What do you think?
Rate this book
Choose: The Single Most Important Decision Before Starting Your Business
What type of business should you start?For the past 10 years, Inc. 500 CEO and #1 national best-selling author, Ryan Levesque--featured for his work in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Forbes, and Entrepreneur--has guided thousands of entrepreneurs through the journey of answering this question.One of the biggest reasons why so many new businesses fail is because in the quest to decide what business to start, most of the conventional wisdom is wrong. Instead of obsessing over what--as in what should you sell or what should you build--you should first be asking who. As in who should you serve? The what is a logical question that will come soon enough. But choosing your who is the foundation from which all other things are built.That is what this book is all about.If you've ever had the dream to start your own business, become your own boss, or do your own thing--but have been afraid to take the leap and screw up your already good life--this book is for you.You will find the meticulously tested, step-by-step process outlined in the book is easy to follow, despite being the result of a decade of research and experience. This process, designed to minimize your risk of failure and losing money up front, coupled with the inspiring stories of everyday people who have used this process to launch successful businesses, will not only give you clarity on what type of business to start, but also the confidence to finally take that leap and get started.
222 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 30, 2019
382 people are currently reading
751 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
August 10, 2020
A lot of blabla and not so much useful
Mr Levesque has some good points in his book but over 75% are about his story and on the 25% remaining only a few points are really interesting while the main point in choosing your target market is completely ignored to be replaced by his own story.
A nice bio but too much of it.
Also it is really trying to sell his methods and memberships.
I learned a few useful things but I will not recommend this book.
Mr Levesque has some good points in his book but over 75% are about his story and on the 25% remaining only a few points are really interesting while the main point in choosing your target market is completely ignored to be replaced by his own story.
A nice bio but too much of it.
Also it is really trying to sell his methods and memberships.
I learned a few useful things but I will not recommend this book.
Read
June 5, 2022Gosh, this is a hard book to review. I almost gave it a 2 or 3 star but in the end felt that a 4 is ok. It took me 11 months to get through this book (I read about 60 books a year so while I'm not crazy like some people I do read often enough that it shouldn't have taken this long). At first I was trying to do the "work" recommended in the book while reading it, so that slowed my progress. But then it just got so dry and if he could say it in 5 words he used 20, so it just dragged on and on for me. Content wise? Fairly solid. Ease of reading? Pretty low...he would summarize his points fairly frequently which helps a ton and is probably the only way I could power through.
If you're an aspiring business owner but don't know WHAT business you should start, this is probably a good book to read (with some other business books that round out how to approach starting a business based on your skills, passions or talents)..in places, this book seems to only encourage you to look for market availability and key indicators for potential business success and not as much your passion/strengths/etc. Both/all are key, IMO so read this and read other things before fully deciding on your business.
If you're an aspiring business owner but don't know WHAT business you should start, this is probably a good book to read (with some other business books that round out how to approach starting a business based on your skills, passions or talents)..in places, this book seems to only encourage you to look for market availability and key indicators for potential business success and not as much your passion/strengths/etc. Both/all are key, IMO so read this and read other things before fully deciding on your business.
March 12, 2024
Read twice
I read through this book from cover to cover to make sure I had a basic understanding. I didn’t want to pause while reading to figure something out when that question might have been later in the book which I’ve encountered before.
I went through the book a second time and what I thought might have been a great idea to make money failed. When I began to narrow it down and not have it as a trend I figured out something. I have a lot more work to do, but at least I have a channel to do it. I have started businesses in the past and they failed and this book would’ve helped me avoid them.
The other area this book was helpful was in my personal life. As an idea failed to be marketable I looked at this in my life. If I was learning to do something to make a video about it to sell and if failed marketability I stopped doing it. This was very helpful because it allowed me to focus my energy. I will find something to do or I will team up with someone to come up with an idea.
I read through this book from cover to cover to make sure I had a basic understanding. I didn’t want to pause while reading to figure something out when that question might have been later in the book which I’ve encountered before.
