Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Social Enterprises Will Benefit From Ventureneer's Free eBook

As a teacher, consultant, nonprofit board member, and entrepreneur, I've learned a lot about starting and growing a business. I'm distilling the key points into a series of free ebooks for small businesses – that includes commercial businesses, nonprofits, and social enterprises.

The first in the series is Getting Ready to Grow: The Tools You'll Need. When you want to grow – especially when you need help from outsiders, such as funders and partners – you need the right tools. This ebook is full of tips to guide you in creating those tools.

Whether your organization is a start-up or well-established and ready to grow, you need to have:

• a business plan,
• your financial statements in order,
• the know-how to make presentations – both informal and formal – to funders and potential partners.

These are the tools you'll use to move ahead. They are also tools that fluster some people.

I hope this ebook will take away the fluster-factor.

It covers "dos and don'ts," and "how-tos" as well as pitfalls to avoid and techniques for creating tools that will help you ace the competition.

As a professor of entrepreneurship, a consultant to businesses, social enterprises and nonprofits, and an entrepreneur myself, I've seen the benefits of having the right tools... and the dangers of not having them. Believe me, taking the time to know your finances, market, and competition is well worth the trouble.

I've included what I think every small business owner, executive director, and social entrepreneur should know, from the data needed to make a solid plan to tips for making your presentations rock.

But the book is also designed to spark your thinking: Maybe you'll realize that there's another market you can tap or a revenue source you overlooked or ways to improve your business without going to the bank.

The ebook, Getting Ready to Grow: The Tools You'll Need, is a free download. Share it with your management team and your staff.

Enjoy! And let me know what was particularly helpful.