Customer Reviews

It Sure Beats Working: 29 Quirky Stories and Practical Business Lessons for The First-Time, Mid-Life, Solo Professional

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This may be the first of it's kind. Katz draws on his personal successful experience as a solo professional while adding the type of humor that makes you laugh but also makes a point. Each "quirky story" educates and motivates in very practical and useful ways. If you aren't one yet, this just may be the book to get you thinking about taking the leap.

As a solo professional I'm always looking for "the" book that is a quick read with great advice. This is it! This is the kind of book that will never make it to the bookshelf. My already dog-eared copy will live on my desk and serve as a reference when I need inspiration and comic relief when I just need a break. The perfect gift for the seasoned entrepreneur and a must read for those just starting out!

Michael Katz, in his book "It Sure Beats Working: 29 Quirky Stories and Practical Business Lessons for the First-time, Mid-Life, Solo Professional", made me feel as if I was involved in a personal conversation with the author through his journey towards becoming a solo professional. While reading, I laughed and shook my head in affirmation while Katz recounted stories which included starting a business, and the lessons he learned while growing his business. Katz candidly divulges his true feelings and experiences, while letting the reader learn from his trials and successes.

Michael began his adult life as most of us do, graduating collage and working for a large corporation. As many working professionals can relate, he discovered working in a large company was not his true direction in life. If you are stuck in a cubicle hard at work and are trying to avoid the political drama at work, you will share his angst when he speaks of attending unproductive meetings and his yearning to leave a boring job.

Katz attained his goal of leaving his "secure" job with a large company and striking out on his own. If you are thinking of leaving your job, or you have recently joined the ranks of solo professional, this book is a must for you. The greatest benefit to the reader is the authors ability to candidly tell us his experience, and make the reader realize he is not alone in his struggle to make it in the world as a solo professional.

Since I am also a mid-life individual who changed course in his professional life, I felt as if he was speaking directly to me, although I can't relate to his struggle with baldness. My hair is all there, but has turned gray.

The chapter I enjoy most is entitled "Become a Leading Expert in Something". Michael Katz is an expert in development of electronic newsletters, and one day found himself with a client who was a life coach. This life coach had lived the majority of her life with chronic illness, but had not capitalized on her uniqueness in raising a family and building a successful career while battling this illness. Michael while consulting with the life coach on a newsletter was able to refocus her efforts and declare her new expertise. Now the life coach can be defined as an expert in the field of thriving in the workplace while having a chronic illness.

If you are on the fence thinking of starting your own business you will enjoy his "10 Really Good Reasons to Quit Your Job and Start Your Own Business". Some of the top ten reasons I enjoyed include: dancing to your own music, never having to retire, and finding your purpose.

This book is typical Michael Katz, funny, informative, and a great read. Although his book focuses on the solo professional, much of his advice transcends the sol proprietor and is good advice in being successful in both your personal and business life.

When this book first arrived in the post I never intended to read it right away (too busy working as a solo professional!) So I just dipped into it and read one or two of the stories.

Then one or two became three or four. And more...

It's humorous. It's motivating. It has practical lessons for your solo future. But most of all, it's a super read. How often can you enjoy an entertaining couple of hours with a book and be helping your career and buisness prospects at the same time?

For those of us who are professional advisors (I happen to be a small business lawyer), we have long since learned an important lesson ... it takes a good sense of humor to get us through the tough times. And that's exactly what Michael Katz does for us in his new book, "It Sure Beats Working"...he shares humor (and teaches us how to find it everyday), he imparts practical advice (yes, while laughing, you will actually learn something you can put to work right away), and he generously gives that useful something called life experience. Practical advice...humor...life experiences you will recognize immediately... how can you go wrong?! Answer...you can't, so get your dose today, and put Michael's business lessons into practice tomorrow.

I work with people to train them how to do effective e-newsletters. This is the one book I tell them that they have to read. The book is short but full of effective concepts. Yes this is a five star book.

This is a great book for anyone who is looking to start their own business and has all the skills they need but just needs a little push and motivation to go off on their own. It is a quick read and isn't written to talk over you. The concepts are simple and things that I have heard before but I like the way they are compiled in this book. It also helps hearing from someone who has made the jump to set out on their own and has been successful.

Michael Katz' extraordinary book is informative, exciting, magnificent, fun, funny and incomparable. It is consistent with his e-newsletter: Filled with engaging messages that are as enjoyable as they are insightful, "ISBW" is a rare combo that few can pull off. Buy it, read it, enjoy it! Then read it again, enjoy it again... and buy it again! Worth every pence.

Michael Katz is a pro and this book is a fun, breezy read, and you can't "beat" the title. Some of the stuff seemed familiar from his blog but it has more heft all bound together in a book. He really has thrived as a "first-time, mid-life, solo professional" and gives others hope that they can do so as well. I ordered this book after getting the first three chapters for free via his blog, and then a follow-up email from Michael. He practices what he preaches (give stuff away with a personal touch).

So many books about business lessons are a struggle to plow through - they tend to be full of statistics and the authors often full of themselves. Michael's book is a quick read with funny, apt anecdotes from his life - like Lesson #10 and the old man with the tea. What a great, simple story from his personal life with a crystal-clear message that we can all use. I was making notes to myself at the end of each chapter about something I could do to grow our business or reputation - or just make my job more enjoyable. It's also a great book for anyone who's been considering quitting their job and starting something on their own -- but needs either encouragement or a push!