The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants [Hardcover]

Tom Gegax (Author), Phil Bolsta (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 6, 2007

Your shoes are charred from stomping out brush fires. You have nightmares about UFOs—Unreachable Financial Objectives. All-star interviewees turn into duds. Meetings cause more problems than they solve. The office is a ghost town at 5:01 p.m. Does this sound familiar?

Tom Gegax knows what that is like. Years after running his Tires Plus franchise by the seat of his pants, blissfully unaware of how little he knew about getting the most out of people and managing a world-class organization, Tom was faced with a cancer diagnosis and a business at the brink of disaster. Resolved to change things around, he improved his mental clarity, health, and relationships and noticed that the more he profited on a personal level, the more his company profited. Tires Plus grew into a $200 million business with 150 upscale locations. He had learned the first lesson in Enlightened Leadership 101: Focus on the well-being of your employees and customers—as well as your own—and success will follow naturally.

In The Big Book of Small Business, Tom shares his hard-earned lessons on how to become an enlightened, effective leader, and on how to do the small things right so the big decisions work. This all-in-one toolbox for small businesses is jammed with warm-hearted, tough-minded practices and street-smart tips, covering every aspect of a growing business:

• Starting, funding, and getting your new business off the ground
• Crafting a mission and growing a corporate culture that works
• Hiring the best people and maximizing their potential
• Communicating and negotiating with your employees, customers, and suppliers
• Creating processes for continuous innovation and growth
• Protecting your business from unforeseen dangers
• Planning for growth
• And much more . . .

As thorough as a textbook and as lively as a news magazine, The Big Book of Small Business is the most comprehensive and practical book on how to take a small business to the next level, and an indispensable slingshot for the millions of scrappy Davids taking on corporate Goliaths.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Loaded with insights and strategies…dealing with real-world situations and solutions that most small firms face. (Miami Herald )

“All the good stuff and none of the fluff” (Richard Schulze, founder and chairman, Best Buy )

A wealth of information to be read and digested, then kept within arm’s reach for further reference down the road. (Business Lexington )

About the Author

Bestselling author Tom Gegax has been an executive at one of the world’s largest corporations; a start-up entrepreneur; a CEO leading 1,600 employees; a business consultant; and a member of numerous boards. By the time Tom sold Tires Plus to a multinational firm in 2000, it had mushroomed from a sketch on a restaurant napkin to a Midwest market leader with 150 locations. Today, he helps growing companies raise profits and reduce stress through fast and affordable business management coaching.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: HarperBusiness; 1st Collins Ed edition (February 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061206695
• ISBN-13: 978-0061206696
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #78,227 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Best-selling author Tom Gegax served as Chairman and CEO (head coach) of Tires Plus Stores for twenty-four years. By the time Tom sold the company he founded to Bridgestone/Firestone in July 2000, it had mushroomed from a napkin sketch into a market leader with 150 upscale stores in ten states and $200 million in revenue. The company was so tightly managed that Tom bypassed outside investors to retain ownership control.

Pioneering the tough-minded, warm-hearted "coaching" style of management, Tires Plus under Tom had a healthy corporate culture that was legendary in Midwest business circles for its focus on the well-being of its employees and customers (or teammates and guests). The unique pairing of hard-nosed efficiency and a caring environment was a core ingredient in the company's secret sauce.

Tom's management methods have been featured in national newspapers and magazines and on television--The New York Times, Fast Company, ABC, FOX, CNN, CNBC, PBS. He has been named a Midwest Entrepreneur of the Year by Inc. magazine and Ernst & Young, and was the youngest inductee into the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame.

Tom has served on numerous corporate boards, including Pacific Booker Minerals, Great Clips Haircutters, ABRA Autobody, APU Solutions, Deepak Chopra Enterprises, and Engineering America, Inc. Tom has also served on many nonprofit boards, including Center for Science in the Public Interest, Waterkeeper Alliance, World Business Academy, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, and the Center for Ethical Business Cultures.

Some of Tom's speaking and consulting clients include Farmer's Insurance, Detroit Chamber of Commerce, Al Gore Enterprises, International Franchise Association, National Association of Women Business Owners, Deepak Chopra International, Domino's Pizza, PriceWaterhouse Coopers, Sandler Sales System, The Star Tribune, and Michelin.

Tom's Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business By The Seat Of Your Pants is endorsed by America's leading business minds, including Ken Blanchard (The One-Minute Manager), Harvey Mackay (Swim with the Sharks) and Richard Schulze, Founder and Chairman of Best Buy.

Tom founded Gegax Advisors in 2000, with offices in Minneapolis and San Diego, to share his Big Book Business Management System with growing companies.


More info at www.gegax.com, call 612-920-5114, or [e-mail]
Follow Tom on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/tomgegax
Connect with Tom on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/tom-gegax/a/295/1a6

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent wisdom and inspiration for the entrepreneur, March 30, 2008

By 

CryptKicker (12'under) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants (Hardcover)

As a new small business owner, I've devoured several books written on the topic of starting a business. Most have a few good kernels of knowledge in them somewhere, but none are as consistently helpful as this book.

The author, Tom Gegax, has a great deal of personal experience starting and growing companies, most of which seem to be in the tire industry. If you're business is not merchandise-based, but service-based, this book is still very pertinent. Topics like vision and values are discussed, as well as some interesting marketing ideas. Adapting the information into a business plan for a Web company was easy and enjoyable.

Be prepared for Mr. Gegax's very zealous approach to business. It borders on fanatical at times. If you shy away from corporate structures due to their "you must believe" mindset, you'll flinch a few times while reading, but it's still excellent counsel.

From a tactile standpoint, this book is great. The binding is well constructed, and the print is slightly large and easy to read.

I cannot recommend this book enough if you're starting your own business. Double that recommendation if you own your own business and need a shot of inspiration.

I also recommend Joe Kennedy's Small Business Owner's Manual available on Amazon.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MUST READ, March 19, 2007

By 

Paul A. Streitz "President and CEO of Advance... (MPLS, MN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants (Hardcover)

Have you ever been stuck on an important issue and did not know where to turn?, did you ever wonder what would an expert do in this situation?, from employee reviews, Strategic Planning, Building your Brand, creating a atmosphere that is positive and fun for everyone to be in, Tom's book is your reference. This is the book (business bible) I keep closest to me while sitting at my desk. When a little question comes up in my mind what would Tom do? I simply turn you my Business Bible and read the simple outline Tom has created for me and that's it. In minutes I have an answer. "The Big Book of Small Business" is a must read for all management. I purchased this book for all my team members and we have 30 minute meetings each week and go over a chapter it not only keeps all of us thinking as a team but opens us up to better communication and role playing. Tom I thank you so much for writing this and sharing your experience with us it has made a big difference in the Success at ALSI.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Maynard Howe, PhD, Chief Executive Officer, March 16, 2007

By 

Maynard Howe, PhD (Solana Beach, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants (Hardcover)

The principles set forth in Tom Gegax's book, The Big Book of Small Business, are sound and if applied to your business will have a significant impact on your bottom line - I know, because I have used them. Where most books on business are heavy on theory, this book provides practical solutions based on real-life experiences - solutions that can be applied to any business - solutions that will result in an immediate payoff. This book is for every leader interested in improving their personal performance and that of their company. It truly is a decision maker's guide to best practices.