If You're Clueless about Starting Your Own Business [Paperback]

Seth Godin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1997 | Series: If You're Clueless

Tired of the corporate rat race? This Clueless book is aimed at people who want to know what it takes to get a small business up and running.
This book is packed with sidebars, tips, charts, checklists and resources. This comprehensive guide will help even the most clueless would-be entrepreneur find answers to such key questions as: Are you meant to be a business owner? What do you need to succeed? How do you get started?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Seth Godin, Vice-President, Direct Marketing, Yahoo! Inc., is responsible for Yahoo!'s direct marketing, permission marketing and Internet promotions. Godin joined Yahoo! in 1998 from Yoyodyne, where he served as president and CEO. Yahoo! acquired Yoyodyne, a recognized leader in Internet-based interactive direct marketing, last year.

Recognized as the pioneer of Permission Marketing, Godin is a sought-after speaker on the conference circuit, having presented at the Direct Marketing Association's annual conference, Jupiter events, and ICE, as well as international marketing forums. Last year, Godin was one of the highest ranked speakers, among 403 presenters at Internet World. He is a featured speaker at Fall, Spring and Summer I-Worlds. Godin is also the recipient of the 1998 Momentum Award, honoring outstanding Internet industry accomplishments.

Godin received an M.B.A. from Stanford Business School in 1984. Prior to graduating from Tufts University in 1982 with a degree in both Computer Science and Philosophy, Godin co-founded and ran one of the largest student-run businesses in the coutnry. From 1983 to 1986 he worked as a brand manager at Spinnaker Software, where he led the team that developed the first generation of multimedia products, working with such forward-thinkers as Arthur C. Clarke and Michael Crichton. He managed 40 engineers and introduced more than 60 software and video products to the marketplace.

Godin is the author and co-author of a number of top-selling business books, including E-Marketing, the first book ever published on how to do business online; The Guerilla Marketing Handbook, part of the best-selling Guerilla Marketing series; The Information Please Business Almanacm, a ground-breaking business reference book; and Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Freinds, and Friends into Customers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Kaplan Publishing (October 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574100939
• ISBN-13: 978-1574100938
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #507,285 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Seth Godin is the author of fourteen international bestsellers that have been translated into over 35 languages, and have changed the way people think about marketing and work. His Unleashing the Ideavirus was the most popular ebook ever published, and Purple Cow is the bestselling marketing book of the decade.

His book, Tribes, was a nationwide bestseller, appearing on the Amazon, New York Times, BusinessWeek and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. It's about the most powerful form of marketing--leadership--and how anyone can now become a leader, creating movements that matter.

His book Linchpin, and was the fastest selling book of his career. Linchpin challenges you to stand up, do work that matters and race to the top instead of the bottom. More than that, though, the book outlines a massive change in our economy, a fundamental shift in what it means to have a job.

Since Linchpin, Godin has published two more books, Poke the Box and We Are All Weird, through his Domino Project.

In addition to his writing and speaking, Seth is founder and CEO of Squidoo.com, a fast growing recommendation website. His blog (find it by typing "seth" into Google) is the most popular marketing blog in the world. Before his work as a writer and blogger, Godin was Vice President of Direct Marketing at Yahoo!, a job he got after selling them his pioneering 1990s online startup, Yoyodyne.

You can find every single possible detail that anyone could ever want to know at squidoo.com/seth.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

154 of 158 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I was clueless and found a great reference tool in the book, December 28, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: If You're Clueless about Starting Your Own Business (Paperback)

I obtained a copy of 'Clueless' from the library, along with several other books on starting a small business. 'Clueless' was the only book I read from cover to end over the Christmas holiday season. The book is well-structured and filled with ample information from developing a business plan to marketing your business to expanding your growing business. The sidebars provide helpful hints from other business owners and each chapter contains a section on other related books for further research. 'Clueless' is current with Website addresses for the small business entrepreneur. Being a Business major, 'Clueless' appeared to be a compilation of all my business college courses. Enough detail is provided so that the reader can begin to formulate her company without having any pre-existing knowledge of how to run a business...and without having a Business degree! This was one library book that I didn't have to renew. In fact, I'm purchasing my own copy for a reference tool.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Points you in the right direction, December 9, 2001

By 

Carbonero (Gainesville, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: If You're Clueless about Starting Your Own Business (Paperback)

Once in a while a book that really helps comes along. This is one of them for someone that has no idea on how to start up a new business.

I got this book for my wife who decided to consult and needed some business ideas to help her give more of herself. All the underlying aspects of what to do in particular cases are covered in the book. It seems strange to say that because the book is so thin, but it does the job. The only reason I gave it 4 stars and not 5 was the legal part of it was lacking. We had some specific areas of concern regarding legal matters and it did not answer them, nor even tell you where you might find the answer.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good primer on starting a business!, June 17, 2001

By 

Bonnie Jo Davis "Loves to read and review books!" (Southern CA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: If You're Clueless about Starting Your Own Business (Paperback)

This is a comprehensive, information packed volumn on starting your own business. Covers all the basics from start to finish on how to set up your business and market it so that it is profitable. The author is a small business and e-commerce expert and demonstrates that he thoroughly understands the ins and outs of running a business.