Whether you’re buying a business opportunity, exploring franchises for sale or even starting a business of your own from the ground up, it’s got to be about more than simply making money if you want to succeed. Sure, the mere idea that you can make it rich and take control of your own financial future is alluring—and it even may be what keeps you going when the going gets tough—but making it in business today requires serious commitment, both personally and financially, perhaps more than ever before.
That’s why it’s important to know what you’re getting into ahead of time, to really think things through and go in with your “eyes wide open.” And that’s why this month’s recommended read is such a must!
Written by successful serial entrepreneur and respected small-business media expert Susan Wilson Solovic, with business editor and writer Ellen R. Kadin, It’s Your Biz: The Complete Guide to Becoming Your Own Boss offers a great overview of the mechanics of starting and owning a business. But it’s more than that. It also does a great job of guiding prospective entrepreneurs through the all-important and necessary first task of self-assessment to see if they are ready for such a drastic lifestyle change.
For many people today, the author says, this new requisite level of self-determination and inquiry is borne of necessity. “Millions of Americans,” Solovic writes, “are facing the stark reality that they need to rely on themselves—and their own resources—in order to provide for their economic well-being.” As a result, “we are entering a new era in which the majority of Americans will either own a small business or work for one.”
As for business ownership in particular, we all know that entrepreneurship isn’t necessarily for everyone and simply having a passion for something just isn’t enough. Most of us, regardless of how well we have done in the business world, according to Solovic, “are unequipped to start and build a successful business.” This, she writes, is precisely why so many small businesses fail. “Moving from the security of being a W-2 employee to the topsy-turvy world of being your own boss is a significant life change and huge challenge.”
Thankfully, it may very well be one that many of us can master, especially if we start by reading It’s Your Biz and using it as a guide.
While the book’s goal is not to dissuade anyone from becoming a small business owner, it is all about the need to be realistic— starting with some of the key factors that can make or break any individual’s dream of small-business ownership, including financial realities, motivation and innate characteristics. It also covers the basics where logistics are concerned, encouraging readers to examine everything from whether or not they intend to start their business full- or part-time, buy into an already existing business model, such as a business opportunity or franchise, or start from scratch.
Next up? Solovic asks readers to concentrate on “defining, refining and evaluating” any business idea to increase the likelihood of long-term success and guides readers in how to go about it. She then tackles everything from the how-to basics, planning and strategy to legal issues, marketing and even product pricing. It’s Your Biz then concludes with some insightful and inspiring “words of wisdom from the trenches,” as well as an appendix of small-business resources that any reader will find helpful.
Taken as a whole, this book is the startup guide that no aspiring home-based or other small business, business opportunity or franchise entrepreneur can afford to live without this year and heading into the next decade.
It’s Your Biz: The Complete Guide to Becoming Your Own Boss can be found at your local library, or you can pick up a copy today by visiting your local bookstore or clicking here on either of these online retailers—Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.com—now!
Tell us what you think! Was this recommended resource helpful to you? What other books do you recommend for insight on small-business startup and ownership? We’d love to hear from you…