Not Just A Living: The Complete Guide To Creating A Business That Gives You A Life [Hardcover]

Mark Henricks (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 15, 2002

As people have come to yearn for more fulfilling and creative work, many are realizing their dreams by leaving the corporate life behind and creating businesses around the things they love. In Not Just a Living, Mark Henricks explores the genesis of this cultural and social phenomenon and offers a comprehensive approach for assessing your own potential, for "taking the plunge," and for building a business that helps you fulfill both personal and professional aspirations. Combining the authority of firsthand experience, colorful and engaging stories from the front lines, and a variety of diagnostic and planning tools, Henricks shows you how to determine whether the entrepreneurial route is right for you, recognize opportunities, overcome obstacles, plan your course, and launch and sustain your business--whether it's a solo venture out of your garage or a multi-million-dollar enterprise.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Freelance writer Mark Henricks says it's possible to own a thriving business and have a fulfilling life, and he explains how in Not Just a Living: The Complete Guide to Creating a Business That Gives You a Life. Henricks suggests readers become "lifestyle entrepreneurs," which entails living where one wants (instead of moving one's family), working with people one likes (instead of with backstabbing colleagues) and doing work one wants to do. He carefully describes how to determine whether one has the potential to become a lifestyle entrepreneur and the practical realities and key concerns of becoming a lifestyle entrepreneur.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

When should would-be entrepreneurs take the plunge? Freelance writer Henricks (Grow Your Business) has written this guide to help people decide whether they are ready to be "lifestyle entrepreneurs," or entrepreneurs who goes into business for lifestyle reasons rather than for financial rewards. The book is divided into three sections, with the first section outlining the decision process potential entrepreneurs should go through before leaving their current situations and including the possible downsides of starting one's own business. The second section describes the ways a person can go into business, such as starting a new enterprise, buying an established business, or franchising. This section also gives options on how to fund the new business once it is off the ground. The third section deals with choosing customers, suppliers, partners, etc., what type of technology to utilize in running the business, whether to expand the business, and when to cash out. Throughout, Henricks recounts his own experiences as a freelancer and offers advice from the hundreds of entrepreneurs he interviewed. A bibliography of print and electronic resources is also provided. The result is a useful and clearly written manual. Recommended for public and academic libraries.
Stacey Marien, American Univ. Lib., Washington, DC
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; 1st edition (August 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738206652
• ISBN-13: 978-0738206653
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #650,395 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must-read for those contemplating becoming their own boss, August 22, 2002

By 

P M D (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Not Just A Living: The Complete Guide To Creating A Business That Gives You A Life (Hardcover)

Nine years ago, having achieved a level of business success after receiving an MBA from an elite American B-school, I faced the cold realization that my days in the corporate world were numbered. I admittedly have little tolerance for political/bureaucratic b.s. And I view "face-time" for face-time sake a stifling de-motivator. My motto has always been to "let my work speak for itself."

Yet I was ambivalent even as I finally--if not hastily--took that classic "take-this-job-and-shove-it" plunge. I was happy to leave the maddening pace of corporate life behind. But I was petrified at the prospect of crafting a livelihood on my own. Reading "Not Just a Living" would have greatly eased my anxieties if it only were available all those years ago. As a firm believer in karma, I now feel compelled to share this excellent resource with anyone who's teetering on the brink of becoming a lifestyle entrepreneur.

Mark Henricks' concise, well-written book successfully targets two broad groups of entrepreneurs-in-waiting: Those who have entertained the thought of becoming their own boss yet need handholding before making that leap of faith; and those who are ready to make the move but seek a roadmap to achieve their vision. Both sets of readers will come away from the experience exceedingly satisfied and energized.

The book's particular strength is the author's liberal peppering of real world examples of small business successess...as well as failures. The latter is refreshing to see. After all, Mr. Henricks would have been negligent--not only as a journalist, but as a lifestyle entrepreneur "evangelist"--if he failed to expose the downsides of striking out on one's own. Not everyone is cut out for self-employment.

Finally, it is Mr. Henricks' candid sharing of his personal trials and tribulations along his road to lifestyle entrepreneurial success which lends absolute credence to "Not Just a Living." The lucky reader will be rewarded by a writer who knows of what he writes and expertly writes of what he lives.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Living it Up!, October 27, 2002

By 

Romeo S. Sia (MANILA Philippines) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Not Just A Living: The Complete Guide To Creating A Business That Gives You A Life (Hardcover)

Seven years ago today (Oct. 27, 1995), a high school friend of mine and I founded Healthy Options, the first natural products store in Manila. I have a marketing degree and had spent 15 years working for other people both in the Philippines and the United Kingdom. Healthy Options was my baby and my first plunge into going on my own.

Seven years later, we have grown into 10 stores with almost 100 full time employees and Healthy Options has become the leader in the natural products industry in the Philippines. As we celebrate our anniversary this month, I find Mark Henricks' book simply priceless and serendipitous. It's a timely reminder for me as to why we put up Healthy Options all those years ago. As a business grows and expands fast, it's very easy to get carried away and start thinking "corporate". At the beginning of this year, I started having mixed feelings and a bit lost as I kept asking myself, seven good healthy years, now what do I do? I'm therefore so thankful to have found the book as it reminded me why I went into business in the first place and it has re-focused my priorities. Thanks Mark. I find the Seven Myths of Small Business Ownership invaluable. And I fully agree that growth, while very important, shouldn't be the ultimate goal of an entrepreneur.

