Sign-In
Cart
Business Planning for First-Time Founders: A Clear Path for Turning Your Idea into a Real Company
Paperback
Currently unavailable to order
Please enter your email and a message will be sent to you when this product becomes available on our website.
Publisher: Independently Published
Pages: 156
Weight: 0.48
Height: 0.33 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
It is eleven at night, the laptop is open, and the cursor has been blinking on the same empty line for eleven minutes. There is no crisis, no deadline, no investor waiting on an email. There is an idea worth believing in, and no clear way yet to turn it into something real.
Most business-planning advice was written for a different problem than this one - for founders raising money from strangers, who need dozens of polished pages to convince a room they know what they are doing. That kind of plan answers the wrong questions for a first-time founder turning a skill or idea into a real, paying business.
This book answers the smaller, more specific questions that actually keep a first-time founder stuck, one decision at a time.
You will work through:
- Testing whether an idea is genuinely worth building before committing money you cannot recover
- Finding a real first customer, and setting a price you do not have to apologize for
- Building a working plan that fits on a single page and actually gets used
- Putting a legal and financial foundation under the business that will not collapse
- Building a marketing plan sized to a genuine beginner's budget
- Deciding when to say no to the wrong money, and preparing for your first hire and first slow season
Across fourteen chapters, the book covers testing an idea, building a working plan, finding a real first customer, facing the numbers honestly, turning a hobby into a repeatable system, letting go of the idea of a perfect launch, pricing with confidence, building a solid foundation, treating competitors as information, marketing on a small budget, saying no to the wrong money, hiring at the right moment, surviving the slow season, and building a business that does not need the founder in the room every day.
This book is written for first-time founders who are not raising money from outside investors: people turning a skill, service, or idea into a real business on their own terms.
Begin turning a late-night idea into a real, working plan, and add a comprehensive guide to your library that covers the entire path from idea to real company.
Also from
Staton, Mary J.
Business Forecasting for Small Business Owners: Simple ways to plan ahead without a finance background
Staton, Mary J.
Paperback
Corporate Governance for Small Companies: Ways to Build Trust Between Owners and Staff
Staton, Mary J.
Paperback
Project Management for Small Teams: Ways to Keep Any Job on Schedule and Under Budget
Staton, Mary J.
Paperback
Mergers and Acquisitions for Beginners: A Step-by-Step Way to Combine Two Companies Smoothly
Staton, Mary J.
Paperback
Production Planning for Small Manufacturers: Steps for Running a Smoother, More Reliable Factory Floor
Staton, Mary J.
Paperback
Also in
Business General
Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High, Second Edition
Switzler, Al
Grenny, Joseph
Patterson, Kerry
Paperback
The Pig and I: The Tale of Our Relationship with a Beast We Eat
Endresen, Kristoffer Hattleland
Hardcover
Whale Done!: The Power of Positive Relationships
Blanchard, Kenneth
Lacinak, Thad
Tompkins, Chuck
Hardcover
Inspired: Understanding Creativity: A Journey Through Art, Science, and the Soul
Richtel, Matt
Hardcover
Quiet Girls Can Run the World: Owning Your Power When You're Not the "Alpha" in the Room
Holman, Rebecca
Paperback
Climb: Taking Every Step with Conviction, Courage, and Calculated Risk to Achieve a Thriving Career and a Successful Life
Brown, Carolyn M.
Gadsden-Williams, Michelle
Paperback
The Token: Common Sense Ideas for Increasing Diversity in Your Organization
Farmer, Crystal Byrd
Paperback
Paris Chic & Trendy: Designers' Studios, Hip Boutiques, Vintage Shops
Ribes-Tiphaine, Adrienne
Paperback
The Let Them Theory: A Life-Changing Tool That Millions of People Can't Stop Talking about
Robbins, Mel
Robbins, Sawyer
Hardcover
The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI: How to Think about Artificial Intelligence--Before It's Too Late
Doctorow, Cory
Paperback
The Risk Worth Taking: A Story of Breaking Free and Trading for a Life You Love
Ijeoma, Teri
Hardcover
Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect
Guidara, Will
Hardcover
Hbr's 10 Must Reads on Managing Yourself, Updated and Expanded (Featuring How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton M. Christensen)
Drucker, Peter F.
