Finance Essentials for Entrepreneurs
Simplify the Complex World of Business Finance: Learn Just Enough to Start and Run Your Business with Confidence
Startup Expert Reveals Simple, Proven Methods You Can Use to Predict Your Company’s Profitability and Understand Essential Financial Statements
Dear Fellow Entrepreneur:
How does an entrepreneur know if his or her business makes financial sense? How does he or she create simple financial statements to be able to run “what-if” scenarios? These are important questions.
When I was starting my first business I knew nothing about a financial statement or how to read one, let alone create one.
Most entrepreneurs are in a similar situation. Finance seems intimidating and there is no one to guide them in creating a financial model and learn the basic terms that investors and accountant throw around. All this new jargon can feel intimidating at first.
The Lack of Knowledge is The Problem
For many entrepreneurs, the biggest financial problem they face is the fact that they don’t have a solid grasp on the financial aspect of their business. If you are an entrepreneur, you can probably relate to this.
The truth is that most entrepreneurs have a certain set of characteristics that help them become successful in their chosen field. Almost universally, entrepreneurs are:
• Intelligent
• Passionate
• Self-motivated
• Unafraid to take risks
But even if you possess all these attributes, a lack of financial knowledge can be detrimental to your business. And the problem really has nothing to do with intelligence or drive. It’s simply a matter of you focusing on the things that are most important to you.
You probably didn’t begin your startup (or start planning it, if you haven’t launched yet) because you are a financial wizard. You started a company because you are passionate about the product or service you are selling. You may have something new or improved to offer. Maybe you want to do something in a way it’s never been done before.
Whatever the case, your knowledge and expertise is probably not in finance. It’s in the field where your passion lies…just like it should be! In fact, many entrepreneurs would rather not deal with finances at all.
But the truth is that what you don’t know about the financial aspect of your business could hurt—even destroy—your startup!
You need some very basic education – that’s all!
That doesn’t need to happen to you! But you don’t need an education in economics. You don’t need a degree in business finance. You don’t need to know all the theoretical assumptions that accountants and Chief Financial Officers work with on a daily basis.
What you do need is the basic information delivered in a way that is instantly useable. You need a resource that can help you understand enough about business finance so that you can:
• Run some fairly simple projections that will tell you whether your business is viable (and if it isn’t, what you can do to fix it)
• What KPI (Key Performance Indicators) you must watch in your own business? Otherwise, you will have real trouble tracking where your money is going
• Know how to talk to potential investors (and even finance personnel like your accountant) about your business. At some point, you will need to attract investors, and you need to know what they are looking for
Plus, you are busy (like all entrepreneurs are). So this resource needs to be short, simple, and to the point—no wasted words!
A Simple Solution
I have written an e-book called Finance Essentials for Entrepreneurs that covers all these areas, and more, in an easy-to-understand format. I give you just the basics--just what you need to know about business finance, without anything you don’t need.
This really is the resource for entrepreneurs who need a better understanding of business finance. But you may be asking yourself: who are you? Why should I listen to what you have to say about business finance? To answer that question, allow let me introduce myself!
A Lifetime of Entrepreneurial Experience
My name is Naeem Zafar. I am a faculty member at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley. I teach entrepreneurship and innovation to some of the brightest young entrepreneurs in the world. I lecture at universities all over the United States, and around the world, on these topics.
Over the past 20 years, I’ve also had the privilege of mentoring hundreds of entrepreneurs who were involved in every field imaginable. I’ve seen many successes, and far too many failures.
And I don’t just teach entrepreneurship—I am an entrepreneur myself. I’ve been a part of a number of successful startups (and a couple of unsuccessful ones, too).
I understand that most entrepreneurs don’t have a background in finance. In fact, I am one of those entrepreneurs! My educational background is in engineering. My knowledge of business finance comes from real-world experience and from working with some of the brightest entrepreneurial minds on the planet.
For my e-book, Finance Essentialsfor Entrepreneurs, I used my lack of finance background to my advantage. Because I don’t have an academic background in finance, I was able to approach the subject without preconceived notions. Instead, I wrote about the subjects that I knew would be most helpful, based on my personal experience, and my dealings with hundreds of other entrepreneurs.
I wrote this e-book to be the kind of resource I wish I had when I was first starting out. I give you essential business finance, without any of the:
• Technical jargon
• Arguments over competing theories
• Overly long, complicated spreadsheet examples
Instead, you get the basics. Simplified, easy to read and understand. Exactly what you need to get your business started!
 |
|
This Book--Examined By Experts
Now, as I just said, I don’t have a background in finance. In that way, I’m like most entrepreneurs. I do have a wealth of experience working in startups myself, as well as advising literally hundreds of budding entrepreneurs.
But if you are smart, you realize that even with all my experience, I may not be the best person to advise you on business finance. After all, what if I put something in my book that goes against sound financial procedures?
I thought about this, and I brought in experts to look over my work. You see, one of the great things about my position as an instructor and mentor is that I get to meet some of the top entrepreneurs in the world.
So I asked seven of these people to review Finance Essentialsfor Entrepreneurs for accuracy! And not just any seven people—six people who are Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) and one accountant. Before I even thought about putting this e-book on the market, they verified that each part of it is completely accurate. That means you can trust the information I give you.
Essential Information in a Small Package
At a length of less than 50 pages, this is a compact – just what you need to know and nothing more--book. Each chapter is filled with exactly what you need to know in order to start and run your business effectively.
As I said before, this is simply the basic, bottom-line information you need. In fact, someone with a PhD. in economics will be annoyed by how easy this book is to understand! But it isn’t written for them. It’s written for people like you and me—people who just need enough financial education to make our startup successful!
What exactly does Finance Essentialsfor Entrepreneurs contain?
• I give you simple definitions of terms that are used in business finance. That way you can master the terms—and talk to people in a way that lets them know you understand the finances of your business.
• I show you how to make projections about the financial viability of your startup. With the proper financial assumptions, you can predict with good accuracy whether your business can be successful. I tell you which assumptions to look at, and why they are important.
• I explain to you how to build a revenue model. You can use this as a template, which allows you to plug in your own numbers. It’s an easy way to track your expenses and determine your profits!
• I provide you with step-by-step instructions on how to build an income statement. An income statement gives you the clearest picture of your income and expenses. Plus, potential investors will pour over your income statement when they are deciding whether to fund your startup.
Finance Essentialsfor Entrepreneurs has all this information. In this book, I’ve simplified the insight about business finance that I have gained through two decades working in and around startups. All of this information is stated clearly, in an e-book of fewer than fifty easy-to-read pages.
What does this book actually contain? Let me tell you more about it…
Your Simple Guide to Financial Competency!
Like I said before, you don’t need a degree in finance in order to begin a successful company. You don’t need to be able to debate complicated theories and philosophical arguments. What you need is a foundation in the basics.
That’s what I give you in Finance Essentialsfor Entrepreneurs. It’s got answers to all the basic questions you will have (or should have) as you start your company. You will learn the answers to questions such as:
• What is the MOST IMPORTANT financial document your startup will need to develop? Answer on page 6
• What kind of essential information can I get from a simple cash flow statement? Find out on page 15
• What are the most typical financial statements I will need to have, and why are they necessary? Answer on page 5
• How can I develop assumptions about my business that will help me find out if my business can be profitable? Answer on page 13
• What are the 3 questions that every entrepreneur should be able to answer about their startup? Answer on page 9
• Where can I learn about the jargon that my investors will use? Find out on page 21
• How do I adjust my projections so that they stay in touch with the reality of what is going on in my business? Answer on page 35
• Do potential investors want to see conservative or aggressive growth progressions for my business? Find out on page 39
• What kind of financial information do I need in order to raise my potential investors’ confidence level in my company? The answer is on page 40
And that’s not all that’s covered in this book. There is much more information that will be vital to the success of your startup. This book is your guide to developing, and understanding, a financial foundation for your startup!
Here’s the way I put this book together: I looked back at my own experiences working with high-tech startups. I also thought about the thousands of hours I have spent talking to some of the brightest entrepreneurial minds in the world.
What I realized is that many of the same questions about money and the business end of a startup kept coming up over and over. I’m not talking about advanced, upper-level economic questions. These were basic, entry-level questions and problems.
But just because the questions were basic doesn’t mean they couldn’t negatively affect a startup. In fact, having the right answers to these questions could mean the difference between knowing where your money is going, and having your income slip away. It could mean the difference between getting investor funding, and having investors walk away.
In short, it could mean life or death for your startup!
