Customer Reviews

The Street-Smart Entrepreneur: 133 Tough Lessons I Learned the Hard Way

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People often ask me what it's like to operate my home-based business, now in its fourth year, going strong.

I honestly tell them it's like sailing into uncharted waters, offering both the excitement and the fear of the unknown. There are no safety nets. Over time I have learned to trust my internal compass--my intuition--to make tough decisions. Still, like anyone else, I harbor doubts. Have I charted the best course? How reassuring it would be to have a navigator at my side, someone who could steer me in the right direction through rough seas time and again.

Jay Goltz's "Street-Smart Entrepreneur" fulfills this role for me. This is no ordinary guide to better business. No stuffy language. No abstractions. Just straightforward common sense.

Jay's book is creatively organized into 133 one-page "lessons" that cover everything from intelligent marketing to smart hiring, cash flow, business growth, and customer service. Jay shows how he learned each lesson the hard way, offering real examples from his successful picture-framing business. Believe me, you won't learn these lessons in any school or textbook!

I keep my copy of "The Street-Smart Entrepreneur" on my desktop. It comes in handy when I need a dose of sound advice to shore up my gut instincts. Pick up a copy of "The Street-Smart Entrepreneur" before you plot your course. You'll be glad you did!

This book stands out in a crowded field of business books. Each topic is listed at the top of a new page, making the book easy to read and reference. From the importance of customer service and finding quality vendors, to dealing with employees and the government, Golz provides real-world advice that is valuable for any new entrepreneur.

I read a lot of business books and many get recycled, but this one is a keeper. It's the kind of book you want to share with an entrepreneurial friend--a great read for anyone entering into entrepreneurship.

Look; the US economy is all about small business. 90% of what we read is written by accountants or academics, (and I count people who write and/or advise other people based on research - instead of 'doing' - as academics also.)

Once in a while you get real street smarts. This book is one. here's your chance to spend a few bucks, read for a few hours, and learn a few things that will save you grief and aggravation if you are running a business. What else could you possibly want from a business book?

This is probably the only entrepeneurial book I have ever read, but I would highly recommend it to anyone contemplating going into retail. The lessons Jay Goltz shares in this book are important, whether you're a 'lone ranger' going-it-alone retailer, or an administrative type. How, as a picture framer and administrator, he juggles all his balls in the air, and hats he wears, is impressive indeed. My own hat goes off to him. An aquaintance of mine (like myself, a picture framer)recommended this book to me, and I'm glad he did. The author speaks in broad enough terms so that you certainly don't need to be a picture framer to apply the valuable lessons he's sharing. Definitely worth reading for anyone at all interested in getting it right in business. Go Jay!

Jay Goltz has done a wonderful job of sharing his insights about what it takes to succeed in business. The lessons are "bite-size" and easy to digest, and the book is packed with down-to-earth tips that have been very helpful to me. He is especially good at bringing up topics that most of us don't think about when we first go into business.

It's refreshing to read business advice from someone who runs a successful business for a living. Goltz's book is based on reality, not theory. My wife and I have owned our business (25 employees) for 21 years and combined we have read dozens and dozens of business books. It is rare when we both enjoy the same book. I found myself myself laughing out loud, nodding my head in agreement and taking notes. It's an enjoyable read and the advice is well worth the price of the book.

I have probably read ten business books since I have started my business. I am always looking for ways to solve my problems and grow my business and found most of the other books on the market to be of limited value. Goltz's book on the other hand talks about the real problems I have from and firing to how to borrow money from the bank. I found myself taking notes through out the book and actually put many of his "lessons" to use the next day at work. This book is a must read for anyone who is running a business!

The Street Smart Entrepreneur is a well-written book that draws upon Goltz's experiences in the workforce. In his book, he details the useful lessons he learned, some of which may seem like common sense, but others could be quite surprising, such as how entrepreneurs are not necessarily the best person to hire new employees. Because of its reliance on Goltz's own experiences, The Street Smart Entrepreneur possesses solid credibility. It's as good as Guerilla PR: Wired, which also supplies valuable lessons on business leadership and entrepreneurial tips.

This book teaches you everything about owning a business! Has many lessons on mangement and everything.

Jay Goltz is one of my heros. I have marveled at the growth of his company and I look forward to his monthly column in Picture Framing Magazine. If I learned anything from this book, it is as a fellow entrepreneur/picture framer, how many things I am doing right, yet I have never found a resource to ratify my beliefs. Now if I can only get my gross income up.....

Experienced business people will take solice in hearing a successful business person admit that "being in business for yourself is torture." They will also identify with Goltz's admission that he made "every mistake in the book" because there were no guidebooks that spelled out the pitfalls of running your own business. Well, now we have one and it is excellent.

I love the format of the book; "What I used to Think", "Nobody Told Me", and then the "Lesson Learned" summarized in straight forward no nonsense language. The book is quick reading, inspirational and should benefit anyone trying to run their own business.