Awards. In the "How-To" category, "Business Plans For Dummies" - which made it through to the shortlist - is a solid offering. One business expert who read it said that most big-company bosses would benefit from it: "The book makes it clear that a business plan is not just a budget." That is something too few executives realize.


Book Description
Whether your company is a one-man operation or a large corporation, creating a great business plan is the first and most vital step to true business success. In fact, a clear, precise, and well-research business plan can be the big difference between finding funds and investors for your venture, or falling flat on your face.

Thankfully, Business Plans For Dummies, 2nd Edition guides wannabe entrepreneurs in the right direction. Updated and revised for today’s businesses, this friendly guide covers every step of business plan creation, from doing the initial market research, to crunching the numbers, to preparing for the competition, including: Pinpointing company goals and objectives Creating a clear, simple mission statement Identifying customers and understanding their needs Differentiating your business from the competition Understanding budgeting and finances

Professor of Management Paul Tiffany and successful executive Steven Peterson offer the latest tips and advice to help you launch your venture with confidence. With quick, easy, and sensible solutions for all your planning dilemmas — no matter how complex your business plan is — this handy guide covers it all: Why the business plan is vital Charting a proper course for the business Understanding markets and business environments Knowing customers and competition Forecasting and budgeting Thinking strategically Managing change and business growth Putting the business plan into action What you should never put in your business plan

Millions of Americans dream of starting their own businesses, but they often don’t realize that the most important step in the process is the first step: getting the business plan right. A bad business plan can cripple a good business idea. Business Plans For Dummies, 2nd Edition, presents all the straightforward advice and technical know-how entrepreneurs need to get it right the first time.


Book Info
Teaches you how to: Assess your company's goals and objectives, Identify and understand the needs of your customers and clients, Develop a plan conducive to marketplace changes and advencements and Shape your organization and invest in your company's people. Paper.


From the Back Cover
Create a winning business plan with expert tips and strategies

Covers planning basics, financing, marketing, legal issues, and more

Creating a great business plan is the first and most vital step to business success. Business Plans For Dummies, 2nd Edition, walks you through each step of the planning process.

ANNOTATION

This fun and easy reference for entrepreneurs, managers, executives, and small business owners covers all the components needed to develop a successful business plan--from creating a mission statement to developing goals and objectives to executing and managing the plan. Cartoons. 384 pp.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Are you an entrepreneur, executive, or a manager charged with creating a business plan, but don't know where to begin? Don't worry! With Business Plans For Dummies as your handy reference, you'll find quick, easy solutions to all of your planning dilemmas. Equipped with tips, techniques, and expert advice, you'll develop a dynamite business plan like a pro in no time!

Inside, you'll discover how to Assess your company's goals and objectives Create a mission statement that clearly positions and identifies your business Identify and understand the needs of your customers and clients Scope out the competition and differentiate your business from the crowd Understand the financial stuff -- from number crunching to budgets to forecasting Develop a plan conducive to marketplace changes and advancements Shape your organization and invest in your company's people

AUTHOR DESCRIPTION

Paul Tiffany is the managing director of Paul Tiffany & Associates, a Santa Rosa, California-based firm that has offered management training and consulting services to organizations throughout the world for the past fifteen years. In addition, he has taught business planning courses at some of the top business schools in the country, including Stanford, Wharton, and The Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, where he currently serves as adjunct professor. He holds an MBA from Harvard University and a Ph.D. from Berkeley. He can be reached by e-mail at tiffany@haas.berkeley.edu.