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El emprendedor del papel higiénico: Una guía práctica para lanzar tu negocio, incluso cuando solo te queda el final del rollo
¿TE GUSTARÍA EMPRENDER UN NEGOCIO Y NO TIENES NI IDEA DE POR DÓNDE EMPEZAR? ¿TIENES POCO O NADA DE DINERO PARA INVERTIR? ¿NO TIENES EXPERIENCIA NI FORMACIÓN EN NEGOCIOS? ¡GRACIAS A DIOS! TIENES UNA OPORTUNIDAD DE HACER QUE ESTO FUNCIONE.
Lo cierto es que no todos podemos ser de esos emprendedores unicornio que nos dieron empresas como Google, Facebook o Amazon. La mayoría somos emprendedores de papel higiénico que innovamos constantemente y hacemos maravillas con las últimas tres hojas del rollo para salir adelante. Pero, según MikeMichalowicz, el nombrado santo patrono de los emprendedores, justo eso es lo que necesitas para convertirte en una persona de negocios exitosa.
Ya sea que estés emprendiendo apenas o que ya lleves en esto unos años, el enfoque realista de Mike Michalowicz te enseñará:
Por qué un plan de negocios es una pérdida total de tiempo.
Por qué satisfacer tus propias necesidades es la primera y última orden del día.
Que solo necesitas tres hojas de papel para lanzar, administrar y hacer crecer tu negocio con éxito.
Cómo iniciar un negocio con poco o cero dinero.
Cómo encontrar y explotar recursos que nadie más conoce.
Cómo dejar de posponer y tomar acción ¡AHORA!
Un libro de negocios tan útil, tan crudo y entretenido, que parece una creación de Steve Jobs y Chris Rock.
Lo cierto es que no todos podemos ser de esos emprendedores unicornio que nos dieron empresas como Google, Facebook o Amazon. La mayoría somos emprendedores de papel higiénico que innovamos constantemente y hacemos maravillas con las últimas tres hojas del rollo para salir adelante. Pero, según MikeMichalowicz, el nombrado santo patrono de los emprendedores, justo eso es lo que necesitas para convertirte en una persona de negocios exitosa.
Ya sea que estés emprendiendo apenas o que ya lleves en esto unos años, el enfoque realista de Mike Michalowicz te enseñará:
Por qué un plan de negocios es una pérdida total de tiempo.
Por qué satisfacer tus propias necesidades es la primera y última orden del día.
Que solo necesitas tres hojas de papel para lanzar, administrar y hacer crecer tu negocio con éxito.
Cómo iniciar un negocio con poco o cero dinero.
Cómo encontrar y explotar recursos que nadie más conoce.
Cómo dejar de posponer y tomar acción ¡AHORA!
Un libro de negocios tan útil, tan crudo y entretenido, que parece una creación de Steve Jobs y Chris Rock.
Kindle Edition
First published September 30, 2008
769 people are currently reading
2264 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 129 reviews
July 19, 2012
The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur is a book written in a conversational and humorous tone on how to get started with your business, even in hard times. Mike Michalowicz takes a down to earth approach in explaining serious business concepts. Unlike most business books that advocate for a business plan as a cornerstone for any business, the book suggests that business plans may not be plausible after all.
Other topics covered include the three sheets of paper needed to effectively start and grow a successful business, getting started on a shoestring budget, how to spot undiscovered opportunity and to exploit them and how to simply get started and to stop procrastinating. I think this is an excellent read especially for young, aspiring entrepreneurs looking to make an impact in the business world even with little capital.
The great thing about Michalowicz's book is that it explains business concepts and entrepreneurship without being too academic about it. This makes it an easy read for both those who are getting started out as well as those with established businesses. However, the book would have been even better had the author used more concrete examples about how people can put his advice into practice. Stories of successful entrepreneurs who have applied his concepts would have been a plus.