Gallo, Amy
Review, Harvard Business
Paperback
Hbr's 10 Must Reads on Mental Toughness, Updated and Expanded (Featuring How to Stop Worrying about What Other People Think of You by Michael Gervais)
Gervais, Michael
Duckworth, Angela L.
Review, Harvard Business
Paperback
The Retire Sooner Method: The 5 Secrets Behind America's Happiest (and Unhappiest) Retirees
Moss, Wes
Hardcover
1873: The Rothschilds, the First Great Depression, and the Making of the Modern World
Ahamed, Liaquat
Hardcover
Surrender to Lead: The Counterintuitive Approach to Driving Extraordinary Results
Terry, Joe
Kriegel, Jessica
Hardcover
How to Be a Rich Old Lady: Your Guide to Easy Investing, Building Wealth, and Creating the Wild, Beautiful Life You Want
Holden, Amanda
Hardcover
The Goal: 40th Anniversary Edition: A Process of Ongoing Improvement
Cox, Jeff
Goldratt, Eliyahu M.
Paperback
Take Breaks, Work Better: Measure Impact, Not Hours, and Transform Your Profitability
Briggs, John
Paperback
Money Unlocked: How to Make It, Keep It and Multiply It: The New York Times Bestseller
Lee, John
Paperback
Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High
McMillan, Ron
Patterson, Kerry
Grenny, Joseph
Paperback
The Freedom-Based Business Method: Reset, Systemize, and Realign Your Business to Live a Life of Harmony
Ellis, Natalie
Hardcover
The Courage to Commit: Embrace the Radical Power of Sticking with Something
Johnson, Shawn
East, Andrew
Hardcover
Hbr's 10 Must Reads on Leadership, Updated and Expanded (Featuring Begin with Trust by Frances X. Frei and Anne Morriss)
Edmondson, Amy C.
Ibarra, Herminia
Review, Harvard Business
Paperback
The Infinity Machine: Demis Hassabis, Deepmind, and the Quest for Superintelligence
Mallaby, Sebastian
Hardcover
Who Moved My Cheese?: An A-Mazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life
Johnson, Spencer
Hardcover
How We Could: The Framework to Lead Without Drama, Build Alignment, and Call Teams to Greatness
Dorr, Alex
Hardcover
The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living
Holiday, Ryan
Hanselman, Stephen
Hardcover
7-Figure Educator: Turn Your Experience as an Educator Into Income, Impact, and Freedom
Jordan-Thomas, Erica
Paperback
The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy
Stanley, Thomas J., PH. D.
Danko, William D., PH. D.
Paperback
Dummies Guide to Starting Your Own Business: Essential Steps to Launching and Scaling a Successful Small Business Venture
Press, Essywrites
Paperback
The Overthinker's Guide to Making Decisions: How to Make Decisions Without Losing Your Mind
Nguyen, Joseph
Hardcover
What the Heck Is Eos?: A Complete Guide for Employees in Companies Running on EOS
Wickman, Gino
Bouwer, Tom
Hardcover
The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More, and Change the Way You Lead Forever
Stanier, Michael Bungay
Paperback
Confidence (HBR Emotional Intelligence Series)
Chamorro-Premuzic, Tomas
Review, Harvard Business
Kanter, Rosabeth Moss
Paperback
Stop Asking for Referrals: Build a Magnetic Business Through Intentional Care & Real Relationships
McNally, Flor de Maria
Paperback
I Will Teach You to Be Rich: No Guilt. No Excuses. Just a 6-Week Program That Works (Second Edition)
Sethi, Ramit
Paperback
Get Scalable: The Operating System Your Business Needs To Run and Scale Without You
Deiss, Ryan
Paperback
Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as If Your Life Depended on It
Voss, Chris
Raz, Tahl
Hardcover
The Mom Test: How to talk to customers & learn if your business is a good idea when everyone is lying to you
Fitzpatrick, Rob
Paperback
Building Great Businesses: Create Momentum, Overcome Setbacks, and Scale with Confidence
Becker, Scott
Hardcover
Hábitos Atómicos: Cambios Pequeños, Resultados Extraordinarios / Atomic Habits
Clear, James
Paperback
A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (Pmbok(r) Guide) -- Eighth Edition and the Standard for Project Management
Project Management Institute
Paperback
Influence and Persuasion (HBR Emotional Intelligence Series)
Morgan, Nick
Cialdini, Robert B.
