Introduction 1Part 1: Getting Started in Entrepreneurship 5Chapter 1: Understanding Entrepreneurship 7Chapter 2: Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century 25Chapter 3: Preparing to Seek Opportunity 45Chapter 4: Testing an Opportunity Before You Leap 61Part 2: Testing the Feasibility of Your Business Concept 77Chapter 5: Understanding Your Industry 79Chapter 6: What Your Customers Can Tell You 95Chapter 7: Designing Solutions for a New Marketplace 117Chapter 8: Protecting Your Products and Services 137Chapter 9: Putting Together Your Founding Team 161Chapter 10: Getting Solutions to Customers: The Supply Chain 181Chapter 11: Developing and Testing Your Business Model 193Chapter 12: Assessing Your Initial Financial Needs 209Part 3: Designing a Company 231Chapter 13: Preparing a Business Plan 233Chapter 14: Finding Money to Start and Grow Your Venture 257Chapter 15: Starting with the Right Legal Structure 279Part 4: Growing a Company 297Chapter 16: Planning for Growth 299Chapter 17: Developing a Marketing Strategy 333Chapter 18: Making and Using Money Wisely: The Financial Plan 357Chapter 19: Planning for Things That Go Bump in the Night 381Part 5: The Part of Tens 397Chapter 20: Ten Reasons Not to Start a Business 399Chapter 21: Ten Ways to Spark Your Innovative Spirit 405Index 411
Kathleen Allen, Ph.D., is Professor Emerita of Entrepreneurship at the USC Marshall School of Business, where she founded and led the USC Marshall Center for Technology Commercialization, a collaboration of science, engineering, medicine, and business. She has written more than 15 books, including the first edition of Entrepreneurship For Dummies and The Complete MBA For Dummies.