I went through the book a second time and what I thought might have been a great idea to make money failed. When I began to narrow it down and not have it as a trend I figured out something. I have a lot more work to do, but at least I have a channel to do it. I have started businesses in the past and they failed and this book would’ve helped me avoid them.
The other area this book was helpful was in my personal life. As an idea failed to be marketable I looked at this in my life. If I was learning to do something to make a video about it to sell and if failed marketability I stopped doing it. This was very helpful because it allowed me to focus my energy. I will find something to do or I will team up with someone to come up with an idea.
March 29, 2021
This book is the birds eye view looking down on the situation.
What my 👂 heard ⤵️
if you choose the wrong Market your business is doomed to fail before it even begins
instead of asking what should you build or sell you should be asking who who should you serve
the what is a logical question that will come soon enough but the who is the foundation from which all other things are built
I wish I had more certainty right now
niche down to multiple sub niches
addition by subtraction what you say no to is almost more important than what you say yes to
keep brainstorming sessions to 22 minutes
your brain is managing ideas and then filtering them that is brainstorming
doing work for other people is often a roller coaster ride
selling information and teaching is the best business model
few to no business expenses up front
launch quickly with no operating costs
inject their personality into their content
I felt drawn to the opportunity
an expert could be nothing but a learner teaching to other learners
to the fourth grader of 5th grader is a genius
it's all about achieving scale
what are you willing to walk away from to reach your destiny.
the whole thing is a lesson in bad quality
what is one thing you could teach someone if you only had 10 minutes to prepare?
what kind of business ideas can you set up around your market?
what is at the core of what you offer?
I want to help people...?
I just want to better serve and better sell
addition by subtraction my favorite kind of math
pioneers get shot settlers get rich
a problem that has a high pain point attached to it 1,000 problem
$10,000 problem.
its a drag but its a common drag
there is no better bet than betting on you
similarly ambitious and driven
ayx gives data validation
ramen noodle season of my Life
people don't know what they want until you show it to him but they do know what they don't want
heighten the emotion in your narrative
we are a company that has real soul
corporate speak
sign off for email heavily caffeinated
with limited funds in even more limited connections
I'm trying to explain this in a way to shed light on the problem but also not forcing you to look directly into the sun
if you were a fruit what would you be?
what's one time in your life where you were underrated?
What my 👂 heard ⤵️
if you choose the wrong Market your business is doomed to fail before it even begins
instead of asking what should you build or sell you should be asking who who should you serve
the what is a logical question that will come soon enough but the who is the foundation from which all other things are built
I wish I had more certainty right now
niche down to multiple sub niches
addition by subtraction what you say no to is almost more important than what you say yes to
keep brainstorming sessions to 22 minutes
your brain is managing ideas and then filtering them that is brainstorming
doing work for other people is often a roller coaster ride
selling information and teaching is the best business model
few to no business expenses up front
launch quickly with no operating costs
inject their personality into their content
I felt drawn to the opportunity
an expert could be nothing but a learner teaching to other learners
to the fourth grader of 5th grader is a genius
it's all about achieving scale
what are you willing to walk away from to reach your destiny.
the whole thing is a lesson in bad quality
what is one thing you could teach someone if you only had 10 minutes to prepare?
what kind of business ideas can you set up around your market?
what is at the core of what you offer?
I want to help people...?
I just want to better serve and better sell
addition by subtraction my favorite kind of math
pioneers get shot settlers get rich
a problem that has a high pain point attached to it 1,000 problem
$10,000 problem.
its a drag but its a common drag
there is no better bet than betting on you
similarly ambitious and driven
ayx gives data validation
ramen noodle season of my Life
people don't know what they want until you show it to him but they do know what they don't want
heighten the emotion in your narrative
we are a company that has real soul
corporate speak
sign off for email heavily caffeinated
with limited funds in even more limited connections
I'm trying to explain this in a way to shed light on the problem but also not forcing you to look directly into the sun
if you were a fruit what would you be?
what's one time in your life where you were underrated?
