Comprehensive Guide to Running a Business
Editorial Staff
Running an entrepreneurial business requires much more than applying knowledge of a particular discipline in the creation of a product or service. Expertise as a plumber, electrician, baker, flower arranger, engineer or physician does not translate automatically into entrepreneurial expertise. These skills may not even be necessary to run a successful business. For example, a husband and wife who are not plumbers run Dixie Plumbing & Air Conditioning, a fast-growing Naples company. On the other hand, they do know how to build a thriving business.

In fact, a hot track record within a sizeable corporation may not qualify one to succeed as an entrepreneur. Although many corporate lessons apply within the entrepreneurial universe, many do not transfer at all. The entrepreneur must succeed without the corporate safety net. He or she can no longer rely on a support staff to handle accounting, administrative, marketing, and sales chores. For the new entrepreneur, it's a do-it-yourself world.

Business Advisor is designed to provide the advice of experts on all of the elements of starting, growing, and running an independent business. You'll find a host of articles that fill in your knowledge gaps and help you over the rough spots you face every day as an entrepreneur. If there is information you'd like but we aren't providing, please give us your feedback.