Praise for Books from PlanningShop
Entrepreneurship: A Real-World Approach
“What separates Rhonda Abrams from the crowd? She is an expert in building successful small businesses. And she continues to create timely, meaningful and (most importantly) useful content for academics, students, and business owners like myself. This book is the definitive guide for anyone who either wants to be an entrepreneur or just wants to grow their own business.”
— Gene Marks, New York Times small business columnist
“The book is an EXCELLENT RESOURCE. It should become the definitive reference guide for all small business owners, simply because all issues are addressed in a very proactive manner, with worksheets that help collect information for decision making. I intend to use it and recommend it at every opportunity.”
— Pat Newcomb, Entrepreneurship Instructor, Antioch University Midwest
PlanningShop
“PlanningShop has been invaluable to our organization. We use PlanningShop materials for our entrepreneur classes because the content is comprehensive and constantly updated.”
— Ken Freeman, Director Small Business Development Center, Yuba Community College District
Bringing the Cloud Down to Earth
“No matter how you refer to it, working in the Cloud is a fundamental business practice these days and Abrams has done a terrific job of making this sometimes confusing subject relevant and practical for businesses of all shapes and sizes.”
— John Jantsch, author of Duct Tape Marketing and The Referral Engine
Successful Marketing: Secrets & Strategies
“Successful Marketing encourages students to think through standard marketing concepts while applying them directly to their business idea.”
— Meredith Carpenter, Entrepreneurship Instructor, Haywood Community College
Successful Business Research
“At last, a straightforward book that demystifies the process behind conducting effective business research … gives business practitioners and students an incredibly useful tool to enable them to find accurate and timely information for business plans, academic papers, and other business uses.”
— Molly Lavik, Practitioner Faculty of Marketing, Graziadio School of Business and Management, Pepperdine University
Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies
“[Successful Business Plan is] user-friendly and exhaustive…highly recommended. Abrams’ book works because she tirelessly researched the subject. Most how-to books on entrepreneurship aren’t worth a dime; among the thousands of small business titles, Abrams’ [is an] exception.”
— Forbes Magazine
“There are plenty of decent business-plan guides out there, but Abrams’ was a cut above the others I saw. Successful Business Plan won points with me because it was thorough and well organized, with handy worksheets and good quotes. Also, Abrams does a better job than most at explaining the business plan as a planning tool rather than a formulaic exercise. Well done.”
— Inc. Magazine
“We are again using Successful Business Plan in my business honors course this semester. Must be working, as Penn State was just named (by Kaplan and Newsweek magazine) as the ‘hottest school in the U.S. for student entrepreneurs!’”
— Greg Pierce, Penn State University
“Successful Business Plan enables my Entrepreneurship students at the University of Vermont to develop really great business plans. The book’s easy-to-follow, step-by-step format makes preparing a plan logical and understandable. Over the years…several students have actually launched their businesses successfully. Our son used the book at St. Michael’s College in Vermont to develop a plan for airport fitness centers, winning the school’s annual business plan competition for business majors…with a hefty cash prize! His plan was so thorough, especially the financials, that he was flown to the West Coast to present his plan to a prospective buyer. The bottom line, there is no better road map to business plan success than Successful Business Plan!”
— David Kaufman, University of Vermont
“Successful Business Plan was an excellent learning tool for me at the University of Vermont and proved to be incredibly valuable as I started my own business after graduation. The step-by-step guidance through business planning ensures that you have all your bases covered before investing time and money in a new enterprise. The book helped me start a promotional products business and I have since recommended this book to dozens of other entrepreneurs who have used it for everything from restaurants to fashion boutiques. If you are considering starting your first, second, third or tenth business you need to look at Successful Business Plan!”
— Issa Sawabini, University of Vermont, ‘99 Partner, Monitor Premiums LLC
“If you’d like something that goes beyond the mere construction of your plan and is more fun to use, try Successful Business Plan: Secrets and Strategies, by Rhonda Abrams…this book can take the pain out of the process.”
— “Small Business School,” PBS television show
“Successful Business Plan is easy to follow and comprehensive. From the first chapter to the last, it guides you through the business planning process with a proven systematic approach.”
— Sean S. Murphy, Ernst & Young LLP
“As a 20 plus year veteran SBDC director, consultant and entrepreneurship instructor, I have assisted thousands of individuals and business owners through the planning process. Having reviewed tens of thousands of plans and critiquing hundreds of planning texts, programs and tools, Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies remains my hands-down favorite text/workbook/guide. The content and construction is comprehensive, practical and ‘do-able’ for the serious small business owner/entrepreneur.”
— David Gay, Illinois Small Business Development Center at College of DuPage
“In my opinion, your book is the definitive guide for successful business plans. I particularly appreciate and recommend the use of the Flow-Through Financial worksheets. Each is a great device to illustrate the connection between the qualitative and quantitative elements of a plan.”
— Gene Elliott, Business Consultant, New Mexico
“I’ve been using and promoting Successful Business Plan since 1993, and it’s great! I’ve taught business plan writing in several local SBDCs, as well as nationally, through the Neighborhood Reinvestment Training Institute. My course