Ultimate Boomer Business Start-Up Guide Review
January 10, 2009 by Reba
Filed under Blog, Business Start-Up, Hot Topics
Jeff Williams - Author
Sometime in the last quarter of last year I had the pleasure of running across the Biz Starters website and ‘The Ultimate Boomer Business Start-Up Guide’ by Jeff Williams. I asked Jeff if I could promote his product on my website and he was kind enough to give me a review copy of his start-up guide. So that he wouldn’t have to mail me the physical product, I read a PDF copy on my computer.
I have read a lot of business start-up books in my lifetime and I have to say, this is the most complete one I’ve ever seen. And having actually started a ‘brick and mortar’ business myself, I feel qualified to judge whether or not a book on how to start a business is complete or not. Honestly, why Jeff named this 222-page guide a ‘Boomer’ guide is beyond me, as it is filled with comprehensive checklists and uses a ‘decision tree’ approach to help anyone (not just Boomers) get through the complicated steps of starting a business.
In reading this book I liked how the author led the readers through decisions and based on those decisions, he led them to do different steps. For instance, if it was decided that a rented office space was needed, then lease review, review of prices for comparable space, and even attorney review was suggested. If home office was the choice, regulations for home businesses, space consideration, what address to use for business, and whether or not the type of business was conducive to residential areas was considered. This level of deliberation and forethought was suggested for every decision discussed in the book.
The other thing I liked about the way the guide was written was that the author talked about his own personal experiences and how they related to the topic being discussed, however, he didn’t bore his audience with tons of personal dribble. He contained it in a section at the end of each Action Step so it was easy to skip if the reader wasn’t interested.
The first section of the book covers setting-up the organization of the business. Jeff helps aspiring new business owners through a vast sea of decisions, like whether to locate in a home or rented office, how to choose a name and identity for the business, how to handle the legal aspects of setting up a new business, and how to organize an office.
The second section of the book includes the Action Steps to take in preparing to market and sell a product or service. Preparing a marketing plan, how to set-up a website, and deciding how customer service will be handled is covered among other things. Again, the information is very thorough, and the full scope of every topic is covered.
It started to come to my attention in this section that throughout the book the author suggests lots of websites, products, and information about where to find tools and help needed to complete his action steps. I love that the information is given so the reader knows where to go, however, I also hope that Jeff plans to do continuous updating of the book in regard to that information. For example, Microsoft FrontPage is one of the recommended products to use for building a website and Microsoft no longer sells this product, it has been replaced by another product.
Section three of the book talks about money. In my opinion, next to sales and marketing, finances is the most important thing to know about in a business but is most neglected by small or solo business owners. The author covers this area very well, all the way from setting up the company bank account and what to look for in a bank to setting up the accounting software. One of the most important things covered in this section is how to estimate start-up costs and find the money for start-up, but even more importantly, how to prepare an estimate of the expenses, cash flow and profit/loss for the first year in business is covered. The book explains very well how to go through preparing this information and Jeff gives very good tips for cash management.
The book recommends using Quickbooks for the accounting and makes some very specific recommendations on how to set-up the office processes. These recommendations will work well for a very small start-up but if the business being considered is much larger than just a few people, I think other software and different processes should be considered. However, I feel the author was writing for the very small business and that’s why these recommendations were made.
The last section is about running the business operations. Here Jeff covers setting up the phone system, production system, and hiring employees. The telecommunications section is good. It covers things to consider in regard to mobile phones, land line, and fax. I know email is not considered telecommunications but I feel it needs to be discussed somewhere in the book and it never was. With more and more transactions being handled by email and the fax machine becoming a dinosaur, it seems the space allocated to how to handle fax communication would have been better used discussing how email will be handled. In today’s business world, this can make a huge difference in the perception a customer has about the level of customer service a business provides.
The book closes with more fantastic information for hiring employees and running a business. Again, thoroughness is foremost. There are tips for deciding whether to hire regular employees or contractors, tips for reducing personnel costs, information about government requirements for hiring personnel and much more. The very last section is about setting up your production processes and running your business with tons of information from a seasoned professional.
All in all the ‘The Ultimate Boomer Business Start-Up Guide‘ is the ultimate business guide and not just for Boomers. There were only a couple of things I saw in the book that could actually be improved. I do feel the 10-week timeline presented is a bit long, but since planning a business start-up can’t be done on a linear timeline, 10-weeks could be about average. I guess I’m an action person and would never take that long to get everything in place.
Oh and I don’t want to forget to mention that as the owner of the ‘The Ultimate Boomer Business Start-Up Guide‘ you’ll receive an exclusive offering of more than $150 of discounts for leading online start-up service providers including LogoWorks.com, VistaPrint.com, MyCorporation.com, StockLayouts.com and Intuit.com. And Jeff is continually working on adding new discounts that he sends to all purchasers of the guide.
