Going into business is a massive step. You will be taking significant risks, both financially and personally, and the idea that 'if you build a better mouse-trap the world will beat a path to your door' is simply untrue. If the market neither knows nor cares about your mouse-trap all is lost. Famously, Sony had a better video format in Betamax than VHS but for market reasons it was VHS that everyone used. This knowledge base, like all or knowledge bases, is meant to make matters a little easier by providing insights and techniques that will enable you to consider your business proposal more closely and measure and manage it effectively. The following topics are covered

• Book keeping - you will need to keep track of your business finances if only for the government!
• Management Accounts - turn data you have to keep anyway into a productive use
• Internet Business models - one of the easiest markets to enter and one of the most difficult to make money in
• Planning - it's a cliché but failing to plan really is planning to fail
• Marketing - more than just advertising. What makes your business stand out?
• Handling Effective Meetings - don't waste time and effort
• Valuing Private Firms - buying an existing business can seem a good idea, existing customers and products. But it's very, very easy to pay too much.

As with all our knowledge bases, we provide a feedback system because we recognise that we're not perfect, but we are willing to learn.

If you don't understand something
If there's a hole in our knowledge
If we've simply got it wrong
then you can tell us