Customer Reviews

Six-Week Start-Up: A Step-By-Step Program for Starting Your Business, Making Money, and Achieving Your Goals!

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

So, can you get a business started in six weeks? I think the answer is yes, but it's going to depend on the type of business you want to start. If you're planning on starting an amusement park or oil refinery, it's going to take longer. But Abrams says in the introduction that this book is for more typical entrepreneurs who are planning to start a small business (retail or service company).

There are certainly plenty of other books on the market about starting a business (I've read many of them, and looked at many more in the bookstore), but what led me to buy this one was the week-by-week approach. Abrams starts each week with a checklist of things to get finished in that week. The first week focuses on business concept-oriented tasks (defining goals for the business, strategic position, etc.) and developing an "identity" (name, logo, etc.).

The later weeks go into things like setting up an accounting system, incorporating, finding office space, doing market research, and hiring employees.

The book has a lot of worksheets you can use to handle issues such as developing a marketing plan or personnel policies. Many of the worksheets are useful, although I wish I hadn't written in the book itself (tip: xerox the worksheets, and write on those! that way you'll have "backups" if you need to start over! Wish I had!).

So, after six weeks will I have my doors open for business? Yes--no question. But since I'm starting a consulting company and setting up a home office, I don't have huge organizational issues to worry about (like building a warehouse or something similar). And I think the premise of this book will work for most people who are starting a similar *small* business. I give it five stars, though, because even if it takes more than six weeks, the information here is solid.

I was already in the process of starting my business when I found this book, so I didn't really need the first chapter to help me figure out my business concept (though the info on trademarks was helpful). But so far, I'm finding it to be a big help in getting -- and keeping -- me organized. I like the way the book is laid out -- each week I've sort of got my "assignments" -- the author calls them "Accomplishments" -- and then each task is broken down into easily do-able steps. Its a bit like having a start-up business coach. I doubt that any one would use all the worksheets, but I was trying to figure out how to distribut my products, and the checklist in this book helped me figure out how to compare the distributors I was talking to. That one worksheet alone was worth the price of the book and more. Clearly the author has started businesses because the information and advice is just so practical. Like the "Questions to Ask" lists -- all those people who told me I had to see a lawyer or accountant or whatever never told me what I was supposed to talk to them about when I finally made the appointment. This book does. Even if you're already underway in your business, it's worth owning.

This book is a fantastic resource for anyone who's ready to take the plunge in to entrepreneurship! Starting a business seems like such a huge undertaking, and it can be so difficult to know where you should begin. Six-Week Start-Up guides you through every single step of starting a business, from designing a logo to having a grand opening sale! All of the steps are practical and very straightforward--it's like having an operations manual with detailed, step-by-step instructions for so many elements of starting and running a business. This book has been instrumental in keeping me motivated and feeling empowered throughout this (sometimes difficult) process.

Many of us know the common sense aspects of going into business for ourselves, things as simple as make sure you talk to a lawyer. Make sure you talk to an accountant. But what, exactly, are we supposed to ask this lawyer, or accoutant, or investor? This book thoroughly addresses exactly these types of things, making it so much easier to start your business correctly from the beginning. You don't have to spend all of your time later back-tracking and fixing the things you did incorrectly to start with.

The bottom line: Six-Week Start-Up gives you everything you need to know and do in order to start your small business quickly, and to avoid costly and time consuming mistakes in the process. It's a great book for new entrepreneurs who are ready to turn their business-owning dreams into reality!

Rhonda Abrams lays the down the bear bones of starting a business. She lists what you need to do and provides a lot of the forms that need filling out, etc (but these may be outdated so you should check) and in plain english, explains how to get thing done...but that is all this book is...nothing more, nothing less.

The title is enticing. Anyone that has started a business knows that 6 weeks is ambitious. This 6 weeks does not take hold ups that may be out of your control into account. For example, if you send you LLC formation paperwork to the Secretary of State it may take 3+ weeks to be filed, whereas if you go to the Secretary of State you may be complete in one day. Always assume the fast track if you aiming for things to be doen in 6 weeks.

This book is a great, simple, non-threatening place to start but this should not be your only "small business" book on your shelf.

This book really does what it promises. I went through each week/chapter writing down what Rhonda told me to. It all flowed together beautifully, and I am now almost ready to put my web site live and ready for sales. I also contacted SCORE and the SBA as per her recommendation, and have the added value of the counsel of hundreds of counselors who can speak specifically into my situation. I don't think there is anything else Rhonda could add to make this book a better choice for the virgin entrepeneur. Four thumbs up-two are from my SBA counselor!

Has some good tips, but there is a lot of fluff just to fill pages. There numerous worksheets to fill out, but there is no assistance is analyzing what you filled in on the sheets, other than to just think about it. You will not start most small businesses with this book's approach.

I love this book because it have a lot of good information for you to think about for a startup. This book has fill in templates to help get you on the right track. This book is not about writting a business plan. It's about the things you need to do that is critical to your startup business. It may be simple, or you may say i knew that, but i know there are alot of people in business that did not do the things in this book.

This book was really helpful to me in laying out all the steps needed to start a small business. I think being able to do it all in 6 weeks is ambitious, and even though my business is in my own house and on a computer (creating Android apps), it took me far longer than 6 weeks to do all the steps in this book (several months). I know some people can do it in 6 weeks, and I actually liked that she titled the book this way, because part of her point is that anyone can do all this, its not hard, and it doesn't take long to do. She's very positive and encouraging. As I worked through all the tasks in starting up my company, I came back to this book again and again, and found it helpful.

I like that the book is divided into sections by each week. It did help me think about things that I didn't think were as important and revisit topics. I liked the worksheets in the book to help you work out many aspects of opening a business. There are many checklist format charts or fill in the blank charts that I found helpful. It is an easy read and she explains things well for the first time business person.
Some important steps are vague, such as permits and forms needed at the federal, state, and city level. Those were my first steps I took during the beginning phase, since many of these forms can take up to several weeks (like the EIN number, LLC or your license, and sales tax application).

I really enjoyed that book. The tips are very usefull and the step-by-step program is a real guide for staring a business properly. The layout, the tables and the check-lists, for me, are a huge improvement in comparison with other books I've read.