What No One Ever Tells You About Starting Your Own Business: Real Life Start-Up Advice from 101 Successful Entrepreneurs (What No One Ever Tells You About...) (Paperback)

by Jan Norman (Author) "Anyone who watches American television knows that Dave Thomas is the world's biggest hamburger fan..." (more)
Key Phrases: franchising company, new business owners, Lone Star Technical, United States, Mossy Oak (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Addressing small businesses' common and uncommon miscues with advice and insight from more than 100 entrepreneurs who have made the mistakes, but survived, this resource is like having an expert whispering in one's ear.

From the Back Cover
READ AND LEARN FROM THE MISTAKES OTHER BUSINESS OWNERS HAVE MADE!

Using more than 100 interviews with seasoned entrepreneurs, author Jan Norman guides you through every stage of business start-up from planning to marketing and provides eye-opening lessons from successful business owners who've learned the hard way. It's like hiring a personal entrepreneurial coach to point out the roadblocks before you hit them! "What No One Ever Tells You about Starting Your Own Business" provides practical advice on the real issues that trip up the most sure-footed entrepreneur.

"This book is a virtual encyclopedia of gritty, practical start-up advice from over 100 real-life entrepreneurs who have been there, done that.' Highly recommended." (Fred Thomas, national president, SCORE Association)

"Jan Norman delivers immediate benefits to every reader. The 101 lessons learned in the trenches by these real entrepreneurs will enable new and existing business owners to make and implement better organizational, marketing, and financial decisions for their companies." (Linda Pinson, author, "Anatomy of a Business Plan" and "Automate Your Business Plan")

"No dream-world theories concocted by so-called experts; just the real-life experiences of entrepreneurs like yourself. With this book, you'll get a huge headstart when you set up your own business. Highly recommended!" (Fred S. Steingold, business lawyer and author of "Legal Guide for Starting and Running Your Own Business")

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Product Details

• Paperback: 221 pages
• Publisher: Dearborn Trade (November 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1574101129
• ISBN-13: 978-1574101126
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #336,317 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

91 of 94 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You'd better read it before taking the big leap., September 27, 2001

By	R. Shaff "Velocipede" (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've been in business for myself for over 14 years now. Started with basically nothing and had to learn the hard lessons. My immediate advice...learn from the lessons of others. This book is a good place to start.

Author Norman asks 101 entrepreneurs what they wish they had known prior to business startup and, if known, what would they have done differently.

As with most startup or troubled businesses, capital, cash flow and knowledge of the marketplace are the heinous leaders of failure. Each of the 101 short stories tells a tale tantamount to each entrepreneur's greatest challenge and/or fear. If this depicts an accurate picture of each entrepreneur's greatest burden in creating success, listen up. This is where you will pick up the absolute BEST advice. New and experienced entrepreneurs alike will take something away from this book.

The author provides and plethora of resources including reading material, associations, societies and other pertinent information. Further, Ms. Norman suggest that readers contact her with their stories presumably to begin "Book II."

A great primer or refresher.

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not really a textbook to small business..., October 23, 2003

By	Reds Fan (Cincinnati, OH United States) - See all my reviews

I think many people who purchased this book were thinking this might be a one-stop shop for business advice. Although there's much to be learned from the small businesses featured in "What No One Ever Tells You About Starting Your Own Business," it hardly works as a textbook-type book.

However, if you're throwing around some ideas for a potential, you're bound to get your creative juices flowing by reading about the highs and lows of those who took the gamble before you. It's bound to spark some ideas. In that respect, I rate this book very highly.

The book does offer solutions for the problems these companies faced, but it most circumstances, it's hard to apply the information to your specific situation.

If you've already started your own business, this book probably isn't for you. However, if you're looking for an idea or hoping to shape one, you're bound to get some value for your money.

95 of 105 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read for entrepreneurs and all business people, July 12, 2000

By	Peter Hupalo (MN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"What No One Ever Tells You About Starting Your Own Business" is an excellent read for entrepreneurs. Norman asks 101 entrepreneurs what they wish they had known when starting their businesses and what they would have done differently, if they had it to do over again. Norman questions what might have made them successful faster.

Most of the big failure traps are covered such as cash flow problems and the danger of undercharging for your product. Each of the 101 short chapters tells you a little bit about each of the entrepreneurs profiled, their business, and what they learned while building a business. The depth of each entrepreneur's insight and appropriateness to your own business will vary, but a new entrepreneur will certainly learn something.

Experienced business people will enjoy reading about the variety of businesses other people run.

The companies profiled range from one-person endeavors to Lillian Vernon Corporation with its 20 million mail-order customers. We learn that a young and pregnant Lillian Vernon was a housewife looking for extra income when she placed her first mail-order ad and invested about $2,000 in her new mail-order business. Within three months, the company was raking in tens of thousands of dollars in profitable orders.

Lillian's advice? Learn to read and interpret financial statements. Lillian said that would have helped her grow her business better. Hmm... it seems being in the right place, maybe, having the right product for the time, or luck, didn't hurt her either!

Other entrepreneurs' success came far less easily, and Norman covers the possibility of failure and the difficulties that other entrepreneurs faced. There is some really down-to-earth and grounded business advice. It is interesting to read about the variety of companies which range from video production companies to Wisconsin growers of ginseng.

We learn that even with ginseng going for $65 a pound (obviously not the too-low-product-price problem!), growing it creates a cash flow problem, as the weed, root, or whatever, takes four years to harvest. And, then, the plant can only be grown once in any area. That's not because the cops are after the growers or any such thing. It's legal. I checked.

An aside for wannabe Jeopardy-like game show contestants: Ginseng is an herb highly-valued, especially in Asia, for its medicinal purposes and is exported from the U.S. Not to be confused with ganja, which is illegal. Norman doesn't profile any ganja growers. As I read the profile, I thought to myself, "Gosh, this must be a *really* small company." Hsu's Ginseng Enterprises, the featured company, has $20 million in annual sales.

But, before you run out to grow ginseng or start a mail-order company, or start any other business for that matter, be sure you pick up a copy of "What No One Ever Tells You About Starting Your Own Business." You will certainly learn something about small business. Plus, it's a fun read.

Peter Hupalo, author of "Thinking Like An Entrepreneur."