Ask where you can get one-on-one advice about starting your business and gauging its viability. Or ask, "Where are the top networking organizations in the state?" You'll find out about local professional entrepreneur groups and business coalitions that provide free or reduced-rate training and consultation.
Chances are, you'll also be given the name of your local incubator (a business park where start-ups can rent cheap space), another potentially good source of information on subsidized and independent services for small businesses. The SBA can direct you to the nearest small-business-development center (SBDC), where, with a little luck, you can find community professionals who do pro bono work. (See "The Truth About the SBA," page 7.)
Once you've explored basic business issues with your one-on-one contacts, ask them where you can turn for more specific advice about marketing, product research, finding sales reps, and so on.
One caveat: the more you know about the sort of company you want to start (for example, do you want to build a large organization or stay solo?), the better you'll be able to judge which groups and services fit you best -- and whose advice you should heed.
CASH AND OPERATIONAL CONTROLS
With your first sale still a distant dream, the concept of money-in, money-out may seem theoretical indeed. but once you're up and running, cash-flow problems can sink you quickly. Think about financial and operational controls beforehand. don't expect to master the subject overnight.
* Newcomers to cash flow should start with "Understanding Cash Flow," a 10-page pamphlet you can pick up from your local SBA office for about $1.
* "Internal Controls for Protection and Profit," an 8-page article from the Small Business Forum (fall 1990), establishes up front the importance of controls for small-business owners. Focuses mainly on employee theft, using case-study examples. A list of resources at the end covers different aspects of controls. Small Business Forum reprints are 50¢ each; call 608-263-7843.
* Coopers & Lybrand Guide to Growing Your Business. The chapter on accounting systems and controls, explained in everyday English, alone might justify the $23 price tag. Available from offices of C&L, which has devoted considerable resources to small business, including teams of accountants who, on a retainer basis, advise start-ups on controls, taxes, and business plans. Call 212-259-2244.
* Cash Flow Problem Solver, by Bryan Milling (Sourcebooks, 1992, $19.95). If you're easily intimidated by numbers, and terms like average days outstanding make you dizzy, this is the book for you. Call 708-961-2161.
* Small Business Survival Guide, by Robert Fleury (Sourcebooks, 1991, $17.95). Good for its heavy emphasis on cash management.
Inc. Reprints
Controls
"The Language of Business" ([Article link], February 1990): How one CEO figured out which numbers
really matter.
"Mrs. Fields' Secret Ingredient" (October 1987): The recipe for the growth of Mrs. Fields Cookies.
"A Confidence Game" ([Article link], December 1989): Taking the mystery out of cash flow.
MARKETING & SELLING ON THE CHEAP
"True marketing starts out with the customer, his demographics, his realities, his needs, his values," writes Peter Drucker in management. "It does not ask, 'what do we want to sell?' It asks, 'What does the customer want to buy?' . . . The aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous." Listed in this section are some books and tapes that will help you make the transition from selling to marketing-without spending a small fortune on advertising.
* Guerrilla Marketing Attack, by Jay Conrad Levinson (Houghton Mifflin, 1989, $8.95). If you're unfamiliar with the half dozen or so of Levinson's "guerrilla" books, here's the place to start. Attack effectively lays out the many options for small companies that can't afford to hire an advertising or PR agency and, more important, that want to conduct their own marketing. Will also help you get the most from any professionals you do hire. "The book helped me structure my marketing plan, so when I did go to a marketing company later, I knew what I wanted, and I knew what to ask," says Ed LaFlamme, president of a landscaping company in Bridgeport, Conn. Guerrilla Marketing Weapons (Plume, 1990, $9.95) expands on the 100 marketing methods noted in Attack.
* Do-It-Yourself Publicity, by David Ramacitti (AMACOM, 1990, $17.95). Publicity is free, but you still need a game plan for getting it. If you have time for just one book on the topic, this is the one, say the pros. No theory, just down-to-earth information from a former newspaper man. Sample media file, publicity plan, and press releases are included.
* Selling the Dream: How to Promote Your Product, Company, or Ideas -- and Make a Difference -- Using Everyday Evangelist, by Guy Kawasaki (HarperCollins, 1991, $20). Long title, but a fun and inspiri , by Guy Kawasang read on how to get the word out. Kawasaki comes armed with a playful sense of humor and some great for-profit and nonprofit examples to illustrate his brand of "evangelism." Don't let that word scare you off -- this is not a preachy text. It's very practical, with a lot of how-to tips for enlisting others in your cause. The book ends, appropriately, with the Apple Macintosh product-introduction plan, cowritten by Kawasaki. Warning: once you read this book, traditional forms of selling and marketing won't seem too appealing.
