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Making the Jump into Small Business Ownership
The economic meltdown of 2008 was a wake-up call for anyone who assumes that a career in corporate America is secure. The painful lesson learned by a significant portion of America’s workforce was If you work for someone else, you have little control over your employment status and are investing in
that person’s dream, not your own.
In 2010, the unemployment rate of America’s workers rose about 10 percent. We wrote this book in response to a deep need we saw for people to discover the benefits of self-reliance. In our humble opinion, there is no greater vehicle for security than owning your own business. When successful, a business can defy most financial models and calculations. While 2010 has come and gone, the need isstill real and will live on.
The reasons to go into business for yourself are infinite. Perhaps you want to spend more time with your family. Maybe you want to earn more income, call the shots, or travel more often. Is there something you enjoy doing more than anything else—and can you earn an income doing so? Regardless of your
motivation, the answer to the question “Should I go into business for myself” is yes. Small business ownership can be a path to true independence, life balance, and personal happiness.
As successful entrepreneurs, we have identified significant opportunities and assumed many risks, and ultimately chose to pursue our dreams. Because there are over 30 years separating us in age, our bookcovers generational as well as universal perspectives and insights.
Our goal is to present in these pages a practical guide on how to build self-reliance and start your own business. We will speak to the fundamentals, the block and tackle, of entrepreneurship, and we will address the challenges that most new entrepreneurs face. In several of the chapters you will find
vignettes—stories of real-life entrepreneurs whose experiences illustrate some of our main points. We hope you will find their stories inspiring as well as informative.
This book is not about deal junkies and their seemingly magical ventures that start on a short runway and take off with sales that seem to defy gravity. We are not addressing “vaporware” or unprofitable companies that go public and return a gazillion dollars—before imploding. Like winning the lottery,
these successes represent only a small slice of start-up ventures.
We firmly believe that the future security and prosperity of baby boomers and new college graduates— and all the generations in between—will be reached by encouraging entrepreneurship based upon sound business principles. Small businesses, and the entrepreneurs who start them, create more than
50 percent of American jobs. By encouraging displaced workers and others to become entrepreneurs and expand this important sector of the economic base, we hope to add new fuel to the American small- business growth engine—and perhaps power your dreams in the process.
that person’s dream, not your own.
In 2010, the unemployment rate of America’s workers rose about 10 percent. We wrote this book in response to a deep need we saw for people to discover the benefits of self-reliance. In our humble opinion, there is no greater vehicle for security than owning your own business. When successful, a business can defy most financial models and calculations. While 2010 has come and gone, the need isstill real and will live on.
The reasons to go into business for yourself are infinite. Perhaps you want to spend more time with your family. Maybe you want to earn more income, call the shots, or travel more often. Is there something you enjoy doing more than anything else—and can you earn an income doing so? Regardless of your
motivation, the answer to the question “Should I go into business for myself” is yes. Small business ownership can be a path to true independence, life balance, and personal happiness.
As successful entrepreneurs, we have identified significant opportunities and assumed many risks, and ultimately chose to pursue our dreams. Because there are over 30 years separating us in age, our bookcovers generational as well as universal perspectives and insights.
Our goal is to present in these pages a practical guide on how to build self-reliance and start your own business. We will speak to the fundamentals, the block and tackle, of entrepreneurship, and we will address the challenges that most new entrepreneurs face. In several of the chapters you will find
vignettes—stories of real-life entrepreneurs whose experiences illustrate some of our main points. We hope you will find their stories inspiring as well as informative.
This book is not about deal junkies and their seemingly magical ventures that start on a short runway and take off with sales that seem to defy gravity. We are not addressing “vaporware” or unprofitable companies that go public and return a gazillion dollars—before imploding. Like winning the lottery,
these successes represent only a small slice of start-up ventures.
We firmly believe that the future security and prosperity of baby boomers and new college graduates— and all the generations in between—will be reached by encouraging entrepreneurship based upon sound business principles. Small businesses, and the entrepreneurs who start them, create more than
50 percent of American jobs. By encouraging displaced workers and others to become entrepreneurs and expand this important sector of the economic base, we hope to add new fuel to the American small- business growth engine—and perhaps power your dreams in the process.
- GenresBusiness
152 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 2, 2011
7 people are currently reading
22 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 17, 2023
The writers have crafted an expansive overview of the individual and work-related obstacles inherent in launching your enterprise. What sets this work apart is its inclusion of not just the practical steps, but also tools to assess your drive and factors influencing success. Levy and Nilssen adeptly weave their personal experiences, offering introspective anecdotes that enrich the content. This accessible, hands-on manual holds valuable insights for any aspiring business owner.
August 9, 2018
Waiting for push to get you past the fear of becoming a business owner, read this book. David Nilssen and Jeff Levy guide you from finding the entrepreneur in you to choosing the right business to becoming a business owner in 3 sections. By the end if you're truly in the entrepreneur mindset you'll realize the only thing holding you back is fear and you'll be ready to replace that fear with knowledge! This book offers practical methods for starting the right business for you no matter where your at in life!
February 14, 2022
Are you interested in starting or buying a business? Are you unclear on which business is the right one for you? Trying to work out the specifics of what role you'll be expected to play vs which role you should play? - Read this book. Do the activities. It helps.
Any recommendations for the South African Entrepreneur looking to make the jump into Small Business Ownership _in South Africa_?
Any recommendations for the South African Entrepreneur looking to make the jump into Small Business Ownership _in South Africa_?
February 6, 2016
I picked up this book after seeing a talk given by one of the authors, Jeff Levy, and thought it might be useful to me as I set up my own small business. I read about half of the book last summer, and then put it down and finally picked it back up again to finish it this week. It turned out to not be as helpful for me as I hoped, but it appears to be a solid guide for what it is, which is a guide to buying and owning a small business.
The book is aimed largely at people wishing to own a small business, not to develop one, by investing in a business that is for sale, purchasing a franchise, or something along those lines. While some of the book is applicable to everyone who is looking to be an entrepreneur, such as the discussion of the emotions and decisions around making the jump to owning a business and the basics of business plans, large portions of the book are much more focused on figuring out funding, balance sheets, and so on for purchasing a business. While I found this interesting from an academic standpoint, if you are looking for a book to support you in starting your own business (service or product), this is not the right book for you.
The writing was clear and had no issues, and I found the sprinkling of anecdotes and success stories to serve their purpose of inspiration and entertainment. Really my only complaint is that the book should be a bit clearer on its purpose, so as to better help people determine if they are its target audience. I'd like to rank 3.5 stars but cannot, so I'll round up to 4.
The book is aimed largely at people wishing to own a small business, not to develop one, by investing in a business that is for sale, purchasing a franchise, or something along those lines. While some of the book is applicable to everyone who is looking to be an entrepreneur, such as the discussion of the emotions and decisions around making the jump to owning a business and the basics of business plans, large portions of the book are much more focused on figuring out funding, balance sheets, and so on for purchasing a business. While I found this interesting from an academic standpoint, if you are looking for a book to support you in starting your own business (service or product), this is not the right book for you.
The writing was clear and had no issues, and I found the sprinkling of anecdotes and success stories to serve their purpose of inspiration and entertainment. Really my only complaint is that the book should be a bit clearer on its purpose, so as to better help people determine if they are its target audience. I'd like to rank 3.5 stars but cannot, so I'll round up to 4.
July 12, 2014
best book on entrepreneurship because it deconstructs the emotion that keeps most back: that of fear.
June 30, 2016
The best part of the book was their explanation on using retirement account funds to purchase a business.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews