6 Secrets to Startup Success: How to Turn Your Entrepreneurial Passion into a Thriving Business [Hardcover]

John Bradberry (Author), Pamela Slim (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 20, 2011

Over six million Americans start businesses every year. That's 11 startups a minute launched by passionate dreamers hop ing to transform their lives for the better. But a huge gap exists between the skyrocketing levels of desire and what entrepreneurs actually achieve. The harsh reality is that most new businesses fail within a few years of launch. Why do so few startups make it? And what distinguishes those that do succeed? Entrepreneur, consultant, and investor John Bradberry set out to discover the answer and came to a surprising conclusion that the passion that drives and energizes so many founders is also the very thing that leads many of them astray. Filled with compelling real-life stories of both success and failure, this groundbreaking book reveals the key principles entrepreneurs must follow to ensure their big idea is on the right track. In "6 Secrets to Startup Success", readers will learn how to: convert their passion into economic value with a moneymaking business model; improve their readiness to launch and lead a new venture; manage funding and cash flows; chart a path to breakeven and beyond; avoid the pitfalls that often accompany unfettered passion; and, build the stamina needed to persevere over time. Complete with indispensable tools including an assessment to gauge a venture's strengths and weaknesses, "6 Secrets to Startup Success" will help entrepreneurs everywhere turn their dreams into reality.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...engaging and informative....an excellent roadmap to not just pursuing your dreams, but also to figuring out if the dream is worth pursuing in the first place." - New York Journal of Books

“A must-read for anyone thinking about starting a business, this book is also a valueable tool for those who have businesses they are trying to keep afloat.” - New Age Retailer

Book Description

“An excellent summary of what it takes to succeed as an entrepreneur. Every person who wants to start the ‘next big thing’ should read 6 Secrets to Startup Success before taking the leap forward.” — Guy Kawasaki, cofounder, Alltop.com, and author of Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions

Over six million Americans start businesses every year. That’s 11 startups a minute launched by passionate dreamers hoping to transform their lives for the better.

But a huge gap exists between the skyrocketing levels of desire and what entrepreneurs actually achieve. The harsh reality is that most new businesses fail within a few years of launch. Why do so few startups make it? And what distinguishes those that do succeed? Entrepreneur, consultant, and investor John Bradberry set out to discover the answer and came to a surprising conclusion—that the passion that drives and energizes so many founders is also the very thing that leads many of them astray.

Filled with compelling real-life stories of both success and failure, this groundbreaking book reveals the key principles entrepreneurs must follow to ensure their big idea is on the right track. In 6 Secrets to Startup Success, readers will learn how to:

Convert their passion into economic value with a moneymaking business model • Improve their readiness to launch and lead a new venture • Manage funding and cash flows • Chart a path to breakeven and beyond • Avoid the pitfalls that often accompany unfettered passion • Build the stamina needed to persevere over time

Complete with indispensable tools including an assessment to gauge a venture’s strengths and weaknesses, 6 Secrets to Startup Success will help entrepreneurs everywhere turn their dreams into reality.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: AMACOM (March 20, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814416063
• ISBN-13: 978-0814416068
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 0.9 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,064,569 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Bradberry is CEO of Ready Founder Services, a provider of tools and consulting services for entrepreneurs and investors. Over 20 years he has worked to improve the performance of leaders and teams in a wide range of organizations.

In 2007, John launched an extended study to identify the universal factors that drive startup success, and has written his first book on the subject, 6 Secrets to Startup Success.

After graduating from Davidson College in 1983, John earned a master's degree in psychology from the University of Richmond, and helped found the Blue Dogs, a nationally touring band based in Charleston, SC.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Offers realistic expectations with key strategies June 13, 2011

By B. Burke

Format:Hardcover

Coincidental to my review of 6 Secrets to Startup Success, I learned that a friend had a start-up idea for a retail enterprise, so I read John Bradberry's advice while applying it to the details I learned about this real scenario. I was interested to see how my friend, a seasoned businessperson, would fare through some of the processes outlined in this book, knowing that she had been successful with previous startup ventures.

