The guides are designed for the time poor. Whilst you will get most from them by reading cover-to-cover, they are also designed to be dipped into as per your business challenge of the moment. Each guide has a consistent set of information blocks to assist the rushed reader:
The Five-Year Entrepreneur series has been designed for the managing owner(s) of a professional service business. Indeed, this is for you even if you are just keen to explore the idea of setting up your own such firm.
Such firms are primarily business-to-business ventures and involve the marketing, selling and dispensing of a ‘professional service’. The definition is, however, broad and covers a panoply of service types – from business consulting, accounting, law, advertising, web design, architecture, engineering, recruitment, financial services, marketing, public relations, research and so on. Generally speaking, if your firm harnesses the talents of skilled, knowledgeable individuals to provide advice and support to other businesses then this website is for you.
The series is especially focused on leaders who are committed to starting/growing such businesses in order to derive – or at least provide an option for – a personal wealth creation point in the future.
The Five-Year Entrepreneur series will eventually include 21 guides (available in a number of e-reader formats); each takes the reader systematically through a key step on the journey towards building a sustainable, profitable company … one that will ultimately have value. With the purchase of each guide, a related series of valuable assets is also ‘unlocked’ to you as a member of this site. The series has also been designed for the novice entrepreneur and the seasoned veteran. The former will derive most value from working through all the guides, the latter may just have a need to ‘dip into’ specific topics in which their current focus lies.
The Five-Year Entrepreneur series is organised into four parts and contains 21 guidebooks that cover everything you need to know to create ownership wealth in a professional service business.
The two guides in Part 1 (Understanding) show you the personal attributes and commitment you will need for the journey ahead (Guide 01 – Personal Motivation and Circumstance) and the fundamental components of value in a professional service business such that you can embed this knowledge in every future, firm-growing decision you make thereafter (Guide 02 – The Fundamental Components of Value).
In Part 2 (Planning), I introduce you to professional service business models and describe the business planning you need to do at start-up and embed as a critical, repeating capability thereafter (Guide 03 – Business Planning). I also look at how to optimally organise your business for growth and value (Guide 04 – Business Organisation).
Part 3 (Building) is the heart of the series. Here you will find multiple guidebooks that describe – at a practical level – how to establish and manage all the components of a ‘well oiled’ professional service operation.
Finally, in Part 4 (Selling), three guidebooks will cover this pivotal phase on the wealth creation journey in order that your firm is well presented to the market, the optimal deal is achieved for all involved parties and your wealth creation goals are realised.
The overall series is as follows:
Guide 01 Personal Motivation and Circumstance
Guide 02 The Fundamental Components of Value
Guide 03 Business Planning
Guide 04 Business Organisation
Guide 05 Management Information and Decision Making
Guide 06 Service Propositions and Thought Leadership
Guide 07 Marketing
Guide 08 Selling
Guide 09 Establishing a High-Performing Team
Guide 10 Knowledge Management and Intellectual Property
Guide 11 Talent management – Recruitment to Exit
Guide 12 Continuous Professional Development
Guide 13 Building the HR Function
Guide 14 Developing the Leadership Team
Guide 15 Financial Control
Guide 16 Service Delivery and Quality Management Systems
Guide 17 IM/IS Capability
Guide 18 Estate/Office Management
Guide 19 Preparing for the Firm’s Sale
Guide 20 The Sale Process
Guide 21 Post Sale and Beyond
With each guide purchase, a set of related resources is unlocked on your membership profile:
With the structured learning you will experience as a result of reading these guides you will be able to drive your business forward in the confidence you are on the right track. By following the steps within, you will gain an assurance that you are not just working hard but working smartly also. Importantly, with the wealth of practical insights, tips, checklists and ideas presented within the series, any attentive reader will take an instant leap forward in comparison to competitor firms … the vast majority of whom are not working to any coherent value realisation strategy or with any understanding of how to build value into a firm from the word ‘go’. This is no ‘get rich quick scheme’ … as a hard working entrepreneur you will know that better than anyone. It is, however, a hugely valuable resource that will significantly de-risk your quest of arriving at a point of maximum business value in as quick a time as possible … hence increasing your personal options for financial security and freedom beyond.