Use this checklist to do an almost instant analysis of your company. This format is based on researching hundreds of assessment models. Research shows that a quick, intuitive assessment is almost always very near to a long review by consultants.

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There are important differences between B2B and B2C marketing communications in terms of the communication context (the former being formal and the latter being informal), decision makers (many versus a few) and the primary communication tools used – personal selling versus advertising and sales promotion.

Rather than focussing on writing a business plan, try to develop a story board, using the following headings. The first 3 are also you elevator pitch, the eleven slides is your presentation. Focus on telling the story of the excitement of the business opportunity.

Complete the following four statements and use them as the basis for creating your company’s brand name, logo and tag-line.

This spreadsheet will help you to prepare a projected cashflow for your business, in a format suitable for inclusion in your Business Plan.

In the early stages of the venture, markets are typically segmented by entrepreneurs on geographic (locations), industry classification (telecommunications) or demographic (particular gender, age cohorts) segmentation bases. These are called ‘identity bases’ for segmentation.

Long-term structural transformation has four characteristics: scale (the change affects all or most of the organization), magnitude (it involves significant alterations of the status quo), duration (it lasts for months, if not years), and strategic importance.

This spreadsheet will help you to estimate your business' likely sales and gross profit, in a format suitable for inclusion in your Business Plan.

To Leave The World a Little Better "To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a little better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is the meaning of success."

Brand and Exit are two of the most difficult challenges the entrepreneur faces in creating and then subsequently realising value in the business venture.

Al and Laura Ries * make the point that being first to market with a new product or invention doesn’t mean you win. You also have to be first in the market’s ‘mind’ for that product.

Before you decide to expand you need to examine several aspects of the company, such as skills set, your operations, the financial situation, the rationale for the expansion and the exit. Use this below to prompt your thinking:

This spreadsheet will help you to record and analyse petty cash expenses for your business.

The favoured export market entry strategy favoured is to select a first-priority region, secure initial business revenues and then focus on building operations there, rather than trying to expand into all regions at once. This is termed the win-and-build approach.

This spreadsheet will help you to record and analyse payments made by your business.

Many start up entrepreneurs rush headlong into developing their new product concept, focussing particularly on the technical and operational build aspects.

The favoured export market entry strategy favoured is to select a first-priority region, secure initial business revenues and then focus on building operations there, rather than trying to expand into all regions at once. This is termed the win-and-build approach.

This tool will help stimulate your thinking about a ‘key customer account’ – in a way that you may not have before.

Ken Morse*, Managing Director of the MIT Entrepreneurship Centre, shared these insights into targeting the buying committee in typical B2B sales transactions:

As the business enters into rapid growth stage and marketing and sales effort increases, it is important to focus new staff in sales and service on the target segments.