The Guru Guide to Entrepreneurship: A Concise Guide to the Best Ideas from the World's Top Entrepreneurs [Paperback]

Joseph H. Boyett (Author), Jimmie T. Boyett (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471390844 | ISBN-13: 978-0471390848 | Publication Date: November 20, 2000 | Edition: 1

What qualities does it take to be a successful entrepreneur?

Are some business ideas better than others, and how can I pick the one that's right for me?

How do I obtain financing to start a business? How do I write a successful business plan?

What is the secret to finding and keeping customers?

How do I find, hire, motivate, and retain great employees?

For answers to these and other critical questions on the minds of every entrepreneur and aspiring business owner today, there is no better source than those who have been there and done it. Few entrepreneurs have achieved the level of business success realized by the gurus covered here. Now you can find out what they have to say about the most practical aspects of starting and succeeding in the business of your dreams. The Guru Guide(TM) to Entrepreneurship is an indispensable source of inspiration and ideas for anyone who runs, or dreams of running, a business of their own. Some of the Gurus you'll meet:

• Paul Allen, cofounder, Microsoft Corporation
• J. Walter Anderson, cofounder, White Castle
• Mary Kay Ash, founder, Mary Kay Cosmetics
• Jeff Bezos, founder, Amazon.com
• Richard Branson, founder, the Virgin Group
• Charles Brewer, founder, Mindspring.com
• Warren Buffett, owner, Berkshire Hathaway
• Ben Cohen, cofounder, Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream
• Michael Dell, founder, Dell Computers
• Debbi Fields, founder, Mrs. Fields Cookies, Inc.
• Bill Gates, cofounder, Microsoft Corporation
• Earl Graves, founder, Black Enterprise
• Steve Jobs, cofounder, Apple Computer, Inc.
• Herb Kelleher, founder, Southwest Airlines
• Phil Knight, cofounder, Nike Corporation
• Ray Kroc, founder, McDonald's Corporation
• Edwin Land, founder, Polaroid Corporation
• Charles Lazarus, founder, Toys "R" Us
• Bill Lear, founder, Lear Jet Corporation
• Tom Monaghan, founder, Domino's Pizza
• Akio Morita, cofounder, Sony Corporation
• Fred Smith, founder, Federal Express
• Thomas Stemberg, cofounder, Staples, Inc.
• Dave Thomas, founder, Wendy's International, Inc.
• Jay Van Andel, cofounder, Amway Corporation
• Sam Walton, founder, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"It is a working asset no entrepreneur or aspiring business owner should be without." (Eurobusiness, February 2001)

From the Inside Flap

There are scores of books on the market offering "surefire" formulas for entrepreneurial success. But when it comes to turning your dreams of success into reality, who do you think is more qualified to offer an opinion-the esteemed Professor X, or Richard Branson, Bill Gates, Wayne Huizenga, and Walt Disney? And who better than Ray Kroc, Debbi Fields, and Lillian Vernon can provide solid advice and guidance on overcoming psychological obstacles to success, pitching ideas to skeptical backers, and keeping your cool in the face of adversity? The answer is clear: When you want to know what it's like from the inside out to make it in a business of your own, ask those who have done it to the max. Ask the gurus. A valuable source of inspiration and entrepreneurial know-how, The Guru Guide(TM) to Entrepreneurship provides you with an unparalleled opportunity to learn the keys to starting and succeeding in your own business-directly from the real experts. Based on top Fortune 500 consultants Joseph and Jimmie Boyett's exhaustive research, it distills the wisdom of seventy of the world's most successful entrepreneurs into straightforward, easy-to-digest lessons about everything from picking the right business and developing business plans to managing money and exploiting technology and the Internet.Here's your chance to hear what entrepreneurial lions Ted Turner, Warren Buffett, and Sony's Masaru Ibuka have to say about the "right stuff" and how to tell if you have it. From no less than Mary Kay Ash, Michael Dell, and Jeff Bezos you'll learn the secrets to coming up with, developing, and fine-tuning the "perfect" idea for a business. You'll find out how to estimate start-up costs, raise initial capital, and work with banker and venture capitalists from Home Depot's Arthur Blank, Domino's Pizza's Tom Monaghan, and Ross Perot, among others. You'll also learn what it takes to get and keep customers for life from Nike's Phil Knight, Ben & Jerry's Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, Hewlett-Packard's David Packard, and more than forty other successful entrepreneurs. And, from the likes of Steve Jobs, Soichiro Honda, and Colonel Harland Sanders, you'll learn valuable lessons on finding, hiring, and rewarding great employees and motivating them to exceed customer expectations-every time.Featuring practical, motivational advice and guidance from some of the all-time greatest entrepreneurs, The Guru Guide(TM) to Entrepreneurship is a working asset no entrepreneur or aspiring business owner should be without.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (November 20, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471390844
• ISBN-13: 978-0471390848
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,077,746 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars a lot of quotes..., October 24, 2001

By 

"davideurope" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Guru Guide to Entrepreneurship: A Concise Guide to the Best Ideas from the World's Top Entrepreneurs (Paperback)

Basically this book is a collection of quotes lifted from secondary sources. The authors then take them and write about entrepeneurship trying to extract the key concepts.
I was not excited about the purchase although I imagine if you have limited experience in this area, you will gain some benefit.
I am an active angel investor and previously ran companies in both the USA and England.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring and Precise, November 22, 2001

By 

Jino Lee (Subang Jaya, Selangor Malaysia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Guru Guide to Entrepreneurship: A Concise Guide to the Best Ideas from the World's Top Entrepreneurs (Paperback)

This is one of the most inspiring book I've read. It has been carefully presented in the most simplified form. Any would-be entrepreneur will definitely pick up something valuable from this book in their quest for success. With up to 70 world renowned entrpreneur as your Guru, nothing could possibily go wrong.

Buy and keep a copy close by, whenever you're feeling down or run out of ideas in your long and lonely journey to success, you need all the help and "lift" you could get and this is when the Gurus will come and save your day.

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended!, September 17, 2001

By 

Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Guru Guide to Entrepreneurship: A Concise Guide to the Best Ideas from the World's Top Entrepreneurs (Paperback)

This is entrepreneur advice straight from the horses' mouths. In this case, the horses are 70 well-known entrepreneurs who reveal their success secrets on everything from identifying a good business concept to raising money, getting and keeping customers and managing people. Authors Joseph H. Boyett and Jimmie T. Boyett draw on material written by and about these start-up monarchs and end each chapter with a concise summary of the lessons that a reader should glean from their stories. In addition, they include a useful appendix with summary bios of each of the men and women cited or quoted in the book. We [...] invite budding entrepreneurs to enjoy this book while picking up some invaluable pointers, while more experienced businesspeople are encouraged to browse its pages and collect some dandy quotes to throw around the conference table.