Part I: Becoming an Entrepreneur 9

Chapter 1: Is Small Business for You 11

Chapter 2: Laying Your Personal Financial Foundation 27

Chapter 3: Finding Your Niche 41

Chapter 4: First Things First: Crafting Your Business Plan 57

Chapter 5: Making Financing, Ownership, and Organizational Decisions 77

Part II: Buying an Existing Business 105

Chapter 6: Exploring Buying a Business 107

Chapter 7: Finding the Right Business to Buy 117

Chapter 8: Evaluating a Business to Buy 131

Chapter 9: Negotiating Terms and Sealing the Deal 149

Part III: Running a Successful Small Business 161

Chapter 10: The Owner’s Responsibilities in the Start-Up and Beyond 163

Chapter 11: Marketing: Products, Pricing, Distribution, Promotion, and Sales 191

Chapter 12: Tapping Technology 221

Chapter 13: Keeping Your Customers Loyal 233

Chapter 14: Managing Profitability and Cash 245

Chapter 15: Learning from the Experiences of Others 271

Part IV: Keeping Your Business in Business 283

Chapter 16: Finding and Keeping Superstar Employees 285

Chapter 17: Providing Employee Benefits 313

Chapter 18: Handling Regulatory and Legal Issues 333

Chapter 19: Mastering Small-Business Taxes 347

Chapter 20: Cultivating a Growing Business 361

Part V: The Part of Tens 381

Chapter 21: Ten Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make 383

Chapter 22: Ten Tips for Small-Business Success 391

Index 399