Customer Reviews

The Risk Takers: 16 Women and Men Who Built Great Businesses Share Their Entrepreneurial Strategies For Success

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Have you ever wondered what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Do you think you don't have the right background or education to pursue your ideas and find success on your own? After reading Risk Takers, you will feel motivated and empowered to take the first step.

Packed with stories from 16 influential profiles of multimillion dollar companies such as Kinkos, Geek Squad, Curves International, and Paul Mitchell, you will learn how these individuals positioned themselves properly to build their businesses, often with little capital and no previous experience.

Despite poor economic conditions, authors Renee and Don Martin believe now is the time to start fresh. Their decision to pursue a business of their own came from a determination to win and positive attitude to make it through the ups and downs of entrepreneurship. They boil their knowledge down into ten principles or strategies for success:

1. Trust Your Gut
2. Buck the Conventional Wisdom
3. Never Let Adversity or Failure Defeat You
4. Go on a Treasure Hunt and Find an Underserved Niche
5. Spot a New Trend and Pounce
6. Hit `Em Where They Ain't
7. Just Start
8. Save Your Bucks and Get Noticed Without Expensive Advertising
9. Exploit Your Competitor's Weakness and Make It Your Strength
10. Never Stop Reinventing Your Company

These strategies are woven into the summary of each entrepreneur's story so you see exactly how they addressed a particular area. It will help inspire you to review your own goals and realize how similar your thoughts, fears, and setbacks are to these risk takers.

My favorite profile was of David L. Steward, Founder and Chairman of World Wide Technology Inc. Like so many people these days, Steward found himself out of college and caught in an endless job search. After sending out four hundred resumes in three years, he finally got a sales job that formed the basis of his experience. An African-American, David faced adversity in the 1960's, but he learned how to push through drawbacks and never give up on his dreams. Strong values gave him the confidence to remove obstacles that helped transform World Wide Technology Inc into the $3B powerhouse it is today.

This is a great collection of experiences that frame what success looks like from a variety of angles. The stories connect with the heart and the mind to deconstruct the assumptions of what risk taking is and provides an outline for helping you achieve your dreams.

The Risk Takers tells the stories of 16 men and women who built multimillion dollar companies. As a business owner I was excited to read this book. While all the 16 men and women offer a product to the customers and I offer a service I was curious and intrigued to read this book.

Whether or not you are a business owner or an employee this book was fantastic. I found their stories to be incredible and inspiring. Every single person in this book took a chance-a chance on an idea and themselves. Each of the owner's companies featured are a business we have more than likely patronized whether it be Kinko's or Geek Squad, Liz Lange Maternity or Build a Bear to name a few. Many of these individuals had their idea initially rejected-through believing in their idea and great customer service they built an empire.

I thought this book was a fantastic read and enjoyed reading every owner's story.

Wow! Did I ever underestimate the impact that a collection of successful risk taking stories could have. The stories are crisp, clean, interesting and engaging. The themes are highlighted as they naturally recur throughout the book. It's a fun and rewarding read. The stories are pretty balanced with each representing a $50 million plus success. I felt the entrepreneurial instinct rise about about page 20 and it bubbled until the end. I would write more, but I'm preparing my business plan. Great job!

what a pleasurable and engaging read. I think the
book is very inspiring for all future "Risk Takers". It brings to life how the human
spirit can overcome many personal set-backs with courage, cleverness and a dash
of luck. I think the finely honed detail of each character such as the who, what
and where, stays with you. It is insistently captivating. I found myself re-reading parts
to see if I got this fact or this character right. Very compelling!
You don't often see writing as lively as this and I think the Strategy for Success
recaps at the end of each chapter are brilliant.If the mission was to enlighten,
enthuse and encourage future "R.T's" mission accomplished.

This book is easy reading. It is very well written. The nice part about the people that they selected is that they didn't have millions in the bank to start. Most of the people were ordinary Joes with an idea and they pursued it and found success and lots of it. The stories of each give the reader inspiration that anything is possible.

These succinct short bios tap the experience of entrepreneurs. Sometimes I'm making personal links with their real life peaks and valleys. Other times I am trying to relate their different ways to tackle opportunities with my game plans. The authors relay the stories to evoke response from the reader. I can't just passively slip through the pages. Risk Takers is a launch pad for people with drive. Authors do a great job conveying the diversity of ideas. I recommend this book for anyone who is a self starter

I came across the book at an airport bookstore while I was searching for an African-American book to purchase. Like most airport bookstores, there were none in sight so I resorted to my second choice in good reads; self-help. The title caught my eye; I am definitely a risk-taker. It was a quick and refreshing read that I have suggested to many. I gave my copy to my son in hopes that it will motivate him.

The Risk Takers examines what it takes to succeed in the business world and how important it is to find an underserved market and take the bull by the horns. All of the people highlighted in the book had to step out on faith and belief in themselves in order to achieve their dreams. Every reality was once someone's dream and this book does a fabulous job of bringing that point home. It is also filled with a lot of detailed bullet points on how to follow in the footsteps of the various people showcased.

For anyone that is considering starting their own business, or who is struggling to maintain one, this is an excellent resource and a truly motivational read.

This book is very practical with a lot of stories from the school of hard knocks. It's inspirational and gives one a lot of ideas and "roadmaps." I value my time very much, and I can honestly say, that it was worth my time to read it !

I've done business with Don Martin for decades. Like the people he and Renee interview in their book, Don found his niche in business, took the risks necessary to grow the business and enjoyed tremendous success. I mention this because being an entrepreneur is not for everyone. It is for risk takers and that is why I love this book. Renee and Don have given us a window into how risk takers think and act.

If you want to learn about what it takes to have a dream and build that dream into a reality...read this book. The interviews tell the tale of what it takes to build a successful business. As you read the various interviews you begin to understand that it is all about commitment and a willingness to keep trying new things until a successful path is found. It takes guts, energy and a whole lot of faith in yourself and your team to make it to the winner's circle.

My congratulations to Renee and Don Martin on an excellent book. This book should be required reading for anyone who dreams someday of owning their own business. It is inspirational, informative and a great read.

Don Hurzeler

I recommend this book to anyone that has a great idea they know in their hearts will be a great business. The Authors have painted a detailed picture of just what it takes be a successful entrepreneur. Each of the 16 subjects start from scratch with a great idea and through ingenuity and perseverance turn it into a world class business.

A few things I found especially interesting -
* Though the businesses are extremely different (everything from Kinko's to Build-A-Bear and from the Geek Squad to Spanx) the basic tenets of what's needed to succeed are very much the same.
* This is not another "Entrepreneurship for Dummies" type book. The chapters are the compelling stories - including the bumps and bruises along the way - that lead to each subject's initial and then continued success.
* The authors are themselves very success entrepreneurs and share their story. If you are looking for a "case study" text written by an academic theorist - look elsewhere.

Taking "the leap" and becoming an entrepreneur is daunting. There will always be much that has to be learned "on the fly". I think "The Risk Takers" can help by relaying insights that can only come form those that have been there, fought and found a way to win.

CB