Entrepreneurial Mom's Guide to Running Your Own Business (eBook)

Introduction xi
1 A New Economic Reality — Entrepreneurial Mothers 1
1. Motherhood: Reclaiming the Title and Living the Dream 4
2. Defining Success 5
2 Business Planning 7
1. Making the Business Profitable 8
2. Components of Your Business Plan 11
2.1 Executive summary 12
2.2 Mission, vision, and values statements 12
2.3 Corporate structure 14
2.4 Company history 15
2.5 Product pricing 15
2.6 Target market analysis 16
2.7 Competitor analysis 18
2.8 Industry analysis 19
2.9 Management plan 19
2.10 Strategic alliances 23
2.11 Marketing strategies 23
2.12 Production processes 23
2.13 Distribution strategies 24
2.14 SWOT analysis 25
2.15 Operations plan 25
2.16 Financial plan 25
3. Review Your Business Plan 29
iv The Entrepreneurial Mom’s Guide to Running Your Own Business
3 Intellectual Property 31
1. Patent 32
2. Copyright 33
3. Trade Secret 33
4. Trademark 34
5. Monitoring Your Intellectual Property 36
4 Building Your Dream Team 38
1. Childcare Network 38
2. Computer Expert 39
3. Banker 39
4. Graphic Designer 40
5. Virtual Assistant 40
6. Vendors 40
7. Media Connections 40
8. Your Community 41
9. Bookkeeper and Accountant 41
10. Commercial Lease Agent 41
11. Lawyers 41
11.1 Finding a lawyer to help you set up your business 43
5 Hiring and Managing Your Team 44
1. Finding Good Employees 45
2. Interviewing Potential Employees 46
3. References 48
4. Evaluations 49
5. Motivating Employees 51
6. Using Virtual Staff 53
7. When Trouble Arises 54
8. Termination 55
6 Research 57
1. Sourcing Raw Materials 59
2. Sourcing Manufacturers 59
3. Reducing Costs on Every Level 60
4. Learning to Automate Your Business 61
Contents v
7 Finding Money to Go Forward 67
1. Going to the Bank 67
2. Finding a Business Partner 69
2.1 Negotiating the partnership agreement 72
3. Factoring 75
4. Professional Investors 76
4.1 Negotiating a shareholder’s agreement 80
5. Finding the Right Investor 85
6. Managing Your Money 87
6.1 Understand cash flow 87
6.2 Have a plan for when a cash crisis strikes 88
6.3 When tough times hit 89
7. Learn to Negotiate 91
8 Your Marketing Plan 96
1. Budget for Your Marketing 96
2. Build Your Brand 97
3. Tools for Planning Your Marketing Initiatives 98
3.1 Website 98
3.2 Search engine optimization 99
3.3 Social media 100
3.4 Blogs 102
3.5 Celebrity gifting suites 103
3.6 Trade shows 103
3.7 YouTube 104
3.8 Podcasts 105
3.9 Email marketing 105
3.10 Online reviews 106
3.11 Awards 106
3.12 In-person networking 107
4. Building Your Own Public Relations Campaign 108
4.1 Media kit 110
4.2 Press pages 112
9 Preparing a Sales Plan 116
1. Forecasting Sales 116
vi The Entrepreneurial Mom’s Guide to Running Your Own Business
2. Cold Calling 119
3. Terms of Sale 119
4. Credit Policy 119
10 Managing Your Relationships 121
1. Remember Your Spouse’s Place in Your Life 121
2. Keeping Things Good between You and Your Business Partner 125
3. Customer Relations 128
4. Setting Boundaries 129
11 Strategizing Your Time 132
1. Delegate Responsibility 134
2. Get Organized! 135
2.1 Little black book 137
2.2 Action folder 137
2.3 Prevention is key 137
3. The Importance of Balancing Your Life and Work 138
3.1 Tuning into Your Body 143
12 Your Exit Strategy 146
1. Selling Your Business 147
2. The Power of Choice — Going Forward 149
Appendix I: Your Toolkit 151
Appendix II: Resources 155
Case Studies
1 Case Study: Baby Gourmet Foods Inc. 62
2 Case Study: Using Professional Investors 93
3 Case Study: Disney’s Marketing 112
4 Case Study: The Brazilian Wax Specialist 130
Samples
1 Job Description 21
2 SWOT Analysis 26
3 First Year Cash-Flow Projection 30
4 Press Release 111