A free-for-download book is available to provide the information needed to start a small forest products company.
The book is titled “Business Management Practices for Small to Medium Sized Forest Products Firms”, and was compiled by Omar Espinoza of the University of Minnesota and Robert Smith of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. The purpose of this book is to provide an easy to guide for business management in the forest products industry. The book will also provide invaluable information to small business entrepreneurs in the logging industry. It is divided into the following chapters:
- Chapter 1: Provides a brief introduction to the U.S. forest products industry, including its importance and its major markets and products.
- Chapter 2: Introduces business management and the business planning process. The remainder of the book is organised into the business planning process
- Chapter 3: Introduces the most important components of strategic planning, from formulating the mission and vision of the enterprise to strategy implementation and evaluation.
- Chapter 4: Discusses human resource management in detail, from recruitment and selection to compensation strategies.
- Chapter 5: Describes the process of marketing management, including the fundamental four P’s (product, price, promotion and placement), methods to conduct market research and strategies for customisation and niche marketing. The chapter also includes an introduction to online marketing strategies, including the use of social media.
- Chapter 6: Discusses operations management, including product development, manufacturing strategy, operations planning, inventory management, quality and process control and maintenance.
- Chapter 7: Provides a detailed description of the financial management process, starting with financial planning. This chapter also provides a guide to financial statements and ratios and how to use them to measure and improve business performance.
- Chapter8: Describes the process of preparing a business plan and lists useful resources to aid the writing of such a document.
Source: http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/ANR/ANR-160/ANR-160-PDF.pdf