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How to Make Big Money in Your Own Small Business
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How to Make Big Money in Your Own Small Business

Unexpected Rules Every Small Business Owner Needs to Know

Jeffrey J. Fox
Hyperion, 2004
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Recommendation

People start small businesses for many reasons. Sometimes they’re in love with the product - they’ve always wanted to open a store where amateur potters could buy great mud. Sometimes they’ve been itching to run free from life in a big corporation and finally quit to start their own shop. Sometimes they get a pink slip and a bit of severance pay, and can’t find another job, so they decide to start their own business. Whatever the reason, small business owners encounter some common problems. People who are in love with a product may forget how important customers are. People who’ve worked for a big corporation may not realize how many support services they have learned to take for granted. People who’ve run their small business for years may get in a rut and miss opportunities to grow. Author Jeffrey J. Fox’s short, easy-to-read handbook of pithy counsel is for all of them. While his brightly-written advice sounds fresher than it is, getAbstract finds it well worth remembering.

Summary

Why Small Business

Small business is the most important growth driver in the U.S. economy. The country has at least 25 million small businesses (maybe more, the illegal ones aren't on the books). Technically, a small business has fewer than 500 employees; 20 million small firms have 50 or fewer. Still, collectively small businesses employ more people than big corporations. Small businesses account for "all of the net new jobs" created each year. Owners of small businesses pay the lion's share of top bracket taxes and small businesses have more patents-per-employee than big firms. Small firms lead in job creation, wealth creation and innovation.

Innovation

Small businesses can launch innovations based on old ideas. Consider Starbucks, for example. Coffee was nothing new. Starbucks innovated with a product that had been around for centuries. Auctions have been around for a long time, too – but eBay made them new. It doesn't matter if your idea isn't new. In fact, some of the most successful small businesses take things that have been around a long time and do them a little bit better. You can even make a success on the back of someone else's success. Take McDonald...

About the Author

Jeffrey J. Fox is the author of How to Become CEO and How to Become a Rainmaker. He is the founder of Fox & Company, Inc., a marketing consulting firm. A veteran of several international companies, he is a frequent corporate speaker.

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