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<p>About the authors v</p> <p>Acknowledgements vii</p> <p>Introduction ix</p> <p><b>Part I: The profit principle</b></p> <p>1 Introducing the profit principle 3</p> <p>2 Let’s not start at the beginning 11</p> <p>3 Your first product is you 19</p> <p>4 Start by making money, not spending it 25</p> <p>5 The customer doesn’t owe you their business 29</p> <p>6 Fishbones are small, but you can choke on them 39</p> <p>7 How to remember something you never knew 45</p> <p>8 Curiosity is the key 53</p> <p>9 The myth of perpetual motion 59</p> <p>10 Don’t fall into the investment trap 67</p> <p>11 Time is money, so take your time 75</p> <p>12 Take your costs and double them 81</p> <p><b>Part II: Negotiation and partnership with the profit principle</b></p> <p>13 We don’t need another hero! 91</p> <p>14 Talk is cheap, so keep on talking 97</p> <p>15 Don’t talk until you see the whites of their eyes 105</p> <p>16 Pick your battles, and prepare for peace 115</p> <p>17 What’s in it for me? 121</p> <p>18 Taking control means keeping control 131</p> <p><b>Part III: Growing with the profit principle</b></p> <p>19 Perfection is the enemy of progress 141</p> <p>20 Small businesses stay small 147</p> <p>21 How to be big without being big 155</p> <p>22 Don’t stare at the horizon just to trip on the road 161</p> <p>23 Find the right people and let them get on with their jobs 167</p> <p>24 The bicycle balance 175</p> <p>25 There’s no beginning, there’ll be no end 179</p> <p>Final thoughts 185</p> <p>Index 193</p>

<b>Peter Fritz</b> was born in 1943 in the historic city of Arad in Transylvania, during the Second World War. Following the war, his city became part of the People’s Republic of Romania, and he grew up a proud and feisty pioneer. But the injustices and persecutions of the communist government weighed heavily on his family and in late 1961, after 14 years of waiting for a permit to leave the country, they made their way to Australia. Peter began working as a cleaner, studied English and later attended university part time. By the late 1960s, he found himself working in the newly emerging field of computer science. In 1971 the company he was working for was forced to close by creditors, and, rather than lose his job, he used what he knew to launch a new company with some likeminded peers. <p>Forty years and a hugely successful career as an entrepreneur later, having co-founded a $1.25 billion company that employs 6000 people worldwide, he wanted to gather his experiences in business into a book so he could hand his expertise down to his children. He began to look for a writing partner, someone who also wanted to share what they knew with others, and after asking around, a friend and business associate suggested he meet <b>Jeanne-</b><b>Vida Douglas</b>.<br /> A multi–award winning business journalist with a decade's experience covering the information technology sector, Jeanne-Vida was looking for a way to gather together the very best stories she came across in her work into a single edition. At the time Jeanne-Vida was juggling her own small business as a freelance journalist and business writer with the demands of two small children, and was keen to encourage others to find ways to turn their skills into microenterprises.<br /> The pair met in early 2007 at Peter's offices in Chippendale in Sydney, Jeanne-Vida bouncing her baby son on her lap, and they agreed to meet regularly for coffee to figure out how to turn these ideas and real life experiences into a book that could be shared down the generations and across the business community. Over many meetings they gathered ideas, wrote and rewrote, discussed and argued the fundamental ideas and real life examples that now fill this book.</p>

The profit principle is the <b>only</b> secret to good business you'll ever need to know. <p>Success in business has little to do with investment capital, a business plan or office space. Success comes from applying the four-part profit principle. Discover how you can turn what you know into what you do, and launch a successful, sustainable venture without spending (or borrowing) a cent. It’s a process that's simpler than you think and already within reach.</p> <p>Most books on starting a business don't extend further than the practicalities: plans, finance, accounting, equipment and so on. There are so many books on this topic, and their advice is often similar and predictable; rarely do they offer a new perspective or directions for a smarter approach. The motivational books that also serve this market may read well, but they often lack the substance on which to base sound business decisions and actions.</p> <p>If you want to run your own business and don't already, stop and ask yourself why not? <i>The Profit Principle</i> is a modern classic that will revolutionise your thinking on what it takes to succeed and inspire you to get started.</p>

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