Conquer the Chaos: How to Grow a Successful Small Business Without Going Crazy [Hardcover]

Clate Mask (Author), Scott Martineau (Author), Michael E. Gerber (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 8, 2010

Create the business you want without sacrificing the lifestyle you deserve

The majority of new entrepreneurs (and even those with a little more experience) are finding themselves trapped, controlled, and consumed by their own businesses. They are struggling just to keep their businesses running, let alone actually growing their companies and experiencing the success they anticipated.

Conquer the Chaos speaks to you as a small business owner by making sense of the overwhelming demands on your business and providing a twenty-first century recipe for success with sanity. With engaging stories, quotes, and examples, Conquer the Chaos leads you through the six strategies you can incorporate to bring order to your business today. Find the money, time, and freedom in entrepreneurship that inspired you in the first place

• Successfully juggle customers, prospects, management of employees, marketing, sales, accounting, and more
• Get from just surviving to growing your company and experiencing success

Conquer the Chaos gives you the no-nonsense, ready-to-go guide that gets your business exactly where you want it to be.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

You started your business for the freedom and adventure of being your own boss, but now you feel buried by your business. So many entrepreneurs experience this, and some have given up the hope of ever finding the money, time, and control they thought business ownership would bring them. But take heart! You can meet the challenges, reclaim your life, and grow your business at the same time. Conquer the Chaos shows you how.

A one-stop turnaround plan, Conquer the Chaos lays out a complete path to make your business run smoothly and provide you with the freedom you desire. This realistic, in-the-trenches guide offers six strategies that, when combined, give you a step-by-step approach for reaching entrepreneurial success.

Described with stories and examples anyone running a small business today will recognize, the strategies offered by Conquer the Chaos allow you to:

• Balance work, family, and emotional and physical health
• Grow your business without beingconsumed by it
• Cultivate a realistic and disciplined optimism
• Finally get organized so yourbusiness can grow
• Fix the follow-up breakdowns thathamper your business growth
• Liberate yourself from busywork through automation

Chaos is an inherent part of running a small business. How you decide to deal with that chaos—whether to accept it, fight it, or conquer it—is up to you. By business owners, for business owners, Conquer the Chaos enables you to reevaluate your approach, revitalize your operations, and realize the freedom and success your hard work deserves.

From the Back Cover

Praise for Conquer the Chaos

"Conquer the Chaos is a great book, I love it. This book is like an entrepreneur's compass, it is an instrument of order. After running my own business for close to fifty years, I recognize genius when I see it. If you are an entrepreneur, Conquer the Chaos will be worth millions to you and your business."
—Bob Proctor, contributor, The Secret

"As a small business owner, you can't conquer the chaos until you embrace it—this book will show you how to do both."
—John Jantsch, author of Duct Tape Marketing and The Referral Engine

"This powerful, practical, fast-moving book shows you how to take complete control of your business and your life, making more money, more consistently, and enjoying more of the things that money can't buy."
—Brian Tracy, author of The Way to Wealth

"Clate Mask and Scott Martineau have authored a positively brilliant book that can change the face of business, contribute to the world's economic health, and beautify your own economic health at the same time. By telling the whole truth about being an entrepreneur and revealing the intricacies of thriving and prospering through its inevitable chaos, the authors shine a radiant light on the reprioritized goals of a new millennium. They tell their story with warmth while providing wisdom for the ages."
—Jay Conrad Levinson, the Father of Guerrilla Marketing, author of the Guerrilla Marketing book series

"Any business owner who plans to stay in business must read this book now. Not doing so will mean the difference between whether or not you thrive or barely survive in today's new and competitive landscape. Read it, study it, and apply its wisdom."
—John Assaraf, New York Times bestselling author of The Answer and Having It All, featured in the blockbuster movie and book The Secret; CEO, OneCoach

"Conquer the Chaos will fast become the go-to guide, the holy grail of entrepreneurial success—more money, more time, more control, and more purpose. Highly recommended."
—Michael Port, New York Times bestselling author of Book Yourself Solid

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (June 8, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470599324
• ISBN-13: 978-0470599327
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #290,418 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not so subtle promotion with a scattering of good advice, July 16, 2010

By 

John Chancellor "Mentor coach" (Spring Hill, TN) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Conquer the Chaos: How to Grow a Successful Small Business Without Going Crazy (Hardcover)

I truly had high hopes when I started reading this book. The authors certainly have first hand experience when it comes to starting and growing a business. They understand what an entrepreneur goes through to build a business and therefore are in an excellent position to share some tips on what to do and what to avoid as you try to build your business.