In Part I, Bradberry does not mince words in painting a less-than-rosy picture of any business startup. It would have never occurred to me that having a passion for an idea or product could backfire on an entrepreneur--I thought that was an essential requirement to starting any business! It turns out that would-be business owners can fall into what the author calls the passion "trap"--which he then illustrates with six negative impact categories that take shape in a pattern of four interdependent steps. While reading this part of the book, I thought it all sounded quite disheartening--until I got to the end of Part I, where I discovered that, thankfully, Part II would explain how to overcome these issues. When I could mentally compare the caveats as applied to my friend's startup idea, it was apparent to me that she had gotten through the first three phases: attachment to an idea; investments and actions; and feedback or results. It also seemed she was not getting stuck at step 4, biased interpretation, because she was still seeking feedback and hadn't invested any money--yet.

Part II, which goes into great detail on the application of the success principles, made me realize that the business my friend was hatching was nowhere near getting off the ground! She had passed the Founder Readiness section with flying colors, having launched two successful businesses previously, but because she was venturing into a type of business with which she was unfamiliar, she had only gotten as far as the second of the six principles, dealing with attaching to the customer, not to the idea. I knew she was working on this attribute because she had told me she needed to pick my brain as a potential client---something Bradberry suggests as a way to learn the market when it is an unknown. I also knew she was looking for the game-changing partner, which the author mentions as a way to provide an early edge in the marketplace.

Beyond this chapter, the book delves into such topics as money issues, how to be flexible, and dealing with the human elements: partners, investors, and personnel. I thought one of the most valuable sections Bradberry provides for the aspiring entrepreneur is the Start-up Readiness Tool. It is a comprehensive list of questions based on the chapter headings that should provide the basis for a successful business if addressed honestly and completely. At this point, I don't know where my friend's startup idea will lead, but I am going to be sure she has a copy of this book, because I think Bradberry has done a thorough job of laying out the strategy for starting on the right foot.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Well Researched "How to Manual" for Entrepreneurs April 18, 2011

By achalker

Format:Hardcover

This book is outstanding. The nuts-and-bolts information entrepreneurship is absolutely invaluable.

As a beginning entrepreneur's who's made the "if you build it they will come" mistake and wondered why no one showed up, I am really grateful to have found this book and am now using it as a roadmap. (Darn it! If only I had it 5 years ago. . .)

In my humble opinion, I think it's about 1000 times more helpful than most of the books on entrepreneurship on the market.

Many other "entrepreurship" books on the market are motivational drivel. These books get you inspired and ready to walk headfirst off a cliff because they neglect to tell you about all the things you need to know to actually create a business!!! (Perhaps we can partially thank the Motivational Media for the 90% failure rate of small business.)

This is really different. Chock full of great information. It's a clear roadmap and has tons of great resources as well in the appendices.

A huge thank you to the author. This will save a ton of entrepreneurs (and investors who invest in budding entrepreneurs) a lot of money, time, and heartache!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Starting Up or Already Running, Principles that Deliver March 16, 2011

By schroed22

Format:Hardcover

6 Secrets of Startup Success is a well- paced book that provides a terrific balance of compelling case study narratives with practical research. Tracking the story arc of several startups, both successful and challenged, the book delivers in creating a thoughtful construct in considering how to best position oneself for a successful launch.

While it's hard to argue with any of the six principles that Bradberry lays out, I found a particular connection to the chapters dealing with "Math Story" and "Integrity of Communication". A quote I marked in the book as particularly noteworthy is "the quality of conversations is not only indicative of culture, it creates culture, and it determines the quality of decision making, planning, everything." True indeed, regardless if you are in a small startup or part of a Fortune 100 conglomerate. To that end, I highly recommend this book to anyone in business who is contemplating the start of a new business or managing new initiatives within an existing enterprise.