THE UNAUTHORIZED GUIDE TO DOING BUSINESS THE DUNCAN BANNATYNE WAY - 10 SECRETS OF THE RAGS TO RICHES DRAGON

Straight-talking Dragons' Den star, Duncan Bannatyne, started it all with a single ice cream van and now manages a portfolio of leisure businesses and a high profile media career. So how did one of the UK's most successful serial entrepreneurs go from trouble-making schoolboy to OBE; from unemployment benefit claimant to multi-millionaire?


The Unauthorized Guide to Doing Business the Duncan Bannatune Way draws out the universal lessons from Duncan Bannatyne's remarkable success and identifies 10 strategies for running a business that can be applied to any business or career:


* Anyone can do it

* Know yourself and fill in the gaps

* The right ideas are everywhere you look

* Don't skimp on the research

* Plan your enterprise

* Never mind the atrium!

* Have the right people by your side

* Make money, expand rapidly, then make more money

* Put your name over the door

* Give it all away before you die



Want to be the best? The secrets of phenomenal success are in your hands.


Check out the other Unauthorized Guides in this series: Richard Branson; Alan Sugar; Jamie Oliver; Bill Gates; and Philip Green.

Liz Barclay writes for several monthly small business magazines and wrote a personal finance column for the News of the World. She has presented You & Yours on BBC Radio 4 for ten years as well as 'Call You & Yours' and Pick of the Week.
Liz's TV experience includes three series of The Small Business Programme and The Business Hour on BBC2 - programmes for people who run SMEs, drawing on the experiences of other SMEs. Liz Barclay’s radio experience spans the airwaves in the UK with In Business on BBC Radio 4 covering weekly business issues and Work It Out for BBC Radio 5 Live on employment issues.
As a journalist Liz also writes on personal finance and small business including Moneywise, The Mail, The Express, News of the World and BBC News Online Business website.

Acknowledgements.


The Life and Times of Duncan Bannatyne.


One: Anyone Can Do It.


…As long as you're determined, work hard and take responsibility for your company.


Two: Know Yourself and Fill in the Gaps.


Do your SWOT test and build your business around your strengths. Employ people with the skills and attributes you’re lacking.


Three: The Right Ideas Are Everywhere You Look.


Take the Government’s shilling and build businesses the Government’s paying for; there are advantages to red tape. Change brings opportunity to quick-thinking, fl exible entrepreneurs.


Four: Don't Skimp on the Research.


From ice cream to hotels and fi tness centres, children's nurseries and radio stations – if you do your research right, you can make them all successful.


Five: Plan Your Enterprise.


From the back of the fag packet calculation to the big picture – plan, plan, plan.


Six: Never Mind the Atrium!


It's all about location, location, location. Build in the right place and use all your space eff ectively.


Seven: Have the Right People by Your Side.


Employ the right people – they’re your key to success. Pay bonuses, train good staff and promote internally, but above all – learn to delegate.


Eight: Make Money, Expand Rapidly, Then Make More Money.


A lot of nurturing and even more debt grows businesses. Borrow and make more money. Check out the competition and buy them out. Invest in other business ideas.


Nine: Put Your Name Over the Door.


It's your name on the line and you can't aff ord to get it wrong. Your brand and reputation keep the customers coming back, whether it’s 99s or fi tness centres.


Ten: Give It All Away Before You Die.


Charity work and encouraging the next generation of entrepreneurs.


Duncan Bannatyne and BBC's Dragons' Den.


Recession? What Recession?


The Last Word.


Notes.


Reading List.


Index.