April 19, 2021
This book is for someone who wants to know how to start a business from the grassroots levels and hasn’t gone to business schools. It is not to say someone with a business degree might not enjoy it. But then, it gives these short cut ways to get to business models or market competition which is much easier than the elaborate business models you learn at B school.
It is actually a very interesting book and keeps one hooked to it. However if you want to make the best use of the book put whatever the author advises to practice immediately - be it a brainstorm or finding your market sweet spot follow the rules and do it to get the best out of this book.
The one part I didn’t enjoy much was how much the author focused on educational services. It was as if he told the only way to do business is to do it in education as offer it as a service.
But overall it is an enjoyable book for anyone who wants to have a birds eye view of how to start a business.
It is actually a very interesting book and keeps one hooked to it. However if you want to make the best use of the book put whatever the author advises to practice immediately - be it a brainstorm or finding your market sweet spot follow the rules and do it to get the best out of this book.
The one part I didn’t enjoy much was how much the author focused on educational services. It was as if he told the only way to do business is to do it in education as offer it as a service.
But overall it is an enjoyable book for anyone who wants to have a birds eye view of how to start a business.
April 23, 2024
Choose by Ryan Levesque
A prequel to his Ask method book, and is in my opinion a superior product for every aspiring entrepreneur.
The market vetting process is incredibly detailed and thorough with a lot of information and examples.
The book’s release date was in 2019, and I can’t help but wonder how this process is going to stay relevant in a world that’s tipping its toes into the infinite possibilities of AI-powered entrepreneurship, but I strongly believe that even if some service managed to wrap it up in an automated done-for-you algorithm, a solid understanding of how the system works in the background is of immeasurable value. And as a matter of fact, I do know that a lot of internet entrepreneurs are currently using Ryan’s methodology to tap into large sums of online profits and that this framework has created countless millionaires. If you want to be an internet business entrepreneur, reading this book is an uncontested must.
Five Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A prequel to his Ask method book, and is in my opinion a superior product for every aspiring entrepreneur.
The market vetting process is incredibly detailed and thorough with a lot of information and examples.
The book’s release date was in 2019, and I can’t help but wonder how this process is going to stay relevant in a world that’s tipping its toes into the infinite possibilities of AI-powered entrepreneurship, but I strongly believe that even if some service managed to wrap it up in an automated done-for-you algorithm, a solid understanding of how the system works in the background is of immeasurable value. And as a matter of fact, I do know that a lot of internet entrepreneurs are currently using Ryan’s methodology to tap into large sums of online profits and that this framework has created countless millionaires. If you want to be an internet business entrepreneur, reading this book is an uncontested must.
Five Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
October 21, 2019
This book came at a perfect time for me. I've been looking at various opportunities to start my own business, my own firm, business with friends, etc. As it happens, Choose focuses on entrepreneurial opportunities related to selling "expertise and education." If you are looking to choose other types of entrepreneurial endeavors, this book may not be as valuable. However, this is the area for a couple of business ideas that I just started pursuing. Levesque has some good, pragmatic ideas for finding a target market, testing the ideas/market, and preparing to start the business. I found this very educational & what I needed right now. And....of course, it sells his next book, Ask. I can't fault him that! I'll want to read that, too! This book provided valuable information for me.
July 11, 2023
This book is for someone who doesn’t know what market/niche to jump into to sell a product or service online. Buy this and avoid the costly mistakes that most entrepreneurs make. Choosing what to sell is one of the most, if not the most, important decisions any entrepreneur makes. Half of the job is done correctly if you get this part right.
Some criteria laid out in the book is outdated but the updated one is available online. I would suggest looking them up on the website online , which I haven’t yet, but hope it will be very use useful and effective.
Some criteria laid out in the book is outdated but the updated one is available online. I would suggest looking them up on the website online , which I haven’t yet, but hope it will be very use useful and effective.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 13, 2020
After having bought 3 and started 2 businesses, Ryan's formula is the best I've come across. It would have saved me a lot of time and money in previous ventures and is going to save me a ton of time and money on my next ventures.