A Step-By-Step Guide to Developing a P&L Statement
In Finance Essentialsfor Entrepreneurs, I have included a section on the one financial document that you will absolutely need to have when you meet with potential investors. Not only do you need to have it, you need to make sure it is done correctly. And, you’d better be able to explain why each number is on that statement!
This document is known as a Profit and Loss statement, or a P&L. This document gives investors (and you!) a good overview of where the business is, and where it is headed.
Having a well-researched, well-constructed P&L can mean the difference between an investor presentation that ends in disaster, and one that ends with you getting the funding you need!
In my two decades of work with entrepreneurs, I’ve seen people some with badly done P&L statements. Those entrepreneurs had great ideas. But there’s no doubt that their companies were not as successful as they could have been—and all because of their bad P&L reports. In many cases, their startups didn’t survive at all.
I don’t want a bad financial foundation to derail your startup. So I included a detailed, basic, step-by-step plan for building a P&L statement. This statement serves two purposes: it gives you a snapshot view of all the important financial elements of your company, and it shows potential investors that you have a handle on your income and expenses.
Really, your P&L statement is the centerpiece of a successful business plan. In Essential Finance for Entrepreneurs, I show you how to assemble this statement, piece-by-piece.
Here are just a few things I provide for you in this section of my book:
• Simple definitions of the most common terms used in a P&L statement. This gives you the ability to talk confidently about the report, using the right language!
• The facts you can learn about your startup, just by looking at the P&L statement. There is a wealth of information contained there, information that can tell you about the health and viability of your business.
• The 3 components of every P&L statement. You will learn what each component contains, and why each one is important. Best of all, you will learn how to put each of these components together!
• You learn how to classify expenses and income on your statement. This will help you (and potential investors!) know how money is coming into your business, and how and when it is going out.
• There’s more to employee costs than salary! I help you figure out how much you should budget for other employee expenses, such as benefits, travel, office space, and other overhead.
• Investors are looking for certain things on your P&L statement. I tell you how to organize your statement so investors see that you know what you are talking about!
• There are standards in every industry regarding how much companies should spend on the different operations of the company (such as General & Administrative, Research & Development, etc.) I help you determine what those standards are in YOUR field, so they can be reflected in your P&L statement.
I give you all the information you need to develop this all-important document. I answer all the questions you might have, in a format that’s easy to understand, and easy to follow.
An Essential Tool for Every Startup
I wrote Finance Essentialsfor Entrepreneurs to be a tool you can use many times during the life of your startup. You can use the section on assumptions even before your company gets going, to predict whether your company has a chance of being profitable. Unfortunately, I’ve seen too many smart people waste a lot of money, and years of their lives, trying to make a company work, when in reality that company never had a chance.
As you get up and running, you will use Finance Essentialsfor Entrepreneurs to make sure that you know exactly where every dollar is coming from, and how much you are spending. This e-book will give you confidence as you move ahead, because you will have a firm grasp on the most important parts of your business.
One of the most important events you face in the history of your startup occurs when you begin to seek funding from outside sources. There’s no doubt about it—sitting down with a group of venture capitalists can be a daunting experience!
But you will have Finance Essentialsfor Entrepreneurs to use as you prepare to face potential investors. The e-book will make the experience a little less nerve-wracking, because you will know what investors are looking for. And you can be confident that your financial statement is in order, ready for review!
This eBook can be a great help, even if you hire someone to handle your financial operations. It will give you the background you need to oversee what that person is doing. You will also gain the knowledge you need in order to ask intelligent questions, and what to look for in order to make sure everything is going smoothly.
After all, it’s your business, and you need to be able to manage every aspect of it. Finance Essentialsfor Entrepreneurs can help you do just that!
Priced within Everyone’s Budget
I know how helpful this information would have been when I was beginning my entrepreneurial career. That’s why I am so confident that you will also find it helpful. It’s also the reason I am pricing Finance Essentialsfor Entrepreneurs so that virtually anyone will be able to afford it.
From the first time you read this book, your knowledge of business finance will be greatly increased. You will:
• Know important terms used by finance people, so you can talk intelligently about money issues
• Be able to accurately predict the profitability of your business, based on some easily-derived assumptions
• Have the ability to estimate your business’ income and expenses, and do several what-if scenarios (what if the product takes six month longer or what if we have to cut the price of our product by 40%?)
