Essentials of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management - Softcover

Zimmerer, Thomas W.; Scarborough, Norman M.; Wilson, Doug

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201 ratings by Goodreads

9780132294386: Essentials of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0132294389 ISBN 13: 9780132294386

Publisher: Pearson College Div, 2007

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This fifth edition of the popular book introduces you to the processes of new venture creation and the critical knowledge needed to manage your business once it is formed. With the help of this book, readers can follow their dreams of becoming successful entrepreneurs. Topics include: the challenges of entrepreneurship, building a business plan, marketing considerations, e-commerce and the entrepreneur, advertising and pricing for profit, financial considerations and managing cash flow, building a competitive edge, and debt/equity and site and location considerations. For any person interested in owning, operating, and managing a small business. Also a handy reference for entrepreneurs and managers of small businesses.

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From the Back Cover:

The tool that today's students need to master the most essential issues involved in starting and managing a successful new business venture. The first book in the field to have an entire chapter on E-Commerce!

FEATURES

New! Chapter 15, "E-Commerce and the Entrepreneur," serves as a guide to conducting business on the web.
New! Chapter 2, "Inside the Entrepreneurial Mind: From Ideas to Reality," discusses the creative process entrepreneurs use to create business ideas.
"You Be the Consultant" feature challenges students to apply what they've learned. Each chapter has two of these boxes, which pose a problem situation, with questions to focus attention on key issues.
A dedicated Web site at www.prenhall.com/zimmerer includes Internet exercises, author updates, and over 1,000 links to relevant small business sites.

There has never been a better time to launch a business. Today, increasing numbers of students are choosing to become entrepreneurs, starting businesses that spring from their dreams of freedom and independence and their hopes for meaningful careers. Entrepreneurship is now the driving force behind economic growth and rejuvenation all across the globe, but the United States remains the world leader in the field of entrepreneurship. At the same time, teaching small business and entrepreneurship has become one of the most challenging tasks in colleges and universities today. Like most practicing entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial students expect to maximize the amount of practical, "hands-on" knowledge they get from a course in the shortest possible time. This book allows students to do exactly that.

Essentials of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management, 3/E, is designed to provide future entrepreneurs with the tools they need to master the most important issues involved in starting and managing a successful new business venture. This book uses a variety of tools to stimulate student interest and to promote learning. The following are some of the features that are included in this third edition:

"You Be the Consultant . . ." features. These short vignettes, drawn from actual small businesses, develop students' critical thinking skills by allowing them to apply the knowledge they gain to actual business problems. The best way for students to learn is to put their knowledge into practice; these exercises give them the opportunity to do just that. This edition continues the tradition of this practical feature that users and reviewers continue to rave about.

Learning Objectives. Every chapter begins with a set of learning objectives, but it doesn't end there! The learning objectives are integrated into the chapters as "markers" that appear at the beginning of the appropriate section in the chapter. The chapter summaries also are built around these learning objectives, reinforcing the key concepts covered in every chapter.

Lots of "real-world" examples. Many students find that the learning process is more effective when they see examples of how entrepreneurs apply the principles they are studying. Meaningful, real-world examples area major strength of this book. Every chapter is loaded with many examples of small companies that are living proof that the concepts and techniques covered in the text actually do work! These examples are easy to spot; they are set off in italics and include an in-margin marker containing the company's name.

Expanded coverage of E-Commerce and the World Wide Web. The Web is transforming the way that companies do business, and some of the most exciting entrepreneurial stories are taking place in the world of e-commerce. This edition of Essentials of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management is the first book in the field to include a complete chapter on the rapidly growing field of e-commerce (Chapter 15, "E-Commerce and the Entrepreneur"). This chapter describes the factors entrepreneurs should consider before launching into e-commerce and discusses the twelve myths of e-commerce. It also covers strategies for success in e-commerce, offers tips on building a killer Web site, and discusses security issues. In addition, many of the examples throughout the text are based on companies engaging in e-commerce.

A supporting Web site. The World Wide Web brings another dimension into the modern classroom. Using the Web site that accompanies this book, professors can find online examples to enhance their in-class presentations and both students and professors can use the site as a valuable research tool. The site also includes Web activities for students, sample test questions, PowerPoint downloads, and Web links relevant to each chapter. Preparing to run a business in the twenty-first century begins at: www.prenhall.com/zimmerer.

Comprehensive cases drawn from highly respected case writers and the North American Case Research Association (NACRA). Selected by the authors, these cases add another dimension to students' classroom experience. They allow students to study, analyze, and solve a small company's problems and opportunities in detail and can serve as the basis for either oral or written reports on an individual or a team basis. These cases are available as a package through the publisher.

High-quality tables, charts, and figures. Thanks to computers, television, and movies, today's students are very visually-oriented, and modern textbooks should recognize this. Every chapter in this book contains helpful tables, charts, and figures designed to help students capture and retain meaningful concepts and information. The authors believe that learning should be fun and include many quality cartoons that are relevant to each chapter.

Thought-provoking quotations. Every chapter begins with two or three thought-provoking quotations that set the stage for what the student will be learning.

A sample business plan. A sample business plan for a children's bookstore, The Hundred Story House, that was developed by a student entrepreneur is available on the Web site. It offers a good example of how students can convert their ideas into businesses.

Business Plan Pro software. Professors can have Business Plan Pro, the best-selling business planning software package from Palo Alto Software, packaged with their students' textbooks for a minimal fee. This software is a valuable tool that helps students build winning business plans for their entrepreneurial ideas.

Essentials of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management, 3/E includes topics that are vital to any entrepreneur considering launching a business, all in a manageable 15 chapters. There is a right way—and a wrong way—to launch a business. This book teaches entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs-to-be the right way to launch their companies so they can maximize their probability of success. It progresses in a logical fashion that reflects the input of dozens of experienced, successful small business professionals. It provides a map for building a business plan to guide a business down the road to success.

This book provides valuable guidance in the critical areas entrepreneurs face as they evaluate the potential of their business ideas. Its major strengths include in-depth, practical coverage of topics such as strategic management, choosing a form of ownership or a franchise, buying an existing business, developing a marketing strategy, managing cash flow, building a financial plan, assembling a strong business plan. Once established, a business must maintain its competitive advantage. Essentials of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management, 3/E addresses this need with strong chapters on advertising and pricing; building a leading a successful team; exploring global business opportunities, and, of course, e-commerce.

Students and faculty also have access to our World Wide Web page at www.prenhall.com/zimmerer that serves as a valuable resource to those interested in learning more about the exciting world of small business and entrepreneurship. It offers a handy "Before You Start Checklist" designed to help entrepreneurs make sure they have everything they need to launch a successful business and a "Business Plan Evaluation Scale" that allows entrepreneurs to measure the quality of their business plans. It also provides more than one thousand links to other Web sites relating to topics in small business management and entrepreneurship, all organized by topic. Students and faculty literally can access a world of information on small business and entrepreneurship from this one Web site. In short, it serves as a one-stop WWW location for all of your small business needs!

As you can see, the authors have used their combined 60 years of teaching experience (and their 54 years of experience writing textbooks) to produce a book that contains a multitude of both student- and professor-friendly features. We trust that this edition of Essentials of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management, 3/E will help the next generation of entrepreneurs reach their full potential and achieve their dreams of success as independent business owners. It is their dedication, perseverance, and creativity that keep the world's economy moving forward.

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