Michael F. OKeefe - Managing Your Business: Learn What You Need in 2 Hours

For Wouter

ENTREPRENEURS USUALLY ARE GIFTED in the essentials of the businesses they start. But their success cant rest on that alone. They usually become jacks of all trades, gradually acquiring a working knowledge of all the facets of their businesses, including playing the role of leader and top manager.

So if you are thinking of starting a business, or have one running already, youll understand why this book exists. If your personal strengths are in the area of business management, youll find it a quick refresher that will help you rethink some things and learn others. If leading and managing are new challenges for you, youll be glad you invested the two hours or so that it will take you to read it, and youll no doubt come back for re-reads many times in the future.

You may be a one-person band, or the only manager in your company. Or, if you have a larger company, you may manage other managers. Whatever your scale of business, having a strong grounding in the thinking and practices of managers will make you a more effective leader and do-er.

When I met Scott, Mike and Marc, I knew before they told me about the 17 businesses theyve collectively started that these were talented, insightful, seasoned entrepreneurs. We quickly agreed to develop the Crash Course for Entrepreneurs together.

The aim of this series is to give you high-level overviews of the critical things you need to know and do if you want to survive and thrive in this super-competitive world. Of course, theres much more to know about every topic we visit here, but we believe that what youll read here will give you the framework for learning the rest. A Resources section and a Glossary will ensure you can ground yourself in the essentials. And the co-authors website, www.expertbusinessadvice.com, offers expanded support for entrepreneurs that is updated daily. They pledge to get back to you with a personal reply within 24 hours, if you write to them!

Entrepreneurs vary widely in what they want to do. Your dream may be to start a very small, one-person service, perhaps doing home maintenance or day care or accounting from your home. You may have developed or discovered a high-tech breakthrough that will need years of testing and dozens or hundreds of people to bring it to market. This book sees the intrinsic value and challenges of both styles of business. It will definitely help you manage both your business and the people in it well, so you can make the most of your opportunity, whatever its scale.

Most of the chapters in this book represent the authors collective experience and point of view, but a few are personal pieces. Youll find the initials of each author at the end of those. Heres a brief word from each of them.

I remember when I fully understood what our series of books should accomplish. Mike, Marc and I had only decided that we wanted to write a series of books for people only moderately familiar with entrepreneurship and business. Multitudes of books already exist on basic levels of business practices and procedures. We knew that writing another one of those books wouldnt really serve anyone or change anything, no matter how well written it was.

On the morning that I got it, I was drinking coffee and reading the news; the television was on in the background. I glanced up and saw a commercial for a foreign language software program in which, instead of learning by simply repeating vocabulary, the student is culturally immersed in the language, holistically surrounded with concepts of all manner of things applicable to the subject. In short, they dont list facts and terms and call it teachingthey show the student a vast array of information, on a multitude of levels, allowing her to bathe in knowledge. I knew then that instead of presenting a bunch of facts that we think you should know about managing your business, we should take a more holistic approach and help you immerse yourself in these critical aspects of business. Our method is most effective if you read this book cover to cover, skipping nothing. If you reach a chapter and either think it doesnt address your needs, or you think you know everything there is to know about the subject, read it anyway. Itll only take a minutethats why the chapters are not lengthy. It will enlighten and organize your thinking, either way. Youll see important concepts woven through various discussions, as they holistically fit in.

If youre hoping to read a book and immediately become the worlds greatest business manager, this book isnt for you. If your goal, however, is to quickly understand and feel familiar with the basics, as your first stepping-stone to greatness, we believe that our book has no rival. I sincerely hope that this book will not only help you to successfully manage your business, but that it also gives you pleasure and satisfaction as you learn how to do it better than you ever thought you could.

Scott L. Girard, Jr.

When we sat down and decided to take on the daunting task of writing a series of books for entrepreneurs and small business owners, I cringed. I thought, How can we ever reduce our advice and experiences to writing? And how can we cover it allcan we fit it into a book?

Either way, we decided to get started, so each of us began drafting chapters related to our respective specialties and work experience. Only as the initiative continued did I discover a certain passion for sharing my advice in a personal way, trying to convey how it felt to plunge into running a businessto plan, execute, review, celebrate or correct, and try to do even better on the next round.

I hope that this book will capture your interest, provide valuable information, and share practical, effective techniques for your own company.

Mike F. OKeefe

Everyone has heard the phrase Knowledge is Power. I would have it read Information is Power, for a couple of reasons. We live in an age of instant information about every facet of our lives. We can receive news, on-demand weather and traffic reports, sports scores, social media happenings, and stock market updates. And yet, we forget much of this information within moments of receiving it, as new reports and updates are constantly replacing the data we were just beginning to process.

Most generic information travels fast these days. On the other hand, some information is meant to stay with us for a while, if not forever. And with that in mind, Scott, Mike and I set out to write a series of books to deliver lasting, valid information for entrepreneurs and small business people.

Our passion for success in business and in life lies behind every page we write. As lifelong, serial entrepreneurs, we have always taken the approach of surrounding ourselves with information, ideas and viewpoints from countless sources to support our efforts in constructing our next project. That information, when reliable and trustworthy, can and will be used over and over for repeated success.

So, in essence, information is power, when applied over time. Our series of books represents the hard work, research and application of numerous business philosophies, ideas and viewpoints. You will find rock-solid information that can be applied now... and later. Its information that can be shared, and then referred to as a refresher down the road, if needed. Our goal was to deliver business management advice that is relevant, smart and timely.

We hope these fresh, contemporary approaches will get you, and keep you, at the top of your game. The way forward begins here...