Extraordinary Entrepreneurship: The Professional'S Guide To Starting An Exceptional Enterprise

The 21st Century brings all new rules. Entrepreneurs are challenging conventional wisdom and thinking outside the box. One of the first challenges involves challenging the assumption that a business has to be big to be successful. While most of the 20th century heralded big businesses, it is clear that businesses no longer have to be big to do big business. Now it is possible for a handful of people to operate a global business from virtually any place on the planet. Today, the keyboard has overtaken the boardroom. Financial markets, alliances, and joint ventures have eliminated the need for entrepreneurs to put up substantial capital investments. Today's businesses are driven by ideas, innovation, and execution. This book will show entrepreneurs and business leaders will provide CEOs and entrepreneurs with the tools that they will need to become leaders in their market.

STEPHEN C. HARPER is President of Harper and Associates, Inc., a management consulting firm. He is also Progress Energy/Betty Cameron Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Steve has worked with entrepreneurs in the United States and Canada for more than thirty years. He is on the editorial review board of the Journal of Business and Entrepreneurship and serves on the board of directors of Wachovia Bank (Wilmington area) and the Coastal Entrepreneurial Council, of which he is a cofounder and a former president and executive director.

About the Author.

Foreword.

Preface.

Acknowledgments.

Introduction: The Nature of Entrepreneurship.

1 Essential Entrepreneurial Qualities and Capabilities.

2 What Type of Venture Do You Have in Mind?

3 Identifying New Venture Opportunities.

4 Ventures that Capitalized on Market Gaps.

5 Evaluating New Venture Opportunities.

6 Developing the Business Plan.

7 Components of the Business Plan.

8 Sources of Funding.

9 Debt Financing.

10 Seeking Investors.

11 Going the Angel Route.

12 Venture Capital Funding.

13 Initial Public Offering.

Epilogue Entrepreneurial Dos and Don’ts.

Index.