Other topics covered include the three sheets of paper needed to effectively start and grow a successful business, getting started on a shoestring budget, how to spot undiscovered opportunity and to exploit them and how to simply get started and to stop procrastinating. I think this is an excellent read especially for young, aspiring entrepreneurs looking to make an impact in the business world even with little capital.
The great thing about Michalowicz's book is that it explains business concepts and entrepreneurship without being too academic about it. This makes it an easy read for both those who are getting started out as well as those with established businesses. However, the book would have been even better had the author used more concrete examples about how people can put his advice into practice. Stories of successful entrepreneurs who have applied his concepts would have been a plus.
April 13, 2014
I very much enjoy reading "big thinking" books, as I like to call them. They stimulate my creative juices and desire to be successful at all things in life. This is the first one that really boils it down to important action items, not just concepts. In fact, reading this book made me feel like all the other books of this nature are just too vague or too big thinking and not enough hardcore advice. You can click my screen name, I don't write a lot of reviews but I felt incredibly compelled to speak up on behalf of this book. Read, learn, grow & share.
June 27, 2019
Liked:
- Mindset discussion on limiting beliefs
- "Three Sheets" business plan replacement
- Inspiring and interesting anecdotes of real entrepreneurs
- Focus on the entrepreneur first, customers/clients second
- An entertaining and super quick read, I read it in an afternoon!
Disliked:
- Philosophies on finance and borrowing
- Emphasis on multi-million dollar businesses
- Mindset discussion on limiting beliefs
- "Three Sheets" business plan replacement
- Inspiring and interesting anecdotes of real entrepreneurs
- Focus on the entrepreneur first, customers/clients second
- An entertaining and super quick read, I read it in an afternoon!
Disliked:
- Philosophies on finance and borrowing
- Emphasis on multi-million dollar businesses
July 22, 2011
Михаловиц написал "еще одну" книгу для тех, кто только собирается открывать свое дело. Акцент, безусловно, сделан на технологичных компаниях, но много отсылов и к "физическому" предпринимательству. В книге есть хорошие системные вещи, но в целом - набор банальностей. Проходящая красной нитью цепь подсказок о том, как сэкономить, рассказывает вам про Skype и Google docs. Зато есть хорошие идеи как дешево купить мебель у съезжающих арендаторов. Еще одна находка - нетривиальное описание подхода к выбору партнеров и распределению долей. Такие перлы вытаскивают книгу, пересоленною тривиальными вещами в духе "ты должен попробовать", "предпринимателем можно стать в любом возрасте" и т.п. Не оценил я и главную идею о туалетной бумаге, которой осталось всего три листочка. Автор, похоже, нарочито пытается нас окунуть в... атмосферу стартапа :)
May 13, 2023
Una pequeña guía de lo que significa emprender. El mensaje principal es: si vas al baño y solo quedan 3 hojas de papel como le harías para limpiarte; igual en los negocios: optimizar los recursos lo más posible
March 7, 2020
Remarkably entertaining for a business book.
January 22, 2025
Take action now biach
July 4, 2018
Take action in your business!
This is the second book that I have read by Mike michalowicz. I have found that his books are easy to read, very informative and offer Real World experience to be applied to your situation. I have read Profit First and was very impressed and I am as well impressed with the Toilet Paper Entrepreneur. You need this book if you're just starting out or if you have a business already and want to define clear actions to move forward and be accountable. I highly recommend this book!
This is the second book that I have read by Mike michalowicz. I have found that his books are easy to read, very informative and offer Real World experience to be applied to your situation. I have read Profit First and was very impressed and I am as well impressed with the Toilet Paper Entrepreneur. You need this book if you're just starting out or if you have a business already and want to define clear actions to move forward and be accountable. I highly recommend this book!
December 18, 2019
I acted on new business opportunities with every re read
January 13, 2020
Awesome book on telling us how to bootstrap our company with little resource as possible.
Timeless principles that I will be applying
Timeless principles that I will be applying
July 16, 2019
I really liked this book and am a big fan of Mike Michalowicz now, after having been introduced to Profit First last year. I gave 5 stars because I had some major takeaways and exercises I did and now do each week.