• Understand how to build an income statement which will help you understand your business better, and attract potential investors
But you won’t just read it once! Finance Essentialsfor Entrepreneurs is a completely practical guide to the world of business finance. You will find yourself going back to it repeatedly, and finding new insight and guidance each time.
I want every entrepreneur to have the information contained in this book. So I have priced it so it is affordable for even the most cash-strapped entrepreneur. (In fact, if you are severely cash-strapped, you probably need this book more quickly than most!)
The price for Finance Essentialsfor Entrepreneurs? Only $29!
For far less than the price of a business lunch, you get all the information I’ve talked about. Plus, you get the peace of mind and confidence that comes from knowing you have a handle on the finances of your startup.
And when you have that peace of mind, it frees you to be able to concentrate on the parts of your business that you really love! That’s what a $29 investment in Finance for Entrepreneurs gives you.
Valuable Insight into Issues Every Entrepreneur Faces
This is an e-book that you will come back to again and again for information and guidance. Because I want this to be a resource that will be useful to entrepreneurs as they grow their startups, I included as much helpful information as I could into this small e-book.
You will find gems of information like this:
• How you can use a technique called “Sensitivity Analysis” in order to gain more accurate projections of your business’ future
• What Key Performance Indicators are, and how to determine which ones to use for your business
• Essential questions about your business that your cash flow statement can answer for you
• The importance of achieving clarity about your startups, your goals, and the long-term prospects of your business
• How your funding needs are likely to change and grow as your business progresses
And, there are many more valuable insights in Finance Essentialsfor Entrepreneurs—all based on my years of experience. On every page, you will find information you can use immediately!
Are There Other Ways To Get This Information?
To be completely honest, there are other methods you can use to get the information that is in Finance Essentialsfor Entrepreneurs. You may want to try to compile this information in one of these other ways:
• You could hire a quality business accountant to go through your documents. He or she could then give you detailed instructions on what to do, or they could do it for you.
Of course, a good business accountant is going to cost you $200/hour, or more. And every time you need help, you have to pay for more time. It could get to be quite an expensive proposition.
• You could bring on a CFO (Chief Financial Officer) for your company. You’ll want to get one with a great deal of experience and knowledge.
But experienced CFOs don’t come cheap. You may end up paying someone $100,000 or more annually. Most startups can’t afford that kind of salary early in their history (although you will want to hire a CFO at some point).
• You could spend the next two decades on the front lines of entrepreneurship. This is what I did. Get involved in several startup companies. Mentor hundreds of budding entrepreneurs. Talk to hundreds more about their triumphs and struggles.
Of course, gaining information this way will take you over 20 years of work, much of it trial and error. During that time you will likely see some of your startups fail. You will gain much wisdom this way, but you will gain it the hard way!
Or, you can pay $29 for the Finance Essentialsfor Entrepreneurs e-book. You download the e-book instantly. You will be able to access the information in the book any time you need it. It’s the easy, convenient way to get the financial help you need!
|
|
 |
My 100% Money-Back Guarantee
I am completely confident that you will be satisfied with your purchase of Finance Essentialsfor Entrepreneurs. In fact, you will be more than satisfied! I believe that this little book will be useful for you many times over your entrepreneurial career. It will save you money, time, and aggravation.
But if you find that the e-book doesn’t meet your needs, here is my guarantee: if you the eBook and it doesn’t help you in all the ways I’ve described, I will give you 100% of your money back!
There are no strings, no exceptions. Either you find this book helpful and informative, or your money is refunded immediately. No questions asked.
Why do I offer such a strong guarantee? Two reasons:
1. I truly believe that everyone who buys this book will benefit from it. It’s the kind of book I wish I could’ve consulted when I was beginning my first startup! The knowledge and insight you gain from Finance Essentialsfor Entrepreneurs will be far greater than the $29 price of the book.
2. Over the last two decades, I have built a reputation as someone that entrepreneurs can turn to in order to get honest advice, insight, and counsel. If this eBook doesn’t provide those things for you, then I don’t want to keep your money!
I am taking all the risk out of buying this e-book. Either you gain a new understanding of the financial aspect of your startup…or you get your money back.
Buy Today—Begin Improving Your Startup Right Away
Finance Essentialsfor Entrepreneurs contains information that will be helpful to you right now. Don’t put off buying it. Just click on the button below. You will be taken to our secure order-processing site. Once you’ve given us the necessary information, you can download the book immediately.