Customer Reviews

What's Stopping You?: Shatter the 9 Most Common Myths Keeping You from Starting Your Own Business

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

 

 

I liked this book a lot. Its target audience is anyone who is currently earning a salary working for someone other than themselves or a company they own, but who are considering whether entrepreneurship is something for them. It is fairly well written and organized. Chapter 1 provides a nice introduction to the book and Chapter 2 is the meat of the book. The remaining seven chapters flow directly from what is covered in Chapter 2.

This book is not a how-to book. It is a book for wanta-be entrepreneurs who think it is risky to start their own business and cannot find the motivation to transition from their W-2 setup to one of self-employment. The authors explain in chapters 2-9 that there are 8 myths about making the transition to self-employment that simply are not true. Take a look at the Search Inside material the authors have provided Amazon. You will find the titles to the chapters. They succinctly layout what the book is about.

I like to view the book as one that explains that starting a small business is not particularly risky. Sure, any unknown has a certain amount of risk involved with it. But starting a business doesn't have to be like visiting Atlantic City and shooting craps at one of the gambling tables. With the proper research, skills, and planning, anyone can start a small business and be successful.

You might be saying now: What about the money needed to start a small business? Well, every business costs some money to start. Some cost more than others. And some don't cost much at all to start. The book points this out in Chapter 3. My favorite chapters in this book were chapters 1-5 and 8. I wish the authors had more fully developed them and left out chapters 6, 7 and 9, since those chapters did not do much for me.

I would have liked the book better if it had three other chapters included regarding myths as follows:

6. You have to be good at sales if you plan to be successful as an entrepreneur.

7. You have to be a people person if you plan to be successful as an entrepreneur.

9. You have to be good with numbers if you plan to be able to run your own business.

The message in this book is that if you get advice from experts and informed people you will be headed in the right direction to start a small business. If you gather information about an opportunity to start a small business, then you will be well on your way to starting a small business. And if you take all the advice and research and prepare a sound WRITTEN business plan, then you will probably be successful in starting and running your small business.

I found chapters 7-9 to be less-than. Chapter 7 could have included more advice on marketing techniques. And Chapter 8 could have talked a lot more about Internet marketing techniques. Chapter 9 would have been better if business plans had been tied into the discussion and strategic planning had been explained.

In sum, if you are toying with the idea to get out of the rat-race and start your own small business, then this is a good book to help convince you to do what it takes to make the jump. 4 stars!

Given all the personal, social and economic advantages that small businesses offer, why don't more people start them?

Unlike some books of this type, authors Barringer and Ireland aim to be realistic rather than inspirational. They don't proclaim that "everyone" has the aptitude or qualities needed to run a business. But they do argue that far more people could be successful entrepreneurs than actually take the plunge. Along with practical advice, *What's Stopping You?* addresses topics such as motives for starting a business and "determining what you want out of life." In calm, logical style, the authors explain why passion is so important, how major decisions can be triggered and why we fear taking risks.

But for the most part, *What's Stopping You?* is a practical, level-headed guide that is packed with useful resources, especially online websites and directories. Each chapter presents topics that could fill whole books on their own, such as getting financing, utilizing the Internet, promotion ("getting noticed") and strategizing how to compete in the marketplace. But *What's Stopping You?* provides scores of websites, books and other sources of information for exploring each topic in greater depth.

This is an excellent book for people who think rationally and mistrust the more colorful pitches so common to the "motivational" genre. The authors are passionate about entrepreneurship, and *What's Stopping You?* presents their expertise in a highly accessible form. If you're wondering just what the "nine myths" are, buy this book. It's worth the price!

Although not everyone is a candidate for starting their own business, there are many unemployed and underemployed who have thoughts in the entrepreneurial direction. I'm speaking to more and more people who think this might be their best shot at finding fulfilling work. In What's Stopping You?, the authors discuss 9 of the most common start-up myths and provide some excellent food for thought regarding the practical, creative and emotional aspects of starting a business. After reviewing many business start-up books, I found this to be one of the most approachable resources for personal and professional exploration related to starting a business. Barringer and Duane provide well-balanced and insightful guidance on how to assess and handle start-up concerns such as risk, finances, experience, competition, marketing and growth plans. This short 200-page book is definitely worth the read if your fears are overpowering your dreams, your confidence is wobbling, or entrepreneurship seems too elusive to grasp. It also will feed the soul of those anxious to get off the starting block and dive into their own business success. ©2010 [...]

Most of the sidebar articles are incomplete - missing the finish from the next page. The index ends up being a mere listing of names and terms as it is not linked to anything (doesn't include page numbers either).

Otherwise, it seems quite interesting.

If you are feeling overwhelmed during the start-up phase of your new business, this is the best book for getting motivated. I carry this book all the time in my briefcase. Every time I have a negative feeling, a negative idea about achieving my objectives I just read some chapter, and I get reloaded to do anything!!! This book can turn negative emotions into positive ones.

The authors address the obstacles (myths) that most people worry about and deal with them one by one with truths.

Truth 1: It doesn't take an extraordinary person to start a business. You can do it!

Truth 2: Starting a Business may not be as risky as you think

Truth 3: It might not cost as much as you think to start a business

Truth 4: Successful business are started by people with all levels of business experience

Truth 5: There are an infinite number of possibilities for good business ideas. The best business ideas are not already taken

Truth 6: You can compete against the Big-Box retailers if you have the right plan

Truth 7: There are many ways for new business to get noticed and recognized

Truth 8: There are many legitimate and enjoyable ways to make money online

Truth 9: Business can be grown profitable and enjoyably

I am glad I got a copy for free. I would have been unhappy if I had spent month on this book. The concepts are basic, and the formatting is terrible. There is so much missing content, it makes you wonder if anyone even bothered to open the kindle edition. Not to mention spelling mistakes.

You only get one chance at a first impression. If you have a business plan full of typos and cut off pages, you aren't going to get invited back for round 2.

I suppose I would give this 3 1/2 stars. There is some very good information and resources given. The story examples are also interesting. What I don't like is that it reads like a college textbook, with complex terms and charts made up to describe what should be simple concepts. In other words, it reads like a thesis. Also, it really doesn't address starting a simple home based business, but rather a franchise or similarly sized business.

The authors address the obstacles that most people worry about and deal with them one by one. Very helpful and encouraging.

Somehow in the euphoric babble, some major facts are omitted.

How about the fact that about three quarters of businesses fails in the first two years.

Second, anyone who starts his own business is going to work about 80 hour weeks.

Third, in an economic downturn (and usually the motivation to get people to start their own businesses), ESTABLISHED business failures are at an all time high.

A book written by 2 Ph. D.s for people with a child's business acumen. Maybe we should classify it as a fairy tale?