Business Success Through Risk Elimination: The Top Ten Rules of Successful Start-Ups

Copyright © 2010, 2013 by Brian Davies.

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ISBN: 978-1-4759-7143-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-7145-3 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4759-7144-6 (ebk)

iUniverse rev. date: 02/13/2013

CONTENTS

Introduction

Part One: Finance

Rule #10 Equity Financing: A Step Toward Start-Up Success

Rule #9 Line Of Credit: Your Safety Net

Rule #8 Accurate Financial Models

Rule #7 Controlling Expenses: A Crucial Step

Rule #6 Sales: The Key To Success

Part Two Management And Planning

Rule #5 The Sales And Marketing Plan

Rule #4 Business Ethics And Integrity

Rule #3 Roles And Responsibilities

Rule #2 Your Area Of Experience And Expertise

Rule #1 Success Through Determination

Afterword

Glossary

Bibliography

About The Author

INTRODUCTION

Starting a business does not have to be risky.

Let me repeat that: starting a business does not have to be risky. This book will show you how to minimize the risk of starting a business by learning the specific techniques that successful entrepreneurs use. You will see how to manage risk so that you have the confidence needed to make the leap from employee to business owner. Once you learn to manage risk, you can virtually eliminate it.

There is no magic to starting a successful start-up business. It is hard but doable. Based on my experience, there are very specific traits that nearly all successful start-up companies have in common. The presence or lack of these ten traits marks the distinction between successful start-up companies and those that end in bankruptcy. If you can successfully manifest these ten traits, you will virtually guarantee your start-up business success.

Entrepreneurs put their money into a project or a business and risk losing everything. This book will show you that risk can be controlled and dramatically reduced. You can control this risk by learning from those who went before you, by learning what works and what doesn’t. Starting a business shouldn’t be like a Hail Mary pass in football. Rather it is a calculated risk and managed risk. With the proper planning and education, you can significantly improve your chances for having a successful start-up business.

According to the Small Business Administration, more than fifty percent of all start-up business fail within the first five years of operation. You can and should use the experiences of entrepreneurs before you to help you avoid this fate. Since untold numbers of people have traveled down the same business road you are about to travel down, why shouldn’t you learn from their successes and failures? You can minimize your risk by letting their experiences guide you. Why reinvent the wheel? Throughout this book, I have inserted real-life examples from my own experience and the experiences of some of my entrepreneurial colleagues. Take the best practices from start-up successes and avoid the pitfalls of start-up failures.

In 1995 my partner and I incorporated a start-up manufacturing business in the medical device market. We sold the business in 2006 to a large publicly traded company, the Brady Corporation (NYSE: BRC). Throughout these ten years we had some great successes and some major setbacks. For example, one of our first setbacks came shortly after we launched when our initial sales forecast was based on a sales plan that did not work out. The problem was that we did not have a back-up sales plan. So now I recommend building your sales plan based on your most accurate projections, but you also need a fall back plan, or Plan B, if your primary plan does not work out. My hope is that you will use the lessons of business owners with successful start-ups and learn from our successes and failures.

By reading this book, you’ll gain valuable insight into distinctions that can help to make your start-up venture a success. These distinctions are a top ten of vital factors in your success. The Financial part of the book focuses on financial strategies, and you’ll learn how to sensibly use equity financing, manage sales growth, control your expenses,