The key to successfully starting any business is a good business plan. In his ebook, “Business Plan Secrets Revealed,” Mike Elia walks you through the business plan process step-by-step: from gathering the evidence you’ll use to build your plan to delivering your plan to qualified investors.

His book provides the basic information you need to write a business plan. But its real focus is revealing how to communicate your plan to investors and convince them that your business is their best investment choice.

When I first opened Business Plan Secrets Revealed, my heart sank. You see, I had promised Mike I would read his book completely before writing a review. And Business Plan Secrets Revealed is no ordinary ebook with one sentence paragraphs, large fonts and hefty margins. It’s crammed full of information!

But as I began to read, I was pleasantly surprised. Mike’s writing style is engaging and practical, and his explanations simplify difficult concepts. Throughout the book, I felt as though a friend was sitting with me on the back porch, matter-of-factly explaining exactly how to do something. It’s the kind of simple practicality that you can achieve only when you fully understand a subject.

Mike’s clear understanding of business planning concepts results from experience spanning more than 20 years. Mike helps business owners buy, sell and finance their businesses. He has overseen manufacturing and sales locations in more than nine countries. He is a CPA, holds a Masters in Business Administration, and has served as Chief Financial Officer of two publicly held companies.

Business Plan Secrets Revealed starts with tips for collecting and organizing the information you’ll need. From the beginning, Mike concentrates on overcoming your biggest single challenge–bridging the investor confidence gap. In the chapter “Show Me the Numbers,” Mike provides some of the clearest explanations of business financial statements that I’ve ever read If concepts like stockholders’ equity or statements of cash flow make your eyes glaze over, then your salvation has arrived.

Later chapters of Business Plan Secrets Revealed really deliver on Mike’s promise to help you communicate your business plan effectively. There are complete instructions on writing your business plan, including how to get your plan opened and read, and how to avoid nine common writing mistakes. He explains how choosing the right design can make your business plan easier to read. Mike wraps things up by telling you how to prepare for critical face-to-face time with investors, including developing a 60-second, to-the-point, verbal pitch for your business. Tips on finding investors and a resources section complete the book.

I must admit that several times as I was reading, I would ask myself, “Do I really need this much business plan?” This is not a fill-in-the-blanks-and-print-it-out business plan solution. But then I realized–if I’m serious about succeeding, then I do need to know as much as possible about my business up front. Before I’ve started spending money. Before I put myself on the line out in the market.

By the way, I did make it through the whole book. And I confirmed that Mike delivers what he promises on the title page: he teaches you how to quickly gather evidence, build a case for your business, and write a readable plan that attracts investors and makes your business the most appealing investment choice. Even if you already own other business planning resources, I highly recommend Business Plan Secrets Revealed.

By: Art Turner

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

You can learn more about Business Plan Secrets Revealed at selfemploymentstation.com/bpsecrets.html. Art Turner has been self-employed for over 23 years. He is also the creator of selfemploymentstation.com, a destination filled with info on business startups, freelancing, consulting, working from home and self employment.

A new book may help many women close the gap between dreams and success. Called “Inside Every Woman: Using the 10 Strengths You Didn’t Know You Had to Get the Career and Life You Want Now” (Wiley, $21.95), it shows how the most successful women do not subvert their feminine qualities. In fact, they rely on them, says author Vickie L. Milazzo.

One of Inc.’s Top 10 entrepreneurs, Milazzo is credited with revolutionizing a woman-dominated industry by pioneering a new profession.

Over the past two decades, she built her company from an idea and a hundred dollars in the bank to a 27-person business with annual revenues of 12 million dollars-triple what it was just five years ago. As the founder and president of Vickie Milazzo Institute, she has trained, mentored, educated and inspired tens of thousands of professional women.

In the book, Milazzo helps women of all ages to discover, harness and amplify their 10 inherent strengths. Rather than suggesting that women subvert their inherently feminine qualities to succeed, Milazzo encourages women to employ what she calls their “feminine forces”-intuition, vision, agility, endurance and more.

By: Paul Stevens

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

The book is available wherever books are sold or on the Web at www.InsideEveryWoman.com and www.amazon.com.

For years, I have tried to answer this one question: What do small businesses that achieve sustained growth do differently from those that do not grow?

As a senior consultant for Inc. magazine, I speak to thousands of business owners each year. I’ve learned that there are no silver bullets or 17-point checklists that will lead to guaranteed growth. There are, however, seven specific areas in which growth companies concentrate their efforts.

1. Strong sense of purpose. Most leaders of companies that have achieved growth discover that it takes more than the promise of increasing financial reward to fuel their aspirations and ambitions. They find a higher calling than simply the pursuit of “more money.”

2. Outstanding market intelligence. This is an organization’s ability to first recognize, then adapt, to fundamental changes in the marketplace. Many times, small-business owners become too myopic, seeing only a limited view of the markets in which they compete. Growth leaders see the bigger picture.

3. Effective growth planning. This is the best predictor of whether or not a business will grow. To be effective, a plan for growth does not need to be overly formal or complicated. However, it does need to be written, well-communicated and regularly updated.

4. Customer-driven processes. These days, every company I talk to believes it is customer-driven, when actually very few really are. Take a look at all of the business processes from a customer’s perspective. Are they in place to make it easier for the company, or to help deliver on the promise of faster, cheaper and better for the customer?

5. The power of technology. Successful leaders don’t let the boom and bust of technology cycles give them the excuse to ignore that we live in an information age. If a company is in business, it is in the technology business.

6. The best and brightest people. Growth leaders recognize that they are only as good as the people with whom they work. The ability to hire, train and retain the best and the brightest people is often the difference between success and failure.

7. Seeing the future. Few organizations take the time to regularly consider the future. Growth leaders learn how to diligently monitor and interpret the macro forces of change affecting the world in which they live.

By: Scott Harris

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Steven S. Little is the former president of three fast-growth companies and is the author of the new book “The Seven Irrefutable Rules of Small Business Growth.” To get more information, visit his Web site at www.stevenslittle.com. - NU

If you run a small business-or would like to-remember, knowing how cash is handled and credit is managed is the way to make that business a success.

“The strongest need for a new business is good cash handling skills,” says the publisher of Business Best Books. “Businesses that have good cash and credit management practices are better equipped to survive tough times.”

Small-business owners looking for a way to develop their money skills can reach for a new paperback book called “The Business Money Book; Cash, Credit & Collections” from Encouragement Press.

This contemporary resource teaches money management skills and provides template business forms that can be copied, customized and used every day. The book shows how to spot an upcoming financial crunch and suggests techniques for recovering overdue debts.

By: Wendy Mitchell

Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

This and other books for helping small businesses, including “Fast Track Your Sales Team” and “The Hiring Network,” are available at www.encouragementpress.com and most bookstores. A new book can help small-business owners manage money, so as to become big-business owners.