Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months: a Book Review

Startup Sunday

So many people dream of becoming an entrepreneur but have no idea how to translate the fantasy into action items. In her new book Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months, Melinda Emerson has written a comprehensive road map to take you from the entrepreneurial concept to the launch party. This remarkably clear and readable book serves as an indispensible checklist for any would-be small business owner.

At the very beginning of Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months, Melinda Emerson, an author I like personally and admire professionally, douses any entrepreneurial daydreams with a bucket of much-needed cold water. Being an entrepreneur means hard work and sacrifice for the potential of rewards in the distant future.

It can take 12 to 18 months to break even and three to turn a profit; moreover, one in three small businesses close their doors within the second year, she warns. You need your family's support, the entrepreneurial mindset and faith to sustain you through the lean months -- or years -- on the path to success.

Next, Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months takes you through the key steps to opening a small business: writing a life plan, financial plan and business model as well as finding professional services, drafting a marketing plan, branding, lining up financing, building your team and setting up shop. The writing is easy to digest and follow, with user friendly bullet points, section headings and action steps at the end of most chapters.

I like that Melinda focuses on the life plan before getting into the meat of small business ownership. Being an entrepreneur directs so much else in your life; it's important to understand that and to visualize how your life will fit around your small business. Too many people jump into entrepreneurship without realizing how much time and commitment it requires.

Similarly, Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months demands that budding entrepreneurs focus on the nitty gritty of running a business, which is necessary to achieve the glorious vision you dreamed up in your garage. You must understand the finances and day-to-day management of a business, not just the big picture strategy. Melinda wisely recommends getting your personal finances well under control and building up a savings cushion before launching an entrepreneurial venture.

From networking strategies to the golden rules of customer service, Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months is chock full of ideas and tips that will be invaluable to any aspiring entrepreneur. This step-by-step method for starting a new business is the opposite of my own improvised approach, but worth digesting before jumping into anything new. And certainly, any business that requires a large investment in staff, inventory or physical assets demands better research and planning than I conducted before launching my freelance writing business in just a few days.

My first quibble with Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months is that it focuses on the launch of the business as the big event. In many industries, the launch may be greeted with a whimper rather than a bang, and you'll only get attention from customers, competitors and the media when you can prove that you have staying power and an enduring appeal. I worry that entrepreneurs who focus too much on the 12-month path to launch may not be financially or emotionally prepared for the three-year journey to profitability that Melinda mentions early on in the book.

My second criticism is that some major initiatives -- such as hiring and managing staff -- are breezed through with just a mention of the important factors to consider. To be fair, a full discussion of topics such as motivating employees or marketing strategy could fill an entire book. But this reality could at least be acknowledged in an aside that steers readers to other titles that provide more depth.

Finally, I wish that Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months provided better assistance for entrepreneurs in evaluating whether their ideas are indeed worth pursuing. The steps to launch are detailed without much help in prioritizing the most important tasks, and which items may be postponed until you know whether your business idea stands a chance of making money.

With the vast majority of small businesses in the U.S. having zero employees and few hard assets, I believe many prospective entrepreneurs can evaluate the likelihood of profitability without wasting time researching every vendor and setting up every aspect of their business. If you went through this book task by task, it would truly take you 12 months!

But in the end, perhaps that's the point of Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months. Entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart, and it may not be a great choice for people who want shortcuts. (But oh, I do love my shortcuts.)

Comments

[Jason Webb]

Very interesting article, thanks for sharing.

Thanks and Regards/-
Jason Webb