Sustainable Business/Booklets

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Below are a range of booklets to help you prepare, plan and operate your sustainable business. This list will grow over time, as we test new methods and receive feedback. Depending on the type of business, and your principles of business, choose appropriate methods for preparing, planning, and operating:

Sustainable business practice

 * What is Sustainability?
 * Why develop sustainable business practice?
 * Examples of sustainable business practices
 * Scenarios of sustainable business practice
 * Principles for sustainable business
 * Applying principles and practices
 * Measuring sustainable business practice
 * Background to the principles of sustainability
 * Further links and resources

Is there a market?

 * Investigating market potential
 * Find out what potential customers think
 * Profile your ‘ideal’ customer
 * Build a market profile
 * How will you reach your markets?
 * Study the broader picture
 * Identify any opportunities and threats

Competitor analysis

 * Pinpoint your competitors online
 * Your direct competitors
 * Where do you find them?
 * Save time – go to the library
 * Attend trade shows
 * Your indirect competitors
 * Focus on the immediate threats first
 * What is your competitive advantage?
 * Reducing the effects of competitors
 * Create barriers against competitors

Can you afford to start up?

 * Assessing how much money you need to raise
 * Calculating set-up costs and working capital
 * Working capital
 * Costing and pricing
 * Common pricing methods
 * Cash flow

Managing external factors

 * Your Legal Identity
 * Tax compliance
 * Occupational health and safety (OSH)
 * Liability and Insurance
 * Complying with business legislation
 * Local authority compliance
 * Business insurance
 * Planning to import or export?
 * Managing external factors checklist

How to lower the risk

 * Complete the basics
 * Build credibility
 * Reduce or reverse the risk
 * Credibility tips
 * Associate with the ‘right’ people
 * Avoid the common pitfalls
 * Plan for the unexpected
 * Your own health and wellbeing
 * Join business networks
 * Develop your business and management skills
 * Critical success factors
 * Financials
 * Changes in the marketplace
 * Lower the risk checklist

The business plan

 * Use this business plan template for preparing your own business plan

The business profile

 * Executive summary
 * Background
 * Business management/advisors, networks and support
 * Business environment
 * Sustainability
 * Relevant business achievements
 * Other topics that might impact on your business

Marketing

 * Strategic planning
 * How to complete a strategic plan
 * Customer feedback
 * Developing questionnaires
 * Questionnaire tips
 * Business analysis
 * Market analysis
 * To conclude
 * How to complete a tactical plan
 * Did the tactical plan work?
 * Marketing budgets
 * Building your credibility
 * Your competitive advantages

Finance

 * Three key documents
 * The profit and loss forecast
 * Cashflow budget
 * Steps in preparing a cash budget
 * Special points
 * The balance sheet
 * Break-even calculation
 * Your business idea: a quick test
 * The Four Fives Rule

New Zealand business structure, tax and compliance

 * What business structure should you choose?
 * Other Business Structures
 * Keeping on top of tax
 * Employing staff
 * Compliance issues

Planning for the future

 * The five stages
 * Day-to-day management of your business
 * Potential problems and opportunities
 * Planning: present and future
 * One final reminder

Choosing your team

 * The recruiting stage
 * Recruiting
 * Selecting the right person for the job
 * The motivating stage
 * Performance appraisal
 * Motivation
 * Dismissal
 * Retirement
 * Summary
 * Future thinking

E-Commerce

 * Types of e-commerce
 * Benefits and risks
 * Other opportunities
 * What to consider before developing your e-commerce capability
 * Becoming more e-commerce capable
 * Summary

Innovation

 * Creating a culture of innovation
 * Encouraging employee innovation
 * Building innovation into your business practices
 * Innovation and staff skills
 * Innovation and your customers, clients and suppliers
 * Researching innovation elsewhere
 * Implementing innovative ideas
 * Monitoring the level and success of internal innovation
 * Protecting your intellectual property (IP)
 * New futures
 * What can you do?

Raising investment funds

 * What sources of funds are available?
 * Are you ready to share control of your business?
 * Do you have the right kind of business?
 * How committed are you and your team?
 * Funding by agreed goals or outcomes
 * The need for an exit strategy
 * Intellectual property you own
 * Confidentiality agreement
 * Structuring the deal
 * Preparing your presentation
 * Four final pieces of advice

Exporting

 * An export plan is a must
 * Which market should you target?
 * Finding trade information
 * Market research
 * Reaching the market
 * The exporter’s market mix
 * Summary

Manufacturing

 * The product
 * The plant
 * Locating the business
 * Organising the sequence
 * How staff impact on design
 * What stocks of raw materials are needed?
 * Resource efficiency
 * How will the whole process be controlled?
 * The impact of e-commerce
 * Summary

Industry sector influences

 * Service businesses
 * Retail businesses
 * Summary
 * Service business Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
 * Retail businesses
 * Summary
 * Retail business Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
 * Manufacturing businesses
 * Summary
 * Manufacturing business Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
 * Tourism businesses
 * Summary
 * Tourism business Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
 * Specialist industries

Some final advice

 * Be realistic about budgets
 * Success characteristics
 * Always invest in good people
 * Selling
 * Small steps to big improvement
 * What the customer wants
 * Planning ahead
 * Environmental practices
 * Summary