The McGraw-Hill Guide to Starting Your Own Business : A Step-By-Step Blueprint for the First-Time Entrepreneur » (2nd Edition)

Stephen C. Harper, Ph.D. is a professor of management at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and president of management consulting firm Harper and Associates, Inc.

The nationwide bestseller, updated for beating the odds and achieving breakthrough success

Insightful tips from over 100 Entrepreneurs for Starting a Business—and Doing It Right!

Today's conditions are among the best in history for starting and building your own business, and The McGraw-Hill Guide to Starting Your Own Business is renowned for showing thousands of entrepreneurs how to do just that. Now let this hands-on book give you the market-tested knowledge and confidence you need to identify and evaluate new business opportunities, draw up a business plan, find the money to get your new venture off the ground, and take that first step toward true success—by launching a business that in your heart, you know will work!

Praise for the first edition of The McGraw-Hill Guide to Starting Your Own Business:

Featured selection by the Fortune Book Club, Money Book Club, BusinessWeek Book Club, Book-of-the-Month Club

"The strength of The McGraw-Hill Guide to Starting Your Own Business is that it delivers on its promise. It is indeed a step-by-step blueprint for the first-time entrepreneur."—Jeffrey L. Seglin, Editor, Inc.

"The McGraw-Hill Guide to Starting Your Own Business is . . . an indispensable reference for any first-time entrepreneur—and an invaluable advantage for every fledgling business."—Fortune Book Club

"A down-to-earth guide to business startup essentials."—Money Book Club

"A practical, information-packed guide: it's loaded with the know-how you need to go it alone."—Book-of-the-Month Club

Stephen C. Harper, Ph.D. is a professor of management at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and president of management consulting firm Harper and Associates, Inc.

Library Journal

In this guide Harper, head of his own management consulting firm, discusses the aspects of becoming an entrepreneur practically and realistically. He covers choosing the type of business; writing the business plan; advertising; financing; and franchising. Included also is the Entrepreneurial Qualities Self-Test designed to measure potential skills. Harper also cites and describes additional sources of information such as the U.S. Industrial Outlook , published annually by USGPO, and Wilson's Business Periodicals Index . Along with Lyle Maul and Dianne Mayfield's Entrepreneur's Road Map ( LJ 9/1/89) and Sharon Kahn and Philip Lieff's 101 Best Businesses To Start ( LJ 7/88), this book will provide a good ``first step'' for would-be entrepreneurs. Recommended to public libraries.-- Lucy Heckman, St. John's Univ. Lib., Jamaica, New York

Introduction: There Are No Guarantees for Success.
Part I: Getting Ready to Get Ready.
Creating a New Business.
Identifying New Business Opportunities.
Part II: Preparing Your Business Plan.
The General Overview and Legal Structure.
Selecting the Right Target Market.
Product/Service Strategy and Price Strategy.
Promotion Strategy and Physical Distribution Strategy.
Determining Your Initial Capital Requirement.
Projecting the Financial Status for the First Five Years.
Part III: Before You Lock into a Course of Action.
Applying for a Loan.
Buying an Existing Business.
Acquiring a Franchise.
Commencement: You've Only Just Begun.