Tired of the 9-5 routine? Or, maybe your hours are more like 8-6 or 7-7. No matter. If you are ready to make the leap into starting your own business, you are not alone. According to the Small Business Administration, the number of small businesses has grown 49 percent in the last two decades. In this guide, author Turner, a marketing consultant, lays out in easy-to-read chapters the essentials of what you'll need to know and do before becoming your own boss.
If you still need convincing, Turner totes up the advantages of the entrepreneurial life: flexibility with work/life balance, career control, independence, financial potential, less bureaucracy, and the ability to reach one's full potential.
Each chapter covers the basics including determining the type of business that is right for you, writing a business plan, obtaining funding, taking care of accounting and legal necessities, and marketing your product or service. Turner believes that there is no "one-size-fits-all" when it comes to a start-up. "Anyone who tells you that there is a standard tried-and-true method of starting a new business has obviously never done it. If there is one thing to remember as you start this exciting process, it is that there is no one right way to go about creating a company."—S.J. Johnston