I did his "Prosperity Plan" exercise. You write out what's in your heart about why you do what you do and where you want to go (destiny). He challenges you to dig deep. Yeah, I'd done that before but he has you read it weekly so I have it show up in my task list on Monday and take 3 minutes to read. It's a great emotional connection for me that keeps me on track, reorients me, and it's sustainable.
Secondly, I now have a quarterly plan. Yes, I've done this before too but get off track. Now my asst and I review it weekly or bi-weekly and "tack" where we are. It's simple and sustainable.
Lastly, he recommends 5 metrics to track daily. You don't need to overthink this; just pick 5 and review them. You can change them as your business changes. My bookkeeper fills out mine and it lands in my inbox at the end of the week for my weekly review. He recommends you do this daily but we don't have a business with daily transactions so I made this work for us with a weekly review. I see low numbers in one cel or another and it's a reminder of where to apply my focus and intent.
Overall, I loved the simplicity of these 3 things. Mike is also funny, light-hearted, crass, and wide open with his own flops in business. And this made it an enjoyable read. I'm on to his next book, Surge.
I did his "Prosperity Plan" exercise. You write out what's in your heart about why you do what you do and where you want to go (destiny). He challenges you to dig deep. Yeah, I'd done that before but he has you read it weekly so I have it show up in my task list on Monday and take 3 minutes to read. It's a great emotional connection for me that keeps me on track, reorients me, and it's sustainable.
Secondly, I now have a quarterly plan. Yes, I've done this before too but get off track. Now my asst and I review it weekly or bi-weekly and "tack" where we are. It's simple and sustainable.
Lastly, he recommends 5 metrics to track daily. You don't need to overthink this; just pick 5 and review them. You can change them as your business changes. My bookkeeper fills out mine and it lands in my inbox at the end of the week for my weekly review. He recommends you do this daily but we don't have a business with daily transactions so I made this work for us with a weekly review. I see low numbers in one cel or another and it's a reminder of where to apply my focus and intent.
Overall, I loved the simplicity of these 3 things. Mike is also funny, light-hearted, crass, and wide open with his own flops in business. And this made it an enjoyable read. I'm on to his next book, Surge.
July 8, 2023
There were a few good nuggets here—the ones that were inspiring to me were that you don’t have to have much money to get your business going, action matters the most and mistakes are good—it brings clarity and direction.
Here are a few more:
Tips/takeaways
If probability of success is 40% then take action
Take action. There is no failure except not doing it.
When you want something then doing the work becomes fun. That’s the secret behind the secret
Gleefully accept your mistakes!! Mistakes will happen and these will move you forward.
The more mistakes you are making the more progress you are making. Just don’t repeat the same mistakes.
Only check email twice a day.
Being small can be a huge advantage—makes you nimble, allows you to truly value each customer, action can happens fast whereas in a huge company they can’t do this.
Here are a few more:
Tips/takeaways
If probability of success is 40% then take action
Take action. There is no failure except not doing it.
When you want something then doing the work becomes fun. That’s the secret behind the secret
Gleefully accept your mistakes!! Mistakes will happen and these will move you forward.
The more mistakes you are making the more progress you are making. Just don’t repeat the same mistakes.
Only check email twice a day.
Being small can be a huge advantage—makes you nimble, allows you to truly value each customer, action can happens fast whereas in a huge company they can’t do this.
October 9, 2018
I liked the book, but given that it was based on a lot of the experiences of the author, I would have liked to read more about his specific experiences. The author extrapolated general lessons to make the book more applicable to the general audience, but the stories backing up the lessons were not included. While I didn't expect the book to be an autobiographical tome, it could have well been written by the academic that the author disparages, since the personal specific examples were missing about the author's businesses. The author did give specific examples of other businesses where other entrepreneurs were "Toilet Paper Entrepreneurs" by his measure, so there are some specific examples there.
August 5, 2024
El libro intenta ofrecer una guía práctica y motivacional para aspirantes a emprendedores. Sin embargo, a pesar de su premisa intrigante y su enfoque directo, el libro falla en varios aspectos clave. La estructura es desordenada, y las anécdotas personales, aunque bien intencionadas, a menudo parecen más un relleno que un valor añadido real. La falta de profundidad en el análisis y los consejos poco novedosos hacen que la obra se sienta repetitiva y superficial. En general, "The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur" no logra cumplir con las expectativas, resultando en una lectura decepcionante y poco inspiradora.
October 19, 2020
Never started a business? You may find this useful.
But if you've already launched and are looking for new ideas or perspectives, you won't find them here.
The toilet joke gets old quickly - and to be honest the whole book just feels like a pretty long winded way of saying "Got limited cash or resources? Hustle your backside off and find free or cheap alternatives to all the things you'd usually pay for."
It's fine. But as someone who's been in business for a few years, I've heard it all before but without the toilet humour.
But if you've already launched and are looking for new ideas or perspectives, you won't find them here.
The toilet joke gets old quickly - and to be honest the whole book just feels like a pretty long winded way of saying "Got limited cash or resources? Hustle your backside off and find free or cheap alternatives to all the things you'd usually pay for."
It's fine. But as someone who's been in business for a few years, I've heard it all before but without the toilet humour.
May 16, 2021
PROS:
Short. Entertaining. Crude.
Good exercises on planning
Emphasised putting yourself and your values first when designing your business - otherwise you've just created another job you hate.
This is the first book I've read that really stressed not taking money up front if you can avoid it. Don't take debt and *definitely* don't raise money with equity.
CONS:
Style is pretty flippant.
Very "if you believe it you can achieve it".
Crude humour might not be for everyone.
Low on specifics
Not much new information
Short. Entertaining. Crude.
Good exercises on planning
Emphasised putting yourself and your values first when designing your business - otherwise you've just created another job you hate.
This is the first book I've read that really stressed not taking money up front if you can avoid it. Don't take debt and *definitely* don't raise money with equity.
CONS:
Style is pretty flippant.
Very "if you believe it you can achieve it".
Crude humour might not be for everyone.
Low on specifics
Not much new information
March 4, 2023
I’m not sure how much this book and the phrase “take action now” could help a starting/beginner entrepreneur. It could grant you some braveness to go and start something without money or partners and that’s it.
The punchline is that if you are searching for a strategies or models to how make your starting business stand on its toes, this is not the right book.
BTW - people think 3 starts isn’t good rating, actually it is, as I said, this book can help in some aspects but not the business ones.
The punchline is that if you are searching for a strategies or models to how make your starting business stand on its toes, this is not the right book.
BTW - people think 3 starts isn’t good rating, actually it is, as I said, this book can help in some aspects but not the business ones.
August 24, 2017
That's a book quite similar to Chris's Guillebeau's 100$ startup. Only poorly written. With less concrete information. And focused on offline businesses mostly. What's a strong side is managing profitability and actionable tips about managings scarce resources and cash. It's less than 200 pages but i've struggled a bit through it. Author was a founder of 3 businesses but now he doesn't run any business besides his podcast, books and speaking gigs. I should know better.
January 4, 2020
I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur. It was entertaining, light-hearted, humerous and packed full of suggestions, recommendations and ways to start your business. For anyone contemplating starting a business, this is a must read. The content easily flows beginning to end and an easy read. No big complex words or ideas to confuse or make the reader feel inferior. Just positivity.
March 11, 2020
I loved the premise of this book: starting and building a business requires effort and a healthy dose of confidence in one’s abilities (more than education or a lot of money). If it weren’t for so much inappropriate language and humor, I would happily give it a higher rating. Mike Michalowicz has great ideas and a fairly engaging writing style - too bad his language spoils an otherwise good business book.
