Read reviews of Online Business Planning

• From a satisfied customer
• See what Book News has to say about the book
• The publishers review of the book
• Why the author wrote this book

A satisfied customer's review of Online Business Planning

The Internet offers many people the opportunity to set up a business and to make a living. Lots of great information is available online that will assist would-be business operators to get up and running. Online Business Planning by Robert Gorman addresses many of the business planning needs faced today. Gorman offers good coverage of what it takes to draw up an effective business plan that can be used to meet a variety of business needs. According to Gorman, a good business plan should cover items such as a description of your business, information about the products and services you have to offer, industry and market analysis, customer information, marketing strategies, company personnel, information about the competition, and finances. Gorman will take his readers through the entire plan-writing process. Plenty of samples are provided in the book to put readers on the right track!

Gorman provides his readers with a number of online resources that will be of great help to them. Business plan resources, business management, contract workers, obtaining loans, legal guidance, pricing advice, location selection, marketing strategies, market research, industry research, dealing with competition, and other matters are also covered. Even if someone isn't interested in developing a business plan the links are still great. These online resources are worth the cost of the book alone!

Gorman offers good business information and access to plenty of online help. The companies featured in the book are among the most respected in their industries and readers should take advantage of their business expertise. This is a good business guide to have on hand!

See what Book News has to say about Online Business Planning

A guide for entrepreneurs and managers that begins with a basic introduction to business planning, then moves on to list sites that provide business plan outlines and discuss where on the Internet to find the best market research, sources of seed money, and information on financing, choosing a franchise, and selecting a location. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.

The publisher's review of Online Business Planning

Traditional business planning books give you the outline of your business plan and tell you what information you need. They might even point you in the right direction. They might even suggest you look to the Internet.

But when investors, bankers, or senior management want to know the growth rate for your particular industry, or what the competition has planned for the coming year, or a host of other environment and industry specifics, you need to know how to use the Internet...quickly...to get the information you need.

That's where Online Business Planning comes in. This is not a source of information in itself, but a key to the whole world of information that awaits you online. Like teaching a man to fish rather than just giving him food, Bob Gorman makes the Web accessible to entrepreneurs and managers who want to create better business plans. He teaches them how to search on their own for the informatin that can help them most. By providing pertinent Web sites and step-by-step access instructions, he eliminates the "shot in the dark" method of finding important business planning information.

If you are an experienced Web browser, you can use Online Business Planning as a resource for the most significant sites for business planning. If you are new to the electronic community, the book can be your guide to the world of online information waiting to make you a business plan -- and your new venture -- a success.

Why the author wrote Online Business Planning

Thank you for your interest in my book Online Business Planning: How to Create a Better Business Plan using the Internet, Including a Complete Up-to-Date Resource Guide. I wanted to share a little history with you about why I wrote this book and an overview of its contents.

A couple of years ago I began searching the Internet for some information on starting a new business. After a month or so of some serious Web surfing, I was amazed at the breadth of business planning information that was contained on the Internet. Having received a Masters Degree in Business from Georgia Institute of Technology, started and run a small software company, and worked in many business planning functions at AT&T, I was already familiar with most today’s business planning strategies. However, what I noticed is that there was not a central source to tell you how to find all of this valuable information. There were Web sites that specialized in business plan outlines, others that told you ways to market your products and services, and different ones altogether on getting financing for your business. There didn’t seem to be a "big picture" resource that covered all of the different areas that are required to develop a good business plan.

That’s when I decided that small business owners, and even large company executives, needed a book to help them find all of this information -- quickly. Also, I should point out that most of the business planning books that are popular today make little use of the Internet to help business owners and executives create business plans. Most of these books have not been updated to recognize the Internet as an essential part of the business planning process. Finally, at the suggestion of my editor Betsy Sheldon from Career Press, I expanded the book not only to identify Web business planning resources, but also to include a complete description of what is contained in a business plan.

At the highest level you can visualize Online Business Planning as being two books in one: the first part called "Creating a business plan" goes over the entire description of what you’ll need to create a business plan, including chapters on your business plan outline; marketing strategies; researching the competition; conducting industry analysis; financing your business; and a complete sample business plan. The second part, "Create a Better Business Plan by Using the Internet," shows you where and how to find this information on the Internet. In a nutshell, "…. Online Business Planning shows the beginner how to create a business plan and the professional how to create a better business plan using the Internet."

Finally, I thought I would take this opportunity to tell you about my Web site, since I have placed some of my favorite business planning links on this site. Additionally, it is a way for me to tell you about new links that have recently come online, and are not included in my book. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me at RTGorman@officelinks.com.

Thank you again for your interest in Online Business Planning.

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