The Facts of Business Life

IF YOU BELIEVE THAT: Being your own boss can be a great career choice Success is what you decide it is Doing what you have a passion and talent for can be very profitable Monetary risk, hard work, and new ideas should be financially rewarded Understanding the business basics every successful owner focuses on—and in what order—would be beneficial Success works for you only after you’ve worked for it Marketplace battles are won before they are played Knowing what owning a business is really like would make ownership success a lot easier Change can create great opportunities Knowing when to exit a business is as important a life and business decision as becoming an entrepreneur in the first place THEN THE FACTS OF BUSINESS LIFE IS FOR YOU! Written by a successful business owner with four decades of experience, The Facts of Business Life is full of real-world concepts that owners must use and embrace if they want to become and stay successful. This multiple award-winning book has been endorsed by some of America’s top business leaders, like Steve Forbes and Ken Fisher, and has been recognized as “one of the best five business books of the year” and “a must read for entrepreneurs or those wanting to be one.” McBean begins with clear explanations and real-life examples of the seven Facts of Business Life that every successful business owner knows and executes consistently, including exactly what they are as well as how and when to use them. He then goes on to show how those facts impact on the five levels every successful business passes through, from “Ownership and Opportunity” to “Moving On When It’s Time to Go,” explaining that while the facts themselves remain the same, as a business becomes successful and moves through its life cycle, the way they are applied must change to fit changing circumstances. But there are even more reasons why this breakthrough business book is a must read, including: Its principles are based on the author’s own experience in starting and running successful businesses in a variety of industries. It shows that the most successful businesspeople create profitable opportunities rather than wait for them to present themselves.   It enables readers to analyze the likelihood of their own success based on the characteristics most successful owners have. It reveals the #1 priority for all owners and their employees, and why every owner needs to continually focus on it (Hint: it’s not being profitable). It emphasizes that becoming successful is no guarantee that success will last, and that success itself can be a trap that eventually leads to failure. It shows that a business’s culture isn’t just a mission statement but also the processes created to operate the business and the employees who implement them. It discusses the steps that must be taken even before a business is started to increase the odds of its becoming a lasting success. It covers every step in a business’ life cycle, including the last one, showing that the best time to exit a business is when you don’t have to, and that unless you pick that time, someone else will. MANY BUSINESS BOOKS INCREASE THEIR READERS’ KNOWLEDGE—THE FACTS OF BUSINESS LIFE NOT ONLY INCREASES THAT KNOWLEDGE, IT SHOWS YOU HOW TO TURN IT INTO PROFITS.

Foreword xi Acknowledgments xv Introduction xix Chapter 1: The Facts of Business Life 1 The Facts 3 The Business Life Cycle 9 Chapter 2: The Five Levels of Business Success 13 Level 1: Ownership and Opportunity 17 Level 2: Creating Your Company’s DNA 22 Level 3: From Survival to Success 27 Level 4: Maintaining Success 32 Level 5: Moving on When It’s Time to Go 37 Chapter 3: Fact 1: If You Don’t Lead, No One Will Follow 45 Level 1: Ownership and Opportunity 50 Level 2: Creating Your Company’s DNA 56 Level 3: From Survival to Success 62 Level 4: Maintaining Success 72 Level 5: Moving on When It’s Time to Go 77 Chapter 4: Fact 2: If You Don’t Control It, You Don’t Own It 87 Level 1: Ownership and Opportunity 89 Level 2: Creating Your Company’s DNA 93 Level 3: From Survival to Success 98 Level 4: Maintaining Success 103 Level 5: Moving on When It’s Time to Go 111 Chapter 5: Fact 3: Protecting Your Company’s Assets Should Be Your First Priority 121 Protecting Tangible and Intangible Assets 125 Protecting Products or Services 126 Protecting People 127 Level 1: Ownership and Opportunity 129 Level 2: Creating Your Company’s DNA 134 Level 3: From Survival to Success 142 Level 4: Maintaining Success 150 Level 5: Moving on When It’s Time to Go 159 Chapter 6: Fact 4: Planning is About Preparing for the Future, Not Predicting It 167 The Elements of a Proper Business Plan 170 Level 1: Ownership and Opportunity 172 Level 2: Creating Your Company’s DNA 175 Level 3: From Survival to Success 179 Level 4: Maintaining Success 182 Level 5: Moving on When It’s Time to Go 187 Chapter 7: Fact 5: If You Don’t Market Your Business, You Won’t Have One 193 The Elements of Marketing 196 Level 1: Ownership and Opportunity 198 Level 2: Creating Your Company’s DNA 204 Level 3: From Survival to Success 212 Level 4: Maintaining Success 218 Level 5: Moving on When It’s Time to Go 224 Chapter 8: Fact 6: The Marketplace is a War Zone 235 The Products or Services You Sell 238 How Your Business Operates 240 How Your Business Competes—The “X” Factor 241 Level 1: Ownership and Opportunity 242 Level 2: Creating Your Company’s DNA 250 Level 3: From Survival to Success 256 Level 4: Maintaining Success 264 Level 5: Moving on When It’s Time to Go 272 Chapter 9: Fact 7: You Don’t Just Have to Know the Business You’re In, You Have to Know Business 279 Product 281 People 282 Accounting and Finance 283 You 284 Level 1: Ownership and Opportunity 285 Level 2: Creating Your Company’s DNA 293 Level 3: From Survival to Success 300 Level 4: Maintaining Success 307 Level 5: Moving on When It’s Time to Go 314 Conclusion 323 About the Author 325 Index 327