December 2, 2020
Grandes teorías sin ser teorías... grandes verdades. Le quito una estrella porque en pleno siglo XXI debería estar prohibido usar frases como “Pocas responsabilidades: la mayoría de los jóvenes que acaban de salir de la universidad no tienen hijos NI ESPOSAS QUE MANTENER”... Señor Michalowicz, espero que sea error de traducción, pero a día de hoy las esposas se pueden mantener a ellas mismas, y ser EPH... no coments.
March 12, 2021
I think Mike just made it to the list of my favourite Entrepreneurship-book=authors!
Having read Profit first, now TPE & soon The Pumkin Plan, i love his 'colorful' & humorous writing style.
TPE is a good read, more so for those just starting out in business. I like the 3 plans he states should replace the conventional business plan: Prosperity Plan for your business, The Quartely Plan & The Daily Metrics plan.
Having read Profit first, now TPE & soon The Pumkin Plan, i love his 'colorful' & humorous writing style.
TPE is a good read, more so for those just starting out in business. I like the 3 plans he states should replace the conventional business plan: Prosperity Plan for your business, The Quartely Plan & The Daily Metrics plan.
March 21, 2020
Useless motiational book with very little actionable stuff. Typical american "you can do it just believe in it" bollocks. I bought the book because Profit First was great. This is not. Most annoying is that he picks succesful people as case study and juxtapositioning himself and his invented "toilet paper entrepreneur" idea as if they were related. I get it, this is marketing, it's just cringe-y.
Already regretted to have preordered his next book.
Meh.
Already regretted to have preordered his next book.
Meh.
April 26, 2020
Great practical advice; great how-to guide
He’s very good at telling stories. I like his writing style. His sense of humor is irreverent but clever. I can definitely see the image of a frat boy when I read his stuff. But he also has a very down to earth personality. He’s not pretentious and he seems to have a genuine desire to help people.
He’s very good at telling stories. I like his writing style. His sense of humor is irreverent but clever. I can definitely see the image of a frat boy when I read his stuff. But he also has a very down to earth personality. He’s not pretentious and he seems to have a genuine desire to help people.
August 7, 2021
First rime to hear the term TPE but that's so true and direct to the point. I believe it is one of the best books I had read so far for entrepreneurs and starting businesses. I'll definitely go back to it from time to time during the coming few years ot gives quick and clear tips and advices for the starting a business "early stage".
November 24, 2021
Good Read for the New Entrepreneur
The developer of Profit First, Mike Michalowicz is a serial entrepreneur who speaks from experience in this somewhat irreverent but very insightful book on starting and running an early stage business. His discussion on equity investors and partners is an absolute must read. A good book for the budding entrepreneur.
The developer of Profit First, Mike Michalowicz is a serial entrepreneur who speaks from experience in this somewhat irreverent but very insightful book on starting and running an early stage business. His discussion on equity investors and partners is an absolute must read. A good book for the budding entrepreneur.
May 7, 2018
Great book!
If you're a first time entrepreneur then this is the book for you. It's no nonsense and has great advice and motivation for starting a business, especially if you have limited resources. A must read!
If you're a first time entrepreneur then this is the book for you. It's no nonsense and has great advice and motivation for starting a business, especially if you have limited resources. A must read!
September 23, 2018
Practical, unconventional, and motivating.
Worth the read if you plan on starting a business and don't know where to start. Has useful exercises to get you in the right mindset, and get the ball rolling.
Worth the read if you plan on starting a business and don't know where to start. Has useful exercises to get you in the right mindset, and get the ball rolling.
December 7, 2018
I've really enjoyed all of the Mike Michalowicz books. His writing style is very easy to digest. While this isn't my favorite of his, it was still a solid all-around book about the need to be resourceful if you want to be an entrepreneur.
April 29, 2019
Loved it!
I really enjoyed reading this book. The author tells you the truth with a sense of humour. The exercises are great and give you something to think about and action at the same time. Would recommend to anyone starting out on their journey of entrepreneurship.
I really enjoyed reading this book. The author tells you the truth with a sense of humour. The exercises are great and give you something to think about and action at the same time. Would recommend to anyone starting out on their journey of entrepreneurship.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 129 reviews