"What people need is an easily-digested guide. One page per subject..."
Making it happen
It eventually dawned on me. If no-one else was going to do it,
perhaps I should. I had been designing books for years and had a
reputation for designing clear and easily readable material.
The book would be expensive to produce. It needed to be full colour
(it's so much nicer to read small business advice when it looks good!).
It must be spiral bound so it wouldn't snap shut just as you were trying
to read a phone number and dial it at the same time. I wanted dividers
and a good index... That's all expensive stuff! My printer just looked
at me, 'You're mad — you'll never make it work! It'll cost a
fortune'.
That's why we needed sponsorship. This book would simply not have been
possible without the fantastic support of Microsoft and our other
sponsors and supporters. Without them, each copy of this book would cost
you around £30! With them, we can bring you great small business advice
in a book that looks and feels great, at a price that even a new
business start-up can afford.
"It needed to be full colour... and spiral bound so it wouldn't snap shut."
The help you need when you're running a small business
Everyone in my team knows how difficult it can be to run a small
business successfully — we've all run our own businesses. From
the earliest stages of being a small business start-up, we know how it
feels to struggle. To feel isolated as you do your best to be a great
hairdresser, the best accountant, a fantastic shop owner and a good
employer.
Running a small business is tough when it all rests on your
shoulders.
If you make a mistake, they are down on you like a ton of bricks. For
example, the Inland Revenue may say that ignorance is no defence. So you
need to know what you don't know!! That's where we can help you. And
this book is the first of many business resources — so if you
think there's a book, document or tool you need to help you towards
business success, let me know. We might be able to do something about
it. Our mission is to provide great books and workbooks to help small
businesses throughout the UK.
If you're a small business start-up...
...you can start properly, right from the word Go, and not make the
same mistakes that thousands of businesses have made before. By
providing small business advice that helps you get over the blocks to
business success, The Essential Business Guide is a crucial ingredient
for all growing and ambitious businesses.
I've created this book for every business. In fact, one of our most
loyal readers is the chairman of a large manufacturing company. 'Why do
you need it?' I asked him. 'Well", he grinned, "there are still things I
don't know — but how can I admit that to anyone?'. How right that
is. You can't own up to not knowing what something means when you've
been at it for a few years!
After the first edition of The Essential Business Guide in Brighton &
Hove, we listened to reader feedback, we made changes, we filled
gaps. This current UK edition of the the Guide is the result of three years
of hard work and learning. I'm proud of it. And I would love you to
become part of the group of people who no longer feel quite so isolated
in their business.
So, I'd like to welcome you as a reader —
and I wish you good
luck in your business.
Warmest regards,
Julie Stanford
Managing Director
Essential Business
PS Now come and meet The Essential Business Guide team.
These are the people who've worked with me to put this together —
and they're brilliant (but then I'm biased!)
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