The only critique is that the book could have been at least half as long and still gotten 95% of the message across. Probably even 70% shorter so skim through the important sections and don't read it word-for-word.
The only critique is that the book could have been at least half as long and still gotten 95% of the message across. Probably even 70% shorter so skim through the important sections and don't read it word-for-word.
June 27, 2019
This really gives some keen insight into how you can select a business that perhaps you didn’t realize you had authority in or a completely new business altogether.
It does focus on educational businesses because those are some of the easiest but you could apply this technique to other business types as well.
It does focus on educational businesses because those are some of the easiest but you could apply this technique to other business types as well.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 11, 2019
Nice framework for selecting a business idea and market to focus on. Some of the methods seemed rather simplistic, but perhaps that's the genius in them? I was a bit disappointed that the book was so focused on Info products. Conventional wisdom is that is a great place to start, but I was looking for info on SaaS products.
December 6, 2022
Practical and Tactical
The ability to analyze a market is a critical skill for the entrepreneur. Levesque shows you a proven method to assess and evaluate what market to choose for your online business - focusing on training, education and information. A good starter book for narrowing your choices and systematically assessing your options.
The ability to analyze a market is a critical skill for the entrepreneur. Levesque shows you a proven method to assess and evaluate what market to choose for your online business - focusing on training, education and information. A good starter book for narrowing your choices and systematically assessing your options.
May 4, 2019
Choose is essential to business success and the key to implementing Ryan's ASK method. I had the pleasure of interviewing Ryan for the 5 Minute Success podcast where he shared Secrets of Choosing the Right Market Revealed. Karen Briscoe, author and podcast host 5 Minute Success
April 20, 2022
A book helps you to choose the best niche before start your business ideas. The technique is a bit similar with what I have know about SEO but its also nice to gain more knowledge about business and life experiences from Ryan
May 10, 2019
Very tactical
June 30, 2019
Great system to narrow down your target market.
November 2, 2019
great book. Love the concepts. Very implementable... especially if you want to start an online business.
February 17, 2020
I had a few take aways from this book. But the irritating part is that, the author keeps using his own expertises as examples repeatedly.
February 28, 2020
Some new idea
I got some new ideas from this book , but they could be summarized in an article , so it is slightly boring
I got some new ideas from this book , but they could be summarized in an article , so it is slightly boring
March 6, 2020
Pretty insightful especially the SEO research tactics used.
March 26, 2020
Amazing book filled with tactical advice, this is surely a book that you will not read fast as you should definitely do everything in order.
It's a great book, will most definitely read ASK
It's a great book, will most definitely read ASK
April 25, 2020
Excellent book written especially for those who are entrepreneurial at heart. A game changer with a perspective by someone who has tasted success many times over.
May 9, 2020
Basically: create your business in "teaching". The authors seems to have an amazing experience of entrepreneurship but I don't want to :)
November 16, 2020
Disappointing for some one already running a business.. Lots of bla bla and then some good key points
July 27, 2021
So… you’re telling me… that the “single most important decision before starting your business”… is using Google Trends?
Waste of time.
Waste of time.
August 11, 2022
A few good takeaways, but nothing overly new here. If nothing else, read it because you're interested in continually learning.
October 13, 2022
Good advice
I read the book Ask and felt Choose was a good read to help me know if I am moving in the right direction
I read the book Ask and felt Choose was a good read to help me know if I am moving in the right direction
November 21, 2022
Lựa chọn quan trọng hơn cố gắng 💙
Cảm ơn Thắng😊
Bạn nào thích quyển này mình tặng nhé😊
Cảm ơn Thắng😊
Bạn nào thích quyển này mình tặng nhé😊
December 23, 2022
Don’t you love when a book has an appropriate rating!!?
April 3, 2024
Great if you're going into the information product market.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews