Success Made Simple: An Inside Look at Why Amish Businesses Thrive [Hardcover]

Erik Wesner (Author), Donald B. Kraybill (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 22, 2010

The keys to better business from a thriving group of business owners-the Amish

Business can be discouraging. According to US Department of Labor figures, only 44 percent of newly-opened firms will last four years. Amish firms, on the other hand, have registered a 95% survival rate over a five-year period. And in many cases, those businesses do remarkably well-as Donald Kraybill writes: "the phrase 'Amish millionaire' is no longer an oxymoron." Success Made Simple is the first practical book of Amish business success principles for the non-Amish reader. The work provides a platform of transferable principles--simple and universal enough to be applied in the non-Amish world, in a wide variety of business and management settings.

• Learn how to develop profitable and fulfilling enterprises as Amish explain how to build fruitful relationships with customers and employees, prosper by playing to strengths, and create an effective marketing story
• Includes interviews with over 50 Amish business owners outline the role of relationships in business and the importance of the big picture-taking in long-term goals, the welfare of others, and personal integrity
• Offers ideas on practical application of Amish business practices to non-Amish businesses, with bullet summaries at the end of each chapter reviewing the most important take-away points

With a focus on relationship-building and the big picture, Success Made Simple offers business owners everywhere the tools for better, smarter, more successful enterprises.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"I loved Wesner's comment that the Amish ‘don't need an M.B.A. to run an effective business....There's life in commerce for those more dedicated to the Golden Rule than the Golden calf.’ Nonprofit managers and employees would do well to take the lessons of personal responsibility, hard work, and a cheerful attitude to heart. After all, they really do engage in work that matters."

—About.com, April 11, 2010

"Erik Wesner's new book, "Success Made Simple: An Inside Look at Why Amish Businesses Thrive," might have been titled "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Being Amish." This fascinating and engagingly written book spells out the principles that guide Amish business owners, based on interviews with 60 Amish CEOs employing about 400 people in various enterprises."

—LancasterOnline.com, April 10, 2010

"How can a people whose preferred mode of transportation is a horse and buggy do so well in the modern marketplace? That question intrigued Erik Wesner, a former sales manager. His exploration of the Amish approach to business can be found in his fascinating book Success Made Simple: An Inside Look at Why Amish Businesses Thrive. Despite the group's insular nature, Wesner was able to live and work among its members for three years. ‘We're not going to become Amish,’ he says, ‘but I think some of the cultural values that the Amish display consistently are things that non-Amish people can adopt and incorporate.’"
—Time magazine, April 8, 2010

Articles, excerpts, slideshows, and mentions with the author also from:
—MSNBC Live with David Shuster, April 2, 2010
—Slideshow, FastCompany.com, April 1, 2010
—Michael Dresser, Business Talk Radio, March 23, 2010
—Q&A, The New York Post, March 22, 2010

From the Inside Flap

The keys to better business from Amish business owners

Business can be discouraging. According to United States Small Business Administration figures, only half of newly opened companies will last five years. That is, unless you're Amish; then there's a ninety-five percent chance your business will still be open. And in many cases, doing remarkably well, as noted scholar Donald Kraybill writes: "The phrase 'Amish millionaire' is no longer an oxymoron."

Success Made Simple is the first practical book of Amish business success principles for the non-Amish reader. Written by Erik Wesner, a noted expert on the Amish, the book includes a wealth of transferable principles that are as straightforward to apply as they are universal in scope.

Based on in-depth access gained while working, living, and researching in Amish communities across the nation, as well as on interviews with more than fifty Amish business owners, the book offers a fascinating look at reasons for the remarkable success of Amish businesspeople.

Success Made Simple reveals how, with only an eighth-grade education, these thriving businesspeople choose and manage employees, acquire skills and know-how, get and keep customers, and lead their organizations to lasting success. The common threads woven throughout their experiences stress the vital importance of cultivating strong relationships (with employees, customers, other business owners), creating long-term goals, taking the welfare of others into account, and maintaining personal integrity. Wesner makes the lessons of Amish business easy to absorb by distilling essential take-away ideas in a ten-point summary at the end of each chapter.

With a focus on relationship building and the big picture, Success Made Simple offers business owners everywhere the time-tested tools for better, smarter, and more successful enterprises.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (March 22, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470442379
• ISBN-13: 978-0470442371
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #464,403 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

My name is Erik Wesner. I have visited 20 Amish communities in five states, and have met roughly 5,000 Amish families.

Success Made Simple: An Inside Look at Why Amish Businesses Thrive is based on 60 interviews with Amish business owners as well as experiences living and working in Amish communities from Pennsylvania to Iowa.

I have contributed to Amish-themed articles for Time Magazine, CNNMoney.com, The Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur Magazine, The Washington Post, and numerous other media.

I researched Amish business as Snowden Fellow at the Young Center at Elizabethtown College in 2008. I have also served as a consultant for authors of Amish fiction and non-fiction.

In my previous nine-year career with a Nashville publisher, I worked in management and set an international record as a salesperson.

I speak frequently on radio, television, and to live audiences, and am happy to speak to the media.

Feel free to email me about speaking engagements, media inquiries, or just to say hello at [e-mail]!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What I learned from Success Made Simple, April 6, 2010

By 

Joshua Crews - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Success Made Simple: An Inside Look at Why Amish Businesses Thrive (Hardcover)

Things about business I learned from this book

1. Low personal expenses. It's easy to bootstrap a business without debt when your life is simple; you have few gadgets; and your entertainment is family, games and visiting friends.

2. A fear of God. This persuades away from idleness, and into productivity and investing in the good of others.

3. A commitment to excellent craftsmanship. It glorifies God to make a thing well. That alone motivates quality and a reputation for quality and service that can command premium prices.

4. God, family, community before business. Business is used to fulfill your calling to God, to family and to community. The American mantra assumes that business success is THE goal. The Amish don't see it that way.

The book is well written because Erik gets out of the way and let's the Amish speak for themselves.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Vivid Stories and Quality Business Lessons, June 8, 2010

By 

Drea Knufken (Boulder, CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Success Made Simple: An Inside Look at Why Amish Businesses Thrive (Hardcover)

Author Erik Wesner, who writes the excellent AmishAmerica blog, spent two years researching Amish businesses in Pennsylvania and Ohio. His new book, "Success Made Simple: An Inside Look at Why Amish Businesses Thrive" is the result.

By weaving together the Amish experience, common business knowledge, and ideas from mainstream business gurus, Wesner derives business lessons for the rest of us. As the title suggests, the Amish remind us that business doesn't have to be a complicated venture.

Here's a general summary of what's in each chapter:

Chapters 1 & 2: You learn about how the Amish use vision and faith to build successful firms. Next, Wesner explores how Amish people become successful with only an eighth-grade education, standard in the culture.

Chapter 3 describes the Amish approach to sales and marketing, which emphasizes relationship-building and customer service.

Chapter 4 dives more deeply into relationships and customer service. You also learn how the Amish tend their reputations and difficult clients.

Chapter 5 & 6 cover Amish approach to team-building, managing, and hiring. Many Amish people have to keep community interests at heart when hiring, firing, and motivating employees.

In Chapter 7, you learn how the Amish stay competitive. This includes how to compete in a friendly, sustainable way with others in your community--not something that's standard in so-called English (American) culture.

Wesner wraps up the book with the Amish definition of business and success, leading readers to ponder what community, success, and their overall goals mean to them.

Thoughts on style:

When I first started reading the book, I couldn't figure out whether Wesner was describing the Amish or imparting general business wisdom. He'd weave Amish tales, business expert quotes, and general business wisdom into the same section. After a little hesitation, however, the style grew on me. I ultimately saw it as unique and quite seamless.

If one thing about the book caught me off-guard, it was Wesner's gentle, respectful treatment of the Amish. Chock it up to bad media conditioning. I suppose I expect business books to dictate something to me, and this one didn't. It didn't assume wrong or right. It was respectful. (Hey, maybe we could use more of this.)

Wesner also has a knack for illustrating how the Amish operate in their day-to-day lives. His stories, anecdotes, quotes, and research made me feel like I knew the Amish. I could tell he spent a lot of time with them.

Thoughts on content:

If you read business books, you've probably already learned some of "Success Made Simple"'s business lessons, which cover general business topics like marketing and human resources. The lessons I found most useful, however, were those I hadn't heard before. These include how the Amish use faith as a catalyst for business motivation and success. Or how Amish treat competition when everyone's in the same community.

I was also fascinated to learn that the Amish don't go to court. That shines a new light on how to sift out and treat difficult customers without threatening them with legal action. These unique lessons, the ones you don't find everywhere else, made the book stand out.

Overall: A good read

"Success Made Simple" is one of those books everyone can benefit from. Its mellow style and interesting anecdotes make it a good commuting or poolside companion. I especially recommend this book for business students, anyone interested in general business lessons, or anyone interested in the Amish.

(book review by Drea Knufken)

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding book, April 1, 2010

By 

R. B. Reeve (Savannah) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Success Made Simple: An Inside Look at Why Amish Businesses Thrive (Hardcover)

Great read. I would recommend this book. Who knew there were so many successful Amish people? In a time after Enron, Lehman Bros., bank bailouts, etc. it is refreshing to be reminded that business can be both ethical and successful. This a great read for business people and entrepreneurs looking for strategies of success. It is also relevant to anyone looking for simplicity in their day to day lives. I even enjoyed learning about the Amish, a group I never really had an interest in. I have started keeping up with them through the author's blog [...]