Hess, Edward D.: So, You Want to Start a Business?: 8 Steps to Take Before Making the Leap

More than 60% of American adults say they want to own their own business, and more than 5,000,000 new businesses are started every year. Unfortunately, 50-70% of new businesses fail. In this book, two of the world's leading experts on entrepreneurship identify the 8 'killer mistakes' that cause most of these business failures and give entrepreneurs all the knowledge, tools, templates, strategies, and hands-on how-to advice they need to avoid these errors. Unlike other books that focus on topics like writing business plans and finding investors, this book focuses on the crucial operational issues that make the difference between consistent profitability and costly failure. You'll learn how to identify the right opportunities and customers; effectively design your products and services; set the right price; overcome customer inertia; avoid common day-to-day management mistakes; find and keep good employees; and finally, smoothly manage growth. Throughout, the authors draw on real life entrepreneurial experiences, case studies, and leading-edge research. But there's nothing theoretical here: from start to finish, this book delivers fast-paced, 100% practical advice you can begin using right this minute!