Small Business Management: An Entrepreneur's Guidebook

Operating any business is complex and challenging, but it provides interesting, creative, and rewarding experiences. Small Business Management, Sixth Edition, takes a practical and down-to-earth approach to planning, organizing, and running a small business. While employing current research and theory, Small Business Management takes a pragmatic “how-to” perspective illustrating many practical examples and applications from the business world. It explains how to achieve optimum benefits from the limited resources available to small firms, as well as how to plan for growth and succession in a business. It also explores arguments both for and against owning a small business. The enhancements to this edition serve to strengthen and reinforce without minimizing or losing the original qualities and usefulness of the textbook. The business plan remains a very important building block for this edition in both examples and format.

Mary Jane Byrd (DBA, IPMA-SCP) is professor of accounting and management at the University of Mobile, where she has been teaching for 32 years. She and her husband operate a small business that they founded in 1974. Dr. Byrd is certified by the International Public Management Association and participates with the Academy of Management, United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. She also serves on the editorial board for the International Journal of Public Administration and the boards of various local organizations. She has presented refereed papers both in the United Sates and England, and has coauthored eight business textbooks. Various awards include: Teacher of the Year, several Outstanding Service Awards for local organizations, University of Mobile Research Award, and Who's Who. Her hobbies include water sports, reading, travel, and writing. She is married to Gerald Byrd, and they have three daughters: Kari, Julli, and Cori.