Drive a Modest Car & 16 Other Keys to Small Business Success [Paperback]

Ralph E. Warner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2002

Nearly 50 percent of new businesses fail in the first year, and 80 percent fail in the first five. So what does it take to run a continually successful enterprise over the long run-- and be continually happy while you're at it?

Nobody can answer that question better than Ralph Warner, who co-founded Nolo in 1971. With Drive a Modest Car, you'll discover the business philosophy that Warner has learned through three decades at the helm of a small business -- much of it contrary to the conventional wisdom of today's business gurus.

Drive a Modest Car breaks it all down with 17 ideas, including:

*don't work long hours

*choose a business you care about

*embrace your best competitors

*get and keep a competitive edge

*innovate now and forever

*market your business creatively

*target your customers

*react quickly to bad news

Drive a Modest Car is the perfect read for anyone who's interested in starting a new ventureand for those who could use an infusion of practical advice to get back on track with an existing business.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ralph Warner is a co-founder and e-publisher of Nolo.com and one of the pioneers of the self-help law movement. A graduate of Princeton University and the Boalt School of Law (U.C. Berkeley), he is the author of many books and articles aimed at making our legal system more accessible and democratic.

Product Details

• Paperback: 350 pages
• Publisher: Nolo.com; First Edition edition (May 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0873378008
• ISBN-13: 978-0873378000
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,508,065 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Ralph "Jake" Warner, is the Chairman of the Board at Nolo. Widely recognized as a pioneer of the do-it-yourself law movement, Warner founded Nolo with Ed Sherman in 1971. He began publishing do-it-yourself law books written by him and his colleagues after numerous publishers rejected them. When personal computers came along, he added software to many Nolo books. When the Internet arrived, he pioneered online marketing of books.

In addition to running the company for much of the past three decades, Warner was an active editor and author. He wrote many books, including Retire Happy: What You Can Do Now to Guarantee a Great Retirement and Save Your Small Business: 10 Crucial Strategies to Survive Hard Times or Close Down & Move On. Today, he serves as chief executive officer as well as chairman of Nolo's board of directors. During a three-year break earlier this decade, Warner embarked on a new business venture: TallTales Audio, an audio book production company devoted to children's storytelling, online and on CD.

Warner holds a law degree from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California at Berkeley and an undergraduate degree from Princeton.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really wonderful, September 28, 2002

By 

Gerard (Romeo, MI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Drive a Modest Car & 16 Other Keys to Small Business Success (Paperback)

I've been self-employed as a IT consultant for about 18 months. This isn't the first business book I've read, nor the one most focused on what I do, and it won't be the one that has the most impact on how I run my business (more industry-specific books did that).

What it DID do was give me a good morale boost. The writer owns the publishing company that makes the book, a successful legal self-help publisher in business 30 years. It reassured me that a lot of the things that seemed like the right thing to do (driving a modest car among them; no more Corvette for me since I went out on my own) were, in fact, sound ideas. It does make sense to focus as much as you can on service because it's the most profitable; this reassured me that my decision only to specify but not to sell hardware and software (let somebody else have the 2% mark-up and spare me collecting tax) was probably the right one.

It also confirmed for me that it's perfectly normal and reasonable for businesses to ramp up slowly at first, and I am indeed building good clients slowly but steadily and it's nice to know from reading what an old hand has to say that I'm not behind the curve because my business hasn't grown explosively.

There were definitely some ideas in there that I have taken away that have made a significant impact on me; I had considered the possibility that at some point I would open a franchise restaurant in a particularly choice, unexploited area with massive traffic volume near where I live, but having read that chapter on franchises I'm absolutely convinced owning a franchise could never be for me. Who becomes an entrepeneur so that they can have their every idea circumscribed by someone elses rules?

I'm not sure this book would really help someone who's been self-employed 30 years like the author has, but for someone green like myself it's make a real impact. I really liked the tone of the book and the author seems emminently likable, honest, and direct. I highly recommend it.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My father loved it, August 20, 2002

By 

"brentdavidjohn" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Drive a Modest Car & 16 Other Keys to Small Business Success (Paperback)

My dad runs his own business, a somewhat successful machine shop in Silicon Valley that experiences the ups and downs of the tech industry -- needless to say, his business was suffering through a major low a few months ago, as was his attitude toward his shop.

He read "Drive a Modest Car" (a feat in itself, as my dad's not one to pick up a book, but he said he felt like the author was speaking his language, which impresses me to no end). He found that a lot of his instincts regarding how he did business were embraced by the author, such as giving credit for good work done by employees, and picked up some ideas he then implemented, including not working long hours (finally!).

It's probably the best gift I ever gave him.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wish I had picked up a copy 7 years ago!, March 19, 2009

By 

Pacific Trail Books - See all my reviews

This review is from: Drive a Modest Car & 16 Other Keys to Small Business Success (Paperback)

I read a lot of business "how to" books. Most are written by academics (Harvard Business school stuff). What is different about this book is that the author is a founder of a real business - Nolo publishing (30+ year old business), Ralph Warner. Mr Warner points this out in the introduction of the book. HE IS A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS PERSON.

Most of the book is "meat & potatoes" type stuff: How to avoid burnout, finding and keeping good employees, avoid working long hours.

Having started a business from scratch 7 years ago, I am still amazed how much attention it requires to keep it thriving.

If you are just now starting a business, read this book. If you have been at it for 7 years - even better to read it now.