Entrepreneurship for dummies / Kathleen Allen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Allen, Kathleen, author.

Series:

--For dummies.

For dummies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Entrepreneurship.

New business enterprises--Management.

New business enterprises.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (451 pages)

Edition:

2nd ed

Place of Publication:

Hoboken, New Jersey : John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated, [2023]

Summary:

The perfect resource for your journey to start a business Entrepreneurship For Dummies is the essential guide to becoming your own boss and a successful entrepreneur. We make it simple to learn every step of the process. Identify an opportunity, learn your customers' needs, test your product, protect your intellectual property, secure funding, and get ready for that all-important launch. In classic Dummies style, this book is packed with practical information and useful advice, all in a fun and easy-to-follow format. Take fear out of the entrepreneurship equation and build the confidence you need to make your fantastic business idea take flight. Get up to date on the latest lingo, new ideas for raising money, and the latest ways to do business in the digital age. Understand the process of starting a business, from beginning to end Complete the necessary planning and meet legal requirements, without the headache Get expert tips and tricks on funding your idea and bringing your product or service to market Build the foundation you need to keep your business thriving and growingEntrepreneurship For Dummies supports you as you travel along the road to success.

Contents:

Intro

Title Page

Copyright Page

Table of Contents

Introduction

Entrepreneurship Has Changed

About This Book

Foolish Assumptions

Icons Used in This Book

How This Book Is Organized

Where to Go from Here

Part 1 Getting Started in Entrepreneurship

Chapter 1 Understanding Entrepreneurship

Anyone Can Become an Entrepreneur

Recognizing an Entrepreneurial Venture

Understanding the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

Distinguishing Entrepreneurial Ventures from Small Businesses and Why That Matters

Considering the Many Ways to Be an Entrepreneur

The home-based entrepreneur

The Internet entrepreneur

The serial entrepreneur

The gig economy entrepreneur

The traditional entrepreneur

The corporate entrepreneur

Considering Your Personal Goals

Why do you want to start a business?

How will starting a business affect your personal life?

Are you in sufficient physical shape to start a business?

What aspects of business make you very uncomfortable?

How will your feelings about your business affect its potential growth?

Clearing Up the Myths and Stereotypes about Entrepreneurs

You need a lot of money

You need a great idea

You must take big risks

You need to be young

Looking Ahead

Chapter 2 Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century

Dealing with the Boom and Bust Economy of the 2020s

Finding the good news

Funding with venture capital is strong at all levels

Startups are still going strong

Dealing with the not-so-good news

Competition for talent is tough

Digital platforms are more accessible to startups (and to everyone else)

Some startups are too big to fail

The Global Entrepreneurship Picture

A different kind of entrepreneurship

The need for speed

Scaling quickly for competitive advantage

Harnessing technology for competitive advantage.

Turning information into intelligence

Managing the new work environment

Breaking the link between information and things

Cryptocurrency as an opportunity

Everyone's value chain is shorter

Making yourself obsolete (before someone does it for you)

Facing technology disruption

Technology enables and disrupts constantly

Understanding the Latest Big Trends

Easier access to entrepreneurship education

Sustainable finance

DIY coding

Sharing what you have

Personalized and direct to customers

Using micro influencers for social media marketing

Investing in climate tech is hot

Chapter 3 Preparing to Seek Opportunity

Understanding Ideas versus Opportunities, Creativity versus Innovation

Starting with an Idea May Not Be the Best Idea

Changing an existing business

Solving a problem with creativity

Spotting Obstacles in Your Path

You think you're not innovative (think again!)

You dislike criticism (don't we all?)

You're a creature of habit (so is everyone)

You lack confidence (you can do it!)

You're overconfident (jumbo ego)

Clearing Away the Obstacles

Going back to familiar territory

Tapping your personal network

Designing an Environment that Inspires Creativity and Innovation

Making time to be creative

Find a favorite thinking space

Play with toys, games, and kids

Finding the right place for innovation

Making your work environment friendly

Growing Ideas with Outside Help: Incubators and Accelerators

Spotting the Best Opportunities

Finding opportunity in failure (yours and others)

Finding opportunity for underrepresented communities

Finding opportunity in things that don't go together

Chapter 4 Testing an Opportunity Before You Leap

Starting with Your First Risk: You!

Turning Your Opportunity into a Business Concept.

Benefits versus Features: What Do Customers Buy?

Why isn't money part of the concept?

Trying out your business concept skills

Quick-Testing Your Concept: The Lean Method

Getting Serious with Feasibility Analysis and the Lean Method

Feasibility versus business plan: Double the work?