Review, Harvard Business
Paperback
Mindful Listening (HBR Emotional Intelligence Series)
Review, Harvard Business
Hougaard, Rasmus
Zenger, Jack
Paperback
A Little More Social: How Small Choices Create Unexpected Happiness, Health, and Connection
Epley, Nicholas
Hardcover
Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving in
Fisher, Roger
Ury, William
Patton, Bruce
Paperback
Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience
Brown, Brené
Hardcover
Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom Is Wrong--and What You Really Need to Know
Oster, Emily
Paperback
Take It Personal: How to Succeed by Building Relationships and Playing the Long Game
Grutman, David
Hardcover
Power and Impact (HBR Emotional Intelligence Series)
Cable, Dan
Bregman, Peter
Review, Harvard Business
Paperback
The Way of Excellence: A Guide to True Greatness and Deep Satisfaction in a Chaotic World
Stulberg, Brad
Hardcover
Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization
McKibben, Bill
Hardcover
Feedback That Works: How to Build and Deliver Your Message, Second Edition
Center for Creative Leadership
Paperback
Happiness (HBR Emotional Intelligence Series)
Review, Harvard Business
McKee, Annie
Gilbert, Daniel
Paperback
Mindfulness (HBR Emotional Intelligence Series)
Goleman, Daniel
Review, Harvard Business
Langer, Ellen
Paperback
Hbr's 10 Must Reads on Strategy, Updated and Expanded (Featuring the Five Competitive Forces That Shape Strategy by Michael E. Porter)
Porter, Michael E.
Kim, W. Chan
Review, Harvard Business
Paperback
Hbr's 10 Must Reads on High Performance, Updated and Expanded (Featuring Nine Things Successful People Do Differently by Heidi Grant)
Grant, Heidi
Goleman, Daniel
Review, Harvard Business
Paperback
Crucial Accountability: Proven Skills to Build Trust, Address Disappointment, and Get Results, Third Edition
Patterson, Kerry
Grenny, Joseph
Hale, Justin
Hardcover
Hbr's 10 Must Reads on Managing People, Updated and Expanded (Featuring Are You a Good Boss--Or a Great One? by Linda A. Hill and Kent Lineback)
Goleman, Daniel
Hill, Linda A.
Review, Harvard Business
Paperback
The Wisdom and Wealth Solution: Unlocking the Secrets of Happiness, Purpose, and Financial Security with Living360
Ansari, Feroz
Hardcover
Dirtbag Billionaire: How Yvon Chouinard Built Patagonia, Made a Fortune, and Gave It All Away
Gelles, David
Hardcover
Beyond Belief: The Science-Backed Way to Stop Limiting Yourself and Achieve Breakthrough Results
Eyal, Nir
Hardcover
Bonfire of the Murdochs: How the Epic Fight to Control the Last Great Media Dynasty Broke a Family -- And the World
Sherman, Gabriel
Hardcover
The Obstacle Is the Way Expanded 10th Anniversary Edition: The Timeless Art of Turning Trials Into Triumph
Holiday, Ryan
Hardcover
The Phoenix Project: A Novel about It, Devops, and Helping Your Business Win
Spafford, George
Kim, Gene
Behr, Kevin
Paperback
The Algorithm: The Hypergrowth Formula That Transformed Tesla, Lululemon, General Motors, and Spacex
McNeill, Jon
Hardcover
The Millionaire Fastlane: Crack the Code to Wealth and Live Rich for a Lifetime!
DeMarco, M. J.
Paperback