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Entrepreneurship
Do you want to start,
operate and grow your own business? |
All
businesses start from an idea. So you have an
idea and want to start a business. You want
to be an entrepreneur and make your idea, your
dream into a reality. You want to be your own
boss and make all the decisions. Starting and
operating your own business can bring pride
and a sense of independence and achievement.
You will be the boss, and you can’t be
fired. If your business is successful, you will
feel pride in ownership and receive great satisfaction
from offering a product or service that is needed
and wanted in the marketplace. Owning your own
business can also bring failure, frustrations,
disappointments, stress and financial losses.
Owning
and operating your own business means that you
must accept sole responsibility for all final
decisions. A wrong decision on your part can
result in losses to you and possibly your employees,
creditors and customers. You must withstand
adverse conditions and circumstances that are
sometime beyond your control, overcome business
setbacks and work long hours trying to make
your business successful and profitable. You
must be the secretary, bookkeeper, manager,
purchasing agent, accountant, and the list goes
on. You must operate the office, keep the books,
prepare and maintain accounting records, analyze
accounting records, prepare your product or
service, make plans, purchase supplies, supervise
employees, if there are any, meet your payroll,
prepare tax forms and pay taxes and perform
all the other functions that are required to
make the business profitable and successful.
No
matter what business you choose, you must always
satisfy your clients and customers. If you do
not provide your customers and clients what
they want, they will go someplace else and you
will soon be out of business. To that extent,
every customer or client is your boss. In some
instances your creditors will dictate to you
and your competition may force you to take some
actions you did not anticipate. In addition,
federal and local government entities will insist
that you meet certain standards and follow certain
regulations.
So
you still want to be an entrepreneur? Before
you proceed further you need to first determine
what is involved in owning and successfully
operating a business. Then ask yourself if you
are the entrepreneurial type. This section will
introduce you to resources on entrepreneurship
that will assist you in the discovery and decision
making process.
| Entrepreneurship
Links |
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Business.gov
From
the U.S. Small Business Administration
Business.gov is designed to present
information based on the business
user's point of view. Its purpose
is to make federal rules, regulations,
guidelines, resources, and other
information easily accessable
from one website in a manner that
makes sense to the user. For those
who want to find information according
to a standard business cycle,
there are four areas: Launching,
Managing, Growing, and Getting
Out. On the site there are also
a number of broad topics that
may be of interest to any business
or business owner, regardless
of their position within the business
cycle. On the home page of this
website is a text link called
"Region" that allows
users to find state and region-specific
information. This is an excellent
secondary navigation to find information
that is not generally provided
elsewhere on this website.
Business.gov
has a text link called "Industry"
that presents industry-specific
information. It also has search
tool that will present information
according to the key words you
type into the search field. The
search tool presents information
both within this website and from
other websites.
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EntreWorld:
Resources for Entrepreneurs
From
the Kauffman Foundation
EntreWorld is a online resource
for small business owners. The EntreWorld
search engine delivers the best
and most useful information, guidance
and contacts for you, the entrepreneur.
The site provides content with more
than 1,000 articles, audio clips,
tools, databases and town-to-town
small business event listings. EntreWorld
prides itself on having its editorial
team scour the Internet for information
that is particularly valuable to
entrepreneurs, read and review each
piece of content, and move grade-A
material into EntreWorld's dynamic
library of high-quality resources
and tools. It also provides it own
articles, and code it all within
a logical directory of very specific
entrepreneurial topics -- segmented
even further by stages of business
development. |
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Startup
Journal
From
the Wall Street Journal
Starting your own
business or buying a franchise is
tough, even in a strong economy.
You'll have to research the market,
secure financing, open a shop, hire
employees and run the enterprise.
On the site you can find businesses
for sale, franchise opportunities
and a trademark
search, as well as information
on how to create a business plan,
how to advice and guidance, ideas,
research on industry business models,
financing, franchising, technology,
and running a business.
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Small
Business Administration (SBA)
From
the U.S. Small Business Administration
The Small Business Administration
(SBA) misssion is to maintain
and strengthen the nation's economy
by aiding, counseling, assisting
and protecting the interests of
small businesses and by helping
families and businesses recover
from national disasters. On the
site you will find helpful information
on Starting Your Business, Financing
Your Business, Managing Your
Business, Business Opportunities
and Disaster Recovery. You can
also find your local SBA office
and regional information and resources
that will be helpful as you consider
or begin the process of starting
your business.
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Business
Owners Toolkit
From
CCH
CCH's Small Business Guide
provides information on the following:
Starting Your Business, Planning
Your Business, Getting Financing
for Your Business, Marketing Your
Product, Winning Government Contracts,
Your Office and Equipment, Managing
People Who Work for You, Hiring
and retaining the right people,
Managing Your Business Finances,
Controlling Your Taxes, Building
Your Personal Wealth, Protecting
Your Assets and Getting Out of Your
Business. |
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Running
a Business - In-Depth
From
the British Broadcasting Corporation
(BBC)
The BBC provides and in-depth
look at running a business by providing
articles on SWOT Analysis, marketing,
management, starting a business
abroad and more. |
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| Inspiration
for You |
"Power
is the faculty or capacity to act, the
strength and potency to accomplish something.
It is the vital energy to make choices
and decisions. It also includes the
capacity to overcome deeply embedded
habits and to cultivate higher, more
effective ones."
Stephen
R. Covey (b. 1932), American writer,
author
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"There
are people who put their dreams in a
little box and say, 'Yes, I've got dreams,
of course I've got dreams.' Then they
put the box away and bring it out once
in awhile to look in it, and yep, they're
still there. These are great dreams,
but they never even get out of the box.
It takes an uncommon amount of guts
to put your dreams on the line, to hold
them up and say, 'How good or how bad
am I?' That's where courage comes in."
Erma
Louise Bombeck (b. 1927), American author,
humorist
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