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More About This Title The Reluctant Entrepreneur: Turning Dreams into Profits
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A comprehensive guide for entrepreneurs from one of the most successful business creators in recent years, The Reluctant Entrepreneur: Turning Dreams into Profits addresses the fears and misconceptions that many people have about starting their own businesses, walking prospective owners through the necessary decisions they need to make before even putting a business plan in place.
Presenting solid, reliable strategies based on author Michael Masterson's own successful practices, and debunking some common illusions entrepreneurs have about their businesses, the book is a vital resource for anyone looking to avoid the pitfalls that threaten fledgling companies.
- Packed with insights from an entrepreneur who has launched and sold dozens of business, presented in a lively and conversational style
- Some 600,000 new businesses are launched each year and with an uncertain economy, more and more people are looking for a stream of income separate from their 9 to 5 job
- Filled with highly applicable advice that budding and professional entrepreneurs can start using immediately
Essential reading for small business owners and both first time and established entrepreneurs, The Reluctant Entrepreneur presents the smart strategies on starting and growing a small business that can make launching your own company a cinch.
English
MICHAEL MASTERSON is not your typical businessman. An ex–Peace Corps volunteer, he never took a class in business, doesn't read the business press, and hates to talk business. He spends his spare time writing poetry, collecting fine art, and practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. His neighbors call him a bohemian. But he's also an entrepreneur. He started his first business when he was eleven years old, and in the forty-five years that have elapsed since then, he has started or co-started dozens of successful businesses. The author of numerous business books, several of them New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers, Masterson consults for private clients and writes the Palm Beach Letter, a newsletter for individual investors.
English
Foreword xiii
Acknowledgments xix
INTRODUCTION Entrepreneurship: What It Is . . . and Isn’t 1
The Reality of Calculated Risk 2
The Reluctant Entrepreneur 3
Launching a Successful Business Takes More Than Motivation 4
It’s Okay to Be Cautious 5
Success Is Not a Roll of the Dice 6
And One More Thing . . . 6
CHAPTER 1 What, Exactly, Is a Reluctant Entrepreneur? 9
Philip Knight’s Story 10
What We Can Learn From This . . . 11
Hatching a Business While You Keep Your Day Job 12
The Myth of the “Entrepreneurial Type” 16
CHAPTER 2 The First Question You Must Be Able to Answer 21
Rule Number One of Reluctant Entrepreneurship 23
Your Initial Challenge: Generating Positive Cash Flow 24
Educating Yourself About Business 25
CHAPTER 3 What It Takes to Be a Successful Reluctant Entrepreneur 27
The Reluctant Entrepreneur Is a Smart Entrepreneur 29
The Foundation of Your Business: Six Strategic
Choices You Have to Make at the Very Beginning 31
It’s Not Rocket Science 38
CHAPTER 4 Hatching the New Business: Overcoming Fear and Taking Action 41
Your First Three Action Steps 43
How Do You Find a Mentor? 48
Putting Fear on Your Side 49
CHAPTER 5 The Magic Happens When You Hire Superstars 51
Recognizing Superstar Potential 52
Knowing What You’re Looking For 53
How Do You Find These People? 54
The Care and Feeding of a Superstar 56
How to Structure a Superstar Organization 59
The Best Investment You Will Ever Make 61
CHAPTER 6 Mastering the Art of Business Relationships 65
The Reluctant Entrepreneur’s Guide to Making Friends in High Places 67
12 Ways to Get People to Want to Do Business With You 69
A Simple Trick That Will Make Important People Want to Talk to You 72
How to Get Others to Tell You Their Most Valuable Success Secrets—A Technique I Learned From a Self-Made Multimillionaire 73
Never Pass Up the Opportunity to Make a Connection That Can Do You Some Good 75
Seek Out Mutually-Beneficial Partnerships 76
It Doesn’t Take Much to Maintain Relationships With All Your Important Contacts—Even Hundreds of Them 78
CHAPTER 7 How to Become a Marketing Genius 81
Every Business Is About the Selling 82
The Beauty of Direct Marketing 83
Mastering the Art of Persuasion 85
The Difference Between Wants and Needs 87
The Difference Between Features and Benefits 88
The Difference Between Benefits and Deeper Benefits 89
The USP: Making Your Product Stand Out From the Competition 90
How to Use Your USP to Create a Successful Advertising Campaign 91
Resist the Urge to Try Something Completely Different 92
Short-Term Results Versus Long-Term Profits 93
CHAPTER 8 Maintaining Control of Your Growing Business 97
Pushing Hard for Profi ts 98
You Can Never, Ever Stop Pushing on Every Single Front 100
How Much of Your Profi ts Should Go Into Your Pocket—And How Much Should Go Back Into Your Business? 101
Why You Should Ignore the “Experts” and Determine Your Own Compensation 102
Create a Culture That Respects Money 103
Keep Your Eye on the Numbers 104
Never Lose Your Competitive Edge 105
How Tiffany & Co. Lost Their Edge—And Found It Again 106
Set High Standards for Customer Service—And Make Sure They Stay High 107
A Success Trap You Don’t Have to Fall Into 110
CHAPTER 9 Leadership: Keeping Your Vision Alive 113
Effective Leaders Motivate Others to Do Great Work 114
Effective Leaders Focus on Work, Not Politics 114
Effective Leaders Understand That Competition Has Its Place in Business, But It Is Not Nearly as Important as Cooperation and Sharing 115
Effective Leaders Care About Their Customers 115
Effective Leaders Make Fast Decisions 116
Effective Leaders Know How to Get Support for Their Ideas 116
Effective Leaders Know How to Delegate 117
Effective Leaders Do Not Micromanage 118
Effective Leaders Create a Culture of Accountability 119
Effective Leaders Understand That Teamwork Doesn’t Always Work 119
Effective Leaders Are Good Communicators 120
Effective Leaders Make Every Meeting Work for Them 121
Effective Leaders Know How to Negotiate 122
Effective Leaders Are Considerate 124
Effective Leaders Don’t Become Buddies With Their Employees 125
Effective Leaders Sometimes Zig When Others Zag 125
CHAPTER 10 Build Your Business Like a Go-Cart 127
Building the Go-Cart, Step by Step 129
Conclusion 133
APPENDIX Do You Need the Mindset of a Champion to Succeed in Business? 135
How to Use Humor in Business 139
Must You Be Cutthroat to Succeed in Business? 144
The Unexpected Side Effects of Making Money (and How to Avoid Them) 149
The Time-Management System That Works for Me 155
About the Author 159
Index 161
