Customer Reviews

Common Sense Business: Starting, Operating, and Growing Your Small Business--In Any Economy!

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I have read a great many business books and this was by far one of the best. As an entrepreneur from the time he got out of college, Steve Gottry has a great deal of experience to draw from. As someone who built a phenomenally successful business only to lose it all and start over, he has something to offer to readers at all stages of the entreprenurial cycle. Perhaps most important, however, is that he comes across as a person of a great integrity. When his business went bust, he could have declared bankruptcy and had his debts wiped clean, but he didn't. Instead he made payment arrangements with his creditors, and in some cases, he worked off his debt. He is brutally honest about his own mistakes (in the hopes that others may learn from them). He also makes a point of emphasizing giving back to the community.

While many business books deal in lofty ideas, "Common Sense Business" lives up to its name - it provides real world suggestions on how to run and improve your small business.

This work is an important acquisition for any small business
aspirant or entrepreneur. The author asks that we locate
a need and fill it. He recommends that we network with peers
to get support and advice. Small business growth will require
control of overhead spending, efficiency and timely cost savings.
Sometimes downsizing is necessary, as is hiring in upturns
or business spurts.

The section on capitalization recommends that we move capital
quickly while utilizing it slowly. The author encourages
us to save as much as possible and pay off debts slowly.
The volume encourages us to seek successful implementation
by utilizing both internal and external resources.

A strength of this book is that it will focus your attention
on seeking business opportunities which are vital to
consumers. The smart business owner seeks to determine what
people want and how to deliver products and services consistent
with the demonstrated needs.

This book will help with the planning, testing and initial
implementation of any new business idea. For this reason alone,
the purchase will be worth the price charged.

This is a terrific book for anyone who has ever considered or dreamed of going into business for himself (or herself). Frankly, that is about everyone. I suspect that you have thought about getting out of the 9-5 rat race or getting out of the cubicle farm, but have probably not made the leap into the unknown because too much is unknown and we have responsibilities that limit the risks we can afford to take. This book is much like sitting around with an experienced and friendly uncle who takes you step by step through the things you absolutely must think through before you can seriously consider walking into the jungle of business with the hope of walking out rich.

Steve Gottry bases this book on his own entrepreneurial efforts; some successful, others ended in bitter failure. He not only shares the lessons he learned, but extends them into more general lessons about the broad considerations anyone in business must wrestle with. He groups the twenty-three chapters in three broad parts.

Part One is in two parts: The Small Business Life Cycle, and The Alternate Route. The first part is for the person who has any kind of desire to be in business, but doesn't know what he would face. It starts with the dreaming stage and helps you get to something more solid. Of course, most of the dreams we have would make lousy businesses, but if you pan enough in the stream of ideas you might find a nugget of real gold. Such is one path to business. He then takes you through the planning and implementation stages. Once you are in business you hope you will have to deal with growth. You will also likely have to adapt and evolve your business, and at some point you will sell it, close it, or pass it on to heirs.

The Alternate Route takes you through what you must consider if things go badly and you have to deal with creditors and possibly bankruptcy. He also guides you through your second start-up. Realistically, if you have what it takes to be on your own, you will never be happy working for someone else for the long term. You might have to get a paycheck to get back on your feet, but you will eventually head out on your own once again.

Part Two takes you through the process of building on your assets. This is not as obvious as it might seem because it really is more than just your genius product or service. In order to build a loyal customer base, to fight off competitors, to have a great employee team, and to be happy with your life, you really do need to think through these issues.

Part Three takes you through those negatives in yourself and your company that can drag you down. They include being distracted by being busy with non-core activities, a poisonous employee or culture, being sloppy, too much debt, getting on the wrong side of Uncle Sam, and letting your fears keep you from doing what must be done. It is a painful look in the mirror, but to be successful look you must!