"Not Just A Living" is also a great benchmark for us. We did almost everything Mark Henrick said in the book (eventually) and got many things right (but not always the first time). I particularly feel vindicated about giving franchise (which I strongly feel against) when one of the entreprenuers related her sad experience about the uncontrollable franchisees she had which resulted in her going out of business.

All in all, it's an insightful and enjoyable read. Now I wish Mark Henricks would consider giving lectures about Lifestyle Entrepreneurship to spread the "gospel" even wider.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First factual account from the freelance world ..., October 13, 2002

By 

Jochan Smyth, Jr. (Seattle, Washington) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Not Just A Living: The Complete Guide To Creating A Business That Gives You A Life (Hardcover)

Wow. This would appear to be the first book I've ever read on freelancing that is actually based on fact (and I have every freelancer book that exists in my library).

The most profound thought in the book is the "job security" thing: Henricks is a freelance writer, has been highly successful as such, and this is the way he sees day-job employment security, per se:

"'... Job security' is one of those phrases that, like `serious fun' and `exact estimate,' tries to combine incompatible concepts. The truth is, in general, there is no such thing as a really secure job ... Just ask the former employees of companies with longstanding no-layoff policies, such as IBM and Delta Airlines, who wound up getting laid off ... Let's consider the chances that I (Henricks), for example, am going to be laid off this week. In a typical year, about 20 percent of the people I worked for during the previous year stop working with me. Including brand-new customers I didn't work with a year earlier, I lose a client, on average, about once a month. So the chances I'll lose one this week are somewhere around one in four. But am I really insecure? Not really. Because after I lose that one client, I'll still have a dozen or so left. The chances may be good that a small measure of insecurity will visit me soon. But what are the chances that in one stroke I'll lose all my clients, the equivalent of an employee losing his one and only source of income? The chances are poor. It's never happened, or even come close to happening, and I don't expect it ever will ..."

Here's another quote:

"... Even more striking was the effect on my lifestyle. I've worked as many or as few hours as I deemed necessary. I attend virtually no meetings. My commute is measured in feet, not miles. I wear a tie so rarely that when I do, it often takes several tries to get the knot right. I've gotten paid for indulging my love of reading, as a book reviewer. I've been sent on fabulous travel adventures, all expenses paid. I receive, gratis, piles of high-tech gadgets from the companies that want me to consider their products in articles and books about technology trends. And I get paid to do all this. My lifestyle is part of, and is funded entirely by, my earnings as a **lifestyle entrepreneur** (a relatively new word in the freelance world)."

The general premise for Henricks' book is that freelancing - in whatever direction you happen to take it - does not have to be about starving to death (or worrying about paying the rent).

He details honorable freelance professions, entrepreneurship, and creating or purchasing small businesses - and talks about "joining the ranks of the 20 million American small and home-based business owners" that exist today.

He doesn't go into the mechanics of any particular profession - Henricks is a freelance writer - but his book isn't about writing. Rather, he talks about practical details that allow people to spend their lives doing something they enjoy outside of a corporate Dilbert-cubicle.

He talks about the business-stat Web sites that can fuel your business plan. The micro-business infrastructure. About "Picking your people" (if you need people). "Taming technology" (this is one of the most interesting twists I've seen yet on the subject of technology; a bit of a reality check). "Funding a lifestyle venture." "Recognizing your limits." "Growing without grief." "Forging ahead." And ... "Ending well." (The Ending Well section could very well be the most important section in the book, if you care about your family and what happens to them after your success.)

Henricks has written so many freelance articles about small businesses ... he can identify a small business model that will actually work.

To qualify that point, beginning on p. 103 he begins to list tables of information that contain examples of: Projected Cash Flow, Income Projection, and Pricing Your Product. Moreover, he goes on to characterize the tables with his knowledge of the basic, successful small-business plan: addressing profitability problems; identifying neat little tricks such as the "15 percent rule" (used for pricing services; p. 124); additionally tackling a tricky 80-20 Rule that involves the fact that "80 percent of your sales come from 20 percent of your customers" (how to turn that into more success; also on p. 124).

It doesn't matter if you're contemplating opening a small-scale cookie factory, purchasing a B&B, creating-from-scratch a local ironing service, opening an online store - or headed into the highlands to raise mountain goats -- Henricks' book is about successful small-business methods.

He also banishes work-at-home myths on everything from newspaper-advertisement/Internet "freelance business" scams such as the "$5,000 a Week Potential!" jobs; pyramid schemes; scams that require you to purchase inventory; and high-pressure sales tactics. The majority of these aren't freelance ventures. They're straight-up rip-offs.

If you've been toying with going full-up freelance for years, or a small-business idea, but are scared to take the plunge. If you have a keen desire or need to work out of the home. If you've heard or read about the "mystique of the freelance lifestyle." This is your "declaration of independence" (Henricks' words).

The book doesn't contain fluff. It's 230 pages packed with information about building a job around your home or lifestyle - and making enough money to enjoy all three.

It's a work of art. Valuable beyond words.

And ... you don't need to buy the "Pathfinder" as recommended above (unless, of course, you like your day job).