The ‘The Ultimate Boomer Business Start-Up Guide‘ sells for only $99 and for that small amount of money there’s not a better guide. If a new entrepreneur messes up even one thing taught in this book it could cost the new business many, many, times that amount of money. It only makes sense to read the guide first. And if you use the discounts that come with it, you’ll get that money back and then some.
If you are considering starting your own business, you MUST consider using the The Ultimate Boomer Business Start-Up Guide as roadmap. It is available at the following link, click now to learn more:
The Ultimate Boomer Business Start-Up Guide
EDITED TO ADD: A short time after this review was published Jeff contacted me with some exciting information about The Ultimate Boomer Business Start-Up Guide. Here’s what he had to say:
New, Improved Version of the Ultimate Boomer Business Start-Up Guide Debuts on February 1, 2009.
Members of the Bizstarters community have asked us to add several new features to Ultimate Boomer Guide, and we’re pleased to respond.
Debuting on February 1, 2009 we will expand the Ulitmate Boomer Business Start-Up Guide into a full-blown business start-up and management program, offering several new features:
1. An invitation to join Bizstarters CEO, Jeff Williams, for a monthly 60-minute TeleCoaching session during which you can ask any business start-up or management questions you have and get an immediate answer.
2. A DVD containing mp3 files for a series of podcast interviews conducted by Jeff Williams with a number of 50+ Boomer entrepreneurs who share their valuable insights into how their launched their particular kind of business.
3. A new binder workbook presenting a print worksheet version of our Business Blueprint planning outline (CD verision is also included in the new program), as well as our “mini-MBA” guides for managing the marketing and finances of your growing business.
The new, improved version of the Ultimate Boomer Business Start-Up Guide comes packaged in a convenient carrying case. The selling price of $249 is backed with a lifetime satisfaction guarantee.
Ciao!
Reba
Why You Need A Business Plan
September 1, 2008 by Reba
Filed under Blog, Business Start-Up, Hot Topics
Have you considered writing a business plan for your new internet business? Many owners skip this vital step when setting up their small start-up companies. And why do you think a smart, energetic, excited and knowledgeable entrepreneur would skip this step? Precisely the reason they’re starting their business in the first place, because they’re excited and energetic and want to get things started. Writing a business plan slows down the process of getting started as it involves a lot of hard work, research, and introspective reasoning.
One of the most important things you will ever do for your business is to write a business plan. Those who take the time, do the research, and commit a plan to paper are 80% more likely to succeed with their venture. And that’s exactly the reason you need to take the time to write one. Doing the work to create a business plan will challenge any preconceived assumptions you may have and raise questions that will require you to find answers. The exercise of committing your plan to paper will highlight the strengths and weakness of your business idea and prove to you whether or not your plan is viable.
During the process of creating your business plan you will anticipate problems that may cause roadblocks for you in the future. You will learn to do research to collect information so you can make more informed decisions regarding your business. And after doing the legwork necessary to write a business plan, you will have an organized document to help you approach issues as they arise.
Since a business plan defines key areas of your business, it will become your “roadmap,” so to speak, to lead your business to a place in the future. Without this “roadmap”, it’s hard to know where you’re going and how you’re going to get there. It will also serve in the months and years to come as a measurement tool to tell you how well you’re doing against your original objectives.
In your business plan, you will articulate in narrative form the following key strategies:
- Executive Summary – a compelling overview of the entire plan
- Company Profile – what the business does and how it will make money
- Business History – only necessary if expanding an existing business
- Marketing Plan – how you will market your products including market trends, target market, competitive analysis, and distributions strategy
- Operational Strategy – how you plan to make your product including information about inventory, processes, risk management, facility, equipment
- Management Team – key personnel and their background
- Financial Plan – start-up costs, income statement (projected revenue, cost of goods sold and expenses for the first year of business), cash flow analysis, breakeven analysis, balance sheet (assets, liabilities, and equity), explanation for the use of funds, and expected outcome
- Conclusions/Actions – what are the actions needed to fulfill your plan
As you can see, there is a lot of information that needs to be analyzed and a lot of research will need to be done before you can even sit down to write your plan. If you’re feeling a little lost about where to start, don’t panic. Don’t expect to be able to just whip this out in one afternoon, and don’t skip the hard questions for if you ask and answer them now, before you commit your investment money to your new venture, you will be way ahead of your competitors.
I found two excellent resources to help you organize your business plan and all the information that needs to be considered. They are both free, the first is a business plan workbook that leads you through the exercises and asks the questions you need to answer. The second is a software program that takes you step by step in writing your plan. Using these two resources in conjunction with each other gives you everything you need to know about how a business plan is presented and what information needs to be included. All downloads offered at www.download.com have been tested and are certified virus and spyware free, so be sure to take the time to download these excellent resources and get started today writing the “roadmap” to your next new venture.
Reba
