Whitefish financial planner pens business book
Marge Fisher calls her new book a reality check.
The first chapter puts it bluntly: Are you a person who should even be in business for yourself?
Fisher self-published "A Business of My Own? 21 Steps to Successfully Starting and Running a Small Business" because she couldn't find any books with practical, down-to-earth guidelines when she was looking for information to start her own small business years ago.
"What I found were books that were too general in their applications or that equated success with starting small and rapidly escalating to a stock exchange listing," she said.
Fisher also remembers her time as a procurement officer for the U.S. Forest Service, when she worked with many small-business owners who seemed ill-equipped to successfully operate a business.
The success rate for new businesses is dismal, she points out. Of the 600,000 businesses that start each year, only 10 percent succeed. She's convinced it's because small-business owners lack specific guidance.
Fisher, a certified financial planner who operates Linsco/Private Ledger in Whitefish, spent 10 years researching and gathering information for her book. A local writers group helped her edit the manuscript, 10 pages every week as the draft came together.
In an effort to make the process of starting a business less intimidating, Fisher steps readers through the process, one item at a time in workbook style, including examples of business brochures, financial plans, various tax forms and sample letters to prospective clients.
She poses direct questions in the beginning of the book about how well-suited the reader is to be a small business owner.
"You need to be a self-starter," she said. "You need to be able to handle the ups and downs of uneven income. You need emotional stability and organizational skills. Some things you can learn; other things you may struggle with."
In her quest to be as specific as possible, Fisher gives examples of business plans, including small details such as how much signs would cost and how to go about advertising the business.
"I talk quite a bit about partnerships," she said, "with a lot of detail about how to structure the business if it's a partnership. Partners need to make sure their goals are the same."
Small business has been a part of Fisher's life in several ways beyond her experience in the financial planning business. In earlier years, she did the bookkeeping for her former husband's custom-built rifle business. As a former state legislator, she got involved with workers compensation and various business issues. She was a part of the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce's economic development committee for several years and also served on the board of the Flathead Economic Development Corp.
Fisher will tap into her own advice as she goes about marketing her new book. It's available locally at Bookworks in Whitefish, but will soon be available online through amazon.com.
Fisher will have books available at the Festival of the Book in Missoula on Sept. 23. The Publishers Marketing Association, of which she's a member, is showcasing the book at six upcoming shows.
Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com