One feature of this book I particularly like is the "Thinking It Through" section at the end of each chapter. He lists the core questions the chapter raised and leaves spaces for you to write out your answers. Actually, the answers will be too detailed to fit in the few lines he leaves you, but they are there to suggest - demand - that you take the time to not move forward until you have written out the answers to these questions. Not that you will get them set down once and for all, but that you start the process of thinking in a serious way. Writing it down forces you to organize your thoughts and helps you judge them critically. So write.

This is not a textbook and many of the issues he raises here will start you on your process. You will need to study some of them more deeply or get professional guidance to supplement your own skills. It reads easily and that is great, but make sure you take the time to seriously answer the questions he poses. Even if you are already in business, you will likely pick up a helpful point or three.

Handy book.

This book was recommended to me to help jump-start my business. It's easy reading, although it seemed I was reading about bankruptcy awfully soon. the author takes you through his career so quickly, there is surely a section or two most people would like to learn more about, but it moves quickly through all the phases the author went through. As for me personally, I couldn't relate to the size or atomsphere of the author's business. Our careers are so different. There were some good basic guidlines I highlighted & may go back to if I feel the need. It seemed more of a mind-set type of book for the self-employed. The author's a little into himself too much!

Very informative and down to the real things you need to do in running or working in a business. I bought the book in anticipation of leaving the corporate world after 30 years and setting up my own business. The book gave me some good pointers I am using in that adventure. It also verified many things I did while in the corpoate business world with employees,planning and every day situations. Just an overall very enjoyable book to read with a lot of good information.

As the owner of a few small businesses, I am continually on the lookout for other people's wisdom. With Steve Gottry's book on small businesses, I get a great deal of wisdom, since he has had more than one small business. He's also had the delightful experience of having a business fail and had the good fortune to learn from the experience.

Small business is rarely separate from our personal lives and values. Lessons that we need to learn can be masked in a large corporation, but are front and center in a small business. Gottry tackles these issues head-on with the voice of experience. He is honest about his own foibles and encourages us to be honest about ours. He knows that only by realistically examining who we are in the face of business can we make a long-term success.

Few people understand the stages of business, or even think about them when they hang up their business license. When I coach start-up businesses, it is a useful exercise to get the owners to take a good look at their business stage. Steve Gottry provides an excellent overview of each of these stages. The questions at the end of each chapter help the business owner focus and determine the stage of his or her business. Knowing where you are helps you figure out where you need to go.

This is an excellent book worthy of the read.

If you're thinking of starting a small business, run-don't walk-to buy this book. If you own a small business, whether or not your business is thriving right now, Steve Gottry's book can help you. He outlines with frankness and humor how and why a business he owned failed. He also describes how and why his current business is doing well. At the end of each chapter, he includes a worksheet, "Thinking it Through", to help you apply the lessons of that chapter to your own situation. The author sprinkles his own personal and spiritual (not religious) philosophies throughout which bring the book to life and make it hard to set aside. I love this book and recommend it to you. Amanya Jacobs, author of Getting in HARMONY

The majority of small businesses fail. They fail for many reasons, but if you look below the superficial incidents, you find a common reason, the owner. ==Mr. Gottry started his first business with the traditiona used typewriter and a hundred dollars. He built it up into a nice sized company, only to see it eventually fail and for the standard reason - the owner believed more in the dream than in the nature of actually running a business.

Like most entrepreneurs he took a close look as what happened and started over determined not to make these same mistakes. He also did a better analysis of what went wrong tham most.

His analysis of the failure of his own company has been digested into this book. It's one of the better that talk about not trying to fix a giant corporation, but what an individual can do in his own small business.

A great fast read if you are thinking of going into business this is an inspirational must read....great style, good advice from someone who has seen the ups and downs and an honest look at what it takes.....Fantastic!!!!

I found the book to be very honest and thought-provoking. Steve provides alot of concrete ideas and shares his wisdom to help us re-think and re-invent our small businesses. Every small business owner needs to read this book!