is required, seek the services of a competent professional.”
—from a Declaration of Principles, jointly adopted by a committee of the American Bar Association and a committee of publishers
Printed in Canada
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Who This Book Is for
You have a passion—perhaps for a hobby, a profession, something you want to invent, or a social goal you want to achieve. You have talent. You have training, skills, and insights. You’re ready to strike out on your own and launch your business. But what do you do first? How do you find clients or customers? How do you know what to charge and how to make sure you get paid? What about taxes, financing, and hiring and firing employees? Your head is spinning with questions.
Perhaps you’re in school learning a profession in the engineering, health care, arts, law, or culinary fields. You know that one day you’ll want to be your own boss or that you want to be self-employed or start your own business. How do you prepare yourself for that day? What do you need to know to make sure you can succeed?
Perhaps you’re a consultant or self-employed independent contractor. How do you find more clients or customers? How do you stay motivated? Get organized? Manage your time and workplace?
Passion to Profits: Business Success for New Entrepreneurs answers all of these questions and more, providing the business advice and basics new entrepreneurs need to successfully start running their own businesses. If you want to start your own business, are running a business already, or are a student who one day is likely to find yourself starting a company of your own, this book is for you!
Passion to Profits: Business Success for New Entrepreneurs is for you if you want to:
■ Turn a personal passion or goal into a sustaining source of income
■ Use your education, skills or training to go into business yourself
■ Turn your talent and insight into a business that gives you the flexibility and autonomy you want and need
■ Acquire the skills you need to take the business you’ve already started to the next level
■ Create the type of workplace you’ve always dreamed of working in
■ Live your dreams
In particular, this book is designed for:
■ Anyone who wants to transform their interests, talents, or training into a financially rewarding enterprise or who wants to live the life they’ve always imagined—making money doing what they love
■ Students—engineering, technology, the arts, culinary, health care, law, and more—who one day want (or need) to turn their education into a business that can support and sustain them
■ College professors and instructors who want to make sure their students are well equipped to face an entrepreneurial future
■ Mid-career professionals ready for a career change or looking to leverage their years of experience to strike out on their own
■ Retirees wanting to turn their golden years into profitable ones by entering the world of entrepreneurship
■ Independent consultants and solo practitioners who want to treat their business like a business—learning how to market themselves, differentiate their offerings, provide legal protection for their businesses, and more.
■ Anybody who wants to learn more about business, get a solid business foundation, and make more money.
About The Planning Shop
The Planning Shop specializes in creating business resources for entrepreneurs. The Planning Shop’s books and other products are based on years of real-world experience, and they share secrets and strategies from entrepreneurs, CEOs, investors, lenders, and seasoned business experts. Products from The Planning Shop are known for their practical, honest advice and information, their easy-to-use format and worksheets, and their understanding of the real needs of businesspeople today.
Millions of entrepreneurs have used The Planning Shop’s products to launch, run, and expand businesses in every industry. Since chief entrepreneur and CEO Rhonda Abrams founded The Planning Shop in 1999, more than 600 business schools, colleges, and universities have adopted The Planning Shop’s books as required texts.
The Planning Shop’s expanding line of business books includes:
■ The Successful Business series, assisting entrepreneurs and business students in planning and growing businesses. Titles include Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies, Successful Marketing: Secrets & Strategies, Six-Week Start-Up, Successful Business Research, The Owner’s Manual for Small Business, and What Business Should I Start?
■ The In A Day series, enabling entrepreneurs to tackle a critical business task and “Get it done right, get it done fast.™” Titles include Business Plan In A Day, Winning Presentation In A Day, Trade Show In A Day, Finding an Angel Investor In A Day.
■ The Better Business Bureau series, helping entrepreneurs and consumers successfully make serious financial decisions. Titles include Buying a Franchise, Buying a Home, and Starting an eBay Business.
At The Planning Shop, now and in the future, you’ll find the business information, books, and tools you need to make your business dreams a reality and your business plans a success. Learn more and register for our free business tips newsletter at www.PlanningShop.com.
About the Authors
RHONDA ABRAMS
Entrepreneur, author, and nationally syndicated columnist Rhonda Abrams is widely recognized as one of the leading experts on entrepreneurship and small business. Rhonda’s column for USAToday, “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, The Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies, is the best-selling business plan guide in America. It was named one of the Top Ten 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 a 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 Bestseller” 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 startups to Fortune 500 companies. Rhonda was an early Web pioneer, founding a website for small business that she later sold. In 1999, Rhonda started a publishing company—now called The Planning Shop—focusing exclusively on topics of business planning, entrepreneurship, and new business development. The Planning Shop is America’s leading academic publisher focusing exclusively on entrepreneurship.
A popular public speaker, Rhonda is regularly invited to address leading industry and trade associations, business schools, and corporate conventions and events. Educated at Harvard University and UCLA, where she was named Outstanding Senior, Rhonda now lives in Palo Alto, California.
Register to receive Rhonda’s free business newsletter at The Planning Shop’s website, www.PlanningShop.com.
Other books by Rhonda Abrams include:
■ Successful Marketing: Secrets & Strategies
■ The Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies
■ Six-Week