Low Risk, High Reward: Starting and Growing A Business with Minimal Risk [Hardcover]

Bob Reiss (Author), Jeffrey L. Cruikshank (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 10, 2000

Never straying far from his central thesis that risk can almost always be managed and reduced, Reiss covers every obstacle the entrepreneur is likely to meet. Where do ideas come from? How do you get started? Where can you find the money? How do you build credibility? With many practical suggestions, this book should be useful to anyone starting a business.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Contrary to popular belief, successful entrepreneurs do not crave risk. In fact, they strive to minimize it. Bob Reiss, founder of several companies and the subject of a Harvard Business School case study, has written Low Risk, High Reward to share the many ideas he's developed over the past four decades for succeeding through prudent action. In straightforward language, he addresses practical methods for spotting, managing and reducing risks in virtually every facet of business, from developing initial concepts and financing their production to securing orders and preparing for the future. Some suggestions are somewhat obvious--such as using commissioned versus salaried employees, contracting for manufacturing facilities rather than building your own, and thoroughly testing ideas before implementing them. The vast majority, though, deal with risk reduction in more novel ways. Among those he details with specific suggestions: working with suppliers to stretch payments and free up cash; managing products from the start with an eye toward their natural (and limited) life span; focusing on packaging as a means of grabbing initial orders and securing crucial reorders; and vigorously protecting ideas by preventing knockoffs and responding forcefully if they do appear. Current business owners, along with those who hope to join them, will find his advice helpful. --Howard Rothman

From Publishers Weekly

Reiss, an entrepreneur, does a competent job of covering all the ways to minimize the risk of starting a business--for example, through entering a franchise, partnering with an established company or finding financial backers. In particular, his discussion of the importance of numeracy (the financial equivalent of literacy) helps distinguish his effort from many similar books. But he misses other opportunities to make a unique contribution. For example, on the relatively few occasions when Reiss talks about his own experiences, he conveys a passion the book otherwise lacks; one wishes those sections were longer. Similarly, his insight into entrepreneurship as "a way of thinking, rather than a personality type" could have gone a long way toward adding dimension to his pointers had he expanded on it As it is, the book remains a solid if workmanlike checklist for would-be entrepreneurs. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Free Press; 1 edition (May 10, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684849623
• ISBN-13: 978-0684849621
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #522,898 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Applicable to any business, April 13, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Low Risk, High Reward: Starting and Growing A Business with Minimal Risk (Hardcover)

Regardless what business you are in or contemplating on starting Low Risk High Reward is a good book to help you avoid the pitfalls that overcome so many businesses.

Good book by Reis

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I liked it!, April 13, 2004

By 

Ted Whightnight (Minneapolis, Mn) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Low Risk, High Reward: Practical Prescriptions for Starting and Growing Your Business (Paperback)

I see some reviews here with much disparity, some liked it other didn't. Everyone is entitled to their opinion I guess and I guess it alld epends on your level of experience and knowledge.

I enjoyed Low Risk High Reward and feel better suited to start a business as result. I am not now in a business but hoping to start one soon.

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I'd pass --- not that good, April 12, 2004

By 

Jerod Hollis (Dupont, Pa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Low Risk, High Reward: Practical Prescriptions for Starting and Growing Your Business (Paperback)

I really don't underatnd the 5 star ratings and raving reviews. I didn't see anything good inthis book. In fact it is the first book that I bought and threw away.

The low rating here at Amazon (not even in the top 300,000) should be a clue.