Introducing the feasibility analysis framework

Executive summary

Business concept

Industry analysis

Market/customer analysis

Founding team analysis

Product/service development analysis

Financial analysis

Feasibility decision

Timeline to launch

Part 2 Testing the Feasibility of Your Business Concept

Chapter 5 Understanding Your Industry

Understanding Your Industry

Using a Framework of Industry Structure

Carrying capacity, uncertainty, and complexity

Threats to new entrants

Threats from substitute products/services

Threats from buyers' bargaining power

Threats from suppliers' bargaining power

Rivalry among existing firms

Understanding the Value Chain

Deciding on an Entry Strategy

Differentiation

Niche

Cost superiority

Researching Your Industry

Answering key questions about your industry

Studying public companies

Searching for data at government websites

Going offline for more research

Benchmarking Against the "Perfect" Industry

Chapter 6 What Your Customers Can Tell You

Conducting Customer Discovery

Segmenting your market

Defining your niche

Discovering Your Customers

Finding the data you need

Looking at the total accessible market

Conducting customer discovery in the field

Observing customers in their natural habitats

Survey by email and telephone

Conduct interviews and focus groups

Building an early customer profile

Identifying more important people to interview

Graphing a customer segmentation matrix.

Competitive Intelligence: Checking Out the Competition

Pounding the pavement

Buying your competitors' products

Revving up the search engines

Forecasting Demand: Tough but Crucial

Triangulating to demand

Use substitute products and services to gauge demand

Interview customers and intermediaries

Go into limited production with a test market

Forecasting new product demand

Chapter 7 Designing Solutions for a New Marketplace

Zeroing-in on a Product Solution

Becoming an inventor

Teaming with an inventor

Licensing an invention

Moving Rapidly to a Prototype: The Minimum Viable Product

Bootstrapping Product Development

Understanding the product life cycle

Finding the money

Seeking government grants

Going after investor capital

Crowdfunding

Developing New Products: The Process

Getting the feedback you need

Overcoming scarce resources with a plan

Developing in a digital world

Moving Rapidly to the Prototype Stage

Designing right the first time

Sourcing your materials

Making your minimum viable product

The one-minute product solution plan

Chapter 8 Protecting Your Products and Services

Understanding Intellectual Property Rights

Protecting Your Better Mousetrap with a Patent

Timing is everything

America Invents Act

Is it patentable?

Types of patents

The patent process

The provisional patent application

Filing a provisional patent application

Filing a nonprovisional patent application

Protecting your rights in foreign countries

Copyrighting Your Original Work of Authorship

Claiming copyright

Things you can't copyright

Protecting Your Logo with a Trademark

Protecting Your Trade Secrets

Contracts

Nondisclosure agreements

Strategies for Protecting Your IP

Offensive strategies

IP acquisition.

Licensing your own IP

The license agreement

Defensive strategies

International strategies

Chapter 9 Putting Together Your Founding Team

A Little Science Behind Founding Teams

Who's on First?

The rules with family and friends

Covering all the bases

Putting everything in writing

Benchmarking the perfect team

Forming a Diverse Board of Advisors

Yes, you need attorneys

Accountants can help you survive

Your banker can dispense advice, if not money

Don't forget your insurance broker

Forming a Board of Directors

Getting people on your board

Deciding when you need a formal board

Creating a Personal Board: Your Mentors

Pulling Yourself Up by the Bootstraps

Outsourcing savvy

Leasing your staff

Chapter 10 Getting Solutions to Customers: The Supply Chain

Understanding Supply Chains, Logistics, and Distribution Channels

Looking at Logistics

Distributing through Consumer and Industrial Market Channels

Consumer channels

Selling direct to customers

Using retailers to reach customers

Using wholesalers and distributors to reach customers

Hiring manufacturer reps to find customers

Industrial channels

Using intermediaries

Evaluating Your Channel

The cost of the channel

Channel coverage

Distribution control

When Your Supply Chain Is International

Chapter 11 Developing and Testing Your Business Model

Understanding Business Models

The business model canvas approach

A software company business model

Your restaurant business model

A retail business model

Providing a service with an upside

Producing multiple products and services

Making money while you sleep

Evolving Digital Business Models

Using an advertising model

Using a subscription-based model

Growing a hybrid model

Thinking micro

Testing Your Business Model.

Chapter 12 Assessing Your Initial Financial Needs.

Notes:

Includes index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-119-91264-4

OCLC:

1357550002