Entrepreneurship. Rhonda Abrams
Ransom S. Stafford, Business Consultant, Twin Cities, MN
“One of the best books on business planning. The overall quality of this book is excellent, but three things make it stand out: First, it contains worksheets that walk you through the information gathering process. Fill them out, and even the financials—always the hardest part of a plan—will fall right into place. Second, it has a sample plan that reads like a real business plan, written by a real person for a real business. You can use much of the wording in your own plan. Third, it has tips from successful managers, leaders, and business owners, large and small. I was especially fascinated reading the tips from ex-49’er head coach Bill Walsh. You can’t go wrong following his advice on planning and organizing!”
— Economic Chamber of Macedonia
“Successful Business Plan is thorough, well-organized, and a very useful tool for business planning and development. It’s an excellent guide to the details involved with creating a solid, useful business plan.”
— Jim Jindrick, The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the University of Arizona
“I chose Successful Business Plan because of its ease of use, its clarity, and its good examples. I have used the book for a number of years now.”
— Jean Morris, The Culinary Institute of America
“It has a clearly defined, comprehensive approach.”
— Zane Swanson, Emporia State University, KS
“Here at the SBDC we offer clients an eight-week business planning counseling program called Business Plan Expedited (BPE). BPE is structured around Successful Business Plan — the end result is a well-written business plan that can be used as a part of a business loan application package. I specifically chose this text because I used it, per recommendation from my graduate school advisor, for my MBA project in graduate school 13 years ago!”
— Indria Gillespie, Sierra College SBDC
“Your book has been both an inspirational read as well as a comprehensive guide for starting my business. Being relatively inexperienced with entrepreneurship, your book has not only given me the ability to create a solid roadmap for planning, but has also provided an encouraging and easy way to cope with the enormous amount of information and organization needed. I particularly enjoy the various quotes from business professionals who have had experience in business planning. They give precious insight and different viewpoints that I would not have seen. Thank you for writing this book!”
— Simon Lee, Entrepreneur
“It combines, in a very clear way, both aspects of business planning and effective writing of business plans. The book is very well written. The forms are very useful.”
— Eyal Yaniv, Bar Ilan University, Israel
Rhonda Abrams
Entrepreneurship
2nd Edition
A REAL-WORLD APPROACH
Entrepreneurship: A Real-World Approach
© 2017 by Rhonda Abrams
Published by PlanningShop
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, stored in an information retrieval system, or used in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher.
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PlanningShop is a division of Rhonda, Inc., a California corporation.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:
Contributing writing and research: Alice LaPlante, Anne Marie Bonneau, Chandra Ganguly
Editing: Anne Marie Bonneau
Proofreading: Mark Woodworth
Cover and interior design: Diana Russell Piazza, DianaRussellDesign.com
Illustration: Paulina Cioce, PaulinaArt.com
Indexing: Theresa Duran
ISBN: 978-1-933895-51-2 (Book)
ISBN: 978-1-933895-52-9 (Bundle)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2016948635
“This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher and author are not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.”
— from a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a committee of the American Bar Association and a committee of publishers.
Printed in the United States of America
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About the Author
Entrepreneur, author, and nationally syndicated columnist Rhonda Abrams is widely recognized as a leading expert on entrepreneurship and small business. Rhonda’s column for USA Today, “Successful Strategies,” is the most widely distributed column on small business and entrepreneurship in the United States, reaching tens of millions of readers each week.
Rhonda’s books have been used by millions of entrepreneurs. Her first book, Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies, is the best-selling business plan guide in America. It was named one of the top 10 business books for entrepreneurs by both Forbes and Inc. magazines. She is also the author of more than a dozen other books on entrepreneurship and has sold more than two million copies of her books. Rhonda’s other books are perennial best sellers, with three of them having reached the nationally recognized “Top 50 Business Best-Seller” list.
Rhonda not only writes about business—she lives it! As the founder of three successful companies, Rhonda has accumulated an extraordinary depth of experience and a real-life understanding of the challenges facing entrepreneurs. Rhonda first founded a management consulting practice working with clients ranging from one-person start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. An early web pioneer, she founded a website for small business that she later sold. Today, Rhonda is CEO of the publishing company PlanningShop, which focuses exclusively on the topics of business planning, entrepreneurship, and new business development.