However the further I got in the book the more obvious it became that there was a dual purpose to the book. The secondary purpose is to promote their own product - Infusionsoft - a software product designed as a CRM on steroids. Their product combines the customer relationship management, the auto responder and the shopping cart functions all in one application.

For certain types of businesses, this software has really proven to be a gold mine. If you are not familiar with the auto-responder and the advantages of sequential automatic contact with your prospects, then this book give outstanding information on the benefits. There is a really outstanding section on automating your sequential contact process. Please understand they talk about the process, the software you use. What is missing is any specifics on the content you should be sending and how to create it.

The first section of the book describes the typical entrepreneur, trying to wear too many different hats, trying to do everything. Here the authors do a very good job of describing the chaos typically found in most small businesses.

In the second section, they deal with the mindset strategies: Emotional capital, disciplined optimism and entrepreneurial independence. This section was a bit too general and failed to really get into the concrete methods to change ones mindset. I truly believe that the proper mindset is the foundation for the success of any business. But I did not feel that they offered anything really new or outstanding in this section.

In section three, the authors deal with system strategies: Centralize, follow-up and automate. The chapter on follow-up was exceptionally good. It is the core selling point of their business, so they have that point nailed.

In section four, they offer some good advice on once you clear the chaos, don't allow yourself to fall back into the same rut.

There are some good points in the book. I certainly would recommend that people who are selling products that involve a multi-step selling process understand and implement the concepts in this book. Getting away from the transaction model to the relationship model can make all the difference in the world.

The value of this book will depend on where you are in the process of growing your business and the type of business you are engaged in. If you are in the early stages of your business, there are some very good insights that will help you along the way. For those who have moved successfully through the early stages, you will not find as much value.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Four Hour Workweek meets E-Myth, June 7, 2010

By 

Matthew S. Peterson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Conquer the Chaos: How to Grow a Successful Small Business Without Going Crazy (Hardcover)

This is amazing example of trusting those who have "been there, done that." Mask and Martineau have obviously been through the struggles of starting a small business, and they hold nothing back in explaining the pain associated with listening to the entrepreneurial voice inside your head. They connected with me in a way few authors have. While other books have included great suggestions and helpful advice, I can tell that these guys really know what small business owners are really feeling.

Having struggled with my own small business, these insights hit home -- I only wish I had them a few years ago.

I found the strategies outlined in this book to be relevant and doable -- not just an ideal that might be attainable "someday." It is indeed a good mix of the "freedom" principles found in the 4 Hour Workweek and the business strategies found in EMyth. But it goes beyond that...it captures the real concerns most of us face when trying to run a small business. If you are looking for an honest assessment of the hardships (chaos) associated with owning a small business and the tools necessary to conquer them, this is the book for you.

Easy read. Great stories. Great insight.

Loved it.

*Disclosure - I received an advanced copy of this book for editing purposes. I am not getting paid to write this review, and all opinions are my own. I have never written a review on any of the previous books I have edited...but I sincerely felt that this one deserved the praise.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow! This Book Will Change Your Life., June 9, 2010

By 

J. Garton - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Conquer the Chaos: How to Grow a Successful Small Business Without Going Crazy (Hardcover)

Most business books are single focused on profit and growth. This book takes a realistic, and balanced approach that helps you achieve success in every area of your life, such as: family, health, and emotional well-being. Pulling from their years of experience helping business owners, the authors know how to deliver the right prescription for total success.

What makes this book great is how the authors are able to package facts, scenarios, and strategies that are eye opening and motivational. You will attack chaos head on and have an organized, pleasurable, life again.

This book will be a epiphany, that will make you evaluate your business, and your life in general. You will have a new definition of what success is all about, and a plan that will help you reach that success.

The authors are also able to show you simple techniques to automate their strategies, and help you avoid falling back in the pitfalls of chaos which choke the life out of you, and your business.

If you have a long established business, just started a business, or thinking about going into business, this book is a must have road map you can't do without.

James Garton
Author of 25 Ways to Make Money Online