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    So You Want To Be An Entrepreneur?: How to decide if starting a business is really for you
    So You Want To Be An Entrepreneur?: How to decide if starting a business is really for you
    So You Want To Be An Entrepreneur?: How to decide if starting a business is really for you
    Ebook249 pages2 hours

    So You Want To Be An Entrepreneur?: How to decide if starting a business is really for you

    By Jon Gillespie-Brown

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    About this ebook

    Jon Gillespie Brown brings his extensive mentoring experience to bear in this new handbook for would-be entrepreneurs. So You Want to Be an Entrepreneur? contains a series of mentoring sessions, each carefully thought out to make you consider and plan your life based on your passions, ambitions and ultimate visions. By actively taking part in each of the exercises, you give yourself the best chance of succeeding as an entrepreneur, or the sufficient clarity to decide what other career options are best suited to you.

    Explore your real goals, hidden talents, passions, assets and core skills. The simple self-discovery tools in the book will make it easy for you to analyse this information and take the next steps towards your entrepreneurial dreams with total confidence.

    PRAISE FOR SO YOU WANT TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR
    'Read this book if you plan to be an entrepreneur, find out what it's really like before you make the leap!' Doug Richard, entrepreneur, business investor and former member of the Dragons' Den TV programme

    'Before I invest in a business at an early stage I want to know the founders knew what they were getting into. I would suggest they check out if they measure up to the demands of the ups and downs required to be a successful entrepreneur by reading this book first.' Richard Farleigh, Author Taming the Lion: 100 Secret Strategies for Investing and former member of the Dragons' Den

    'The key to entrepreneurial success is understanding what type of entrepreneur you are, and then doing business in a way that is true to yourself, and above all, one that brings you personal happiness and fulfilment. This book will help you decide whether a life of an entrepreneur is for you.' Rachel Elnaugh, entrepreneur, business speaker and former member of the Dragons' Den

    'Very few people truly consider the hard work, disappointment, frustration and crushing lows that every Entrepreneur experiences along the journey. Jon's book is a must read for anybody ready to take the leap!' Richard Parkes Cordock, author of Millionaire Upgrade and creator of Millionaire MBA Business Mentoring Programme

    'The only form of safe employment is self-employment. I recommend anyone considering the entrepreneurial path to read this book.' Geoff Burch, International Speaker and author of Go It Alone: The Streetwise Secrets of Self-Employment

    tobeanentrepreneur.com

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWiley
    Release dateAug 25, 2009
    ISBN9781907293429
    So You Want To Be An Entrepreneur?: How to decide if starting a business is really for you

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      Book preview

      So You Want To Be An Entrepreneur? - Jon Gillespie-Brown

      001

      Table of Contents

      Title Page

      Copyright Page

      WHY YOU SHOULD BUY THIS BOOK

      Who will you be supporting by buying this book?

      PREFACE

      Can a book really make a difference?

      Acknowledgements

      The London Business School

      My many friends, entrepreneurs and mentees

      Publishers

      Special thanks

      Contributors

      Dedication

      SO YOU WANT TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR?

      Introduction

      Dreaming big dreams

      Your passion - what are you willing to do for the rest of your life?

      Mentor Session 1 - Introduction to Entrepreneurship

      Introduction

      Top ten ways to answer the ultimate question - do I want to become an entrepreneur?

      Top ten ways to answer the ultimate question - Do I want to become an entrepreneur?

      What is an entrepreneur?

      Research into entrepreneurs

      The top ten traits of successful entrepreneurs

      Lessons

      Mentor Session 2 - Entrepreneurs Uncovered

      Top ten myths about entrepreneurs

      What makes people become an entrepreneur?

      Are you feeling like an entrepreneur yet?

      Lessons

      Mentor Session 3 - Entrepreneurial Lifestyle

      What′s life like as an entrepreneur?

      Ten great things about being an entrepreneur

      The story of an entrepreneurial beginning

      Lessons

      Mentor Session 4 - Deconstructing You - Part 1

      Taking a personal inventory and assessing your current resources

      Audit your business history and abilities

      Management skills evaluation

      Personality evaluation

      Accomplishments

      Your health position

      What interests you in life?

      What about your family and network?

      Have you considered the ideal lifestyle for you?

      Mentor Session 5 - Deconstructing You-Part 2

      What′s your personal motivation?

      Vision, purpose and personal mission statement

      Identifying personal criteria that will fit your new business

      It′s not all about the ′money′ or being a ′millionaire′

      Make an ′I want′ list

      Mentor Session 6 - Is it Really for Me?

      Getting over the fear of starting out

      Anyone can become an entrepreneur at any life stage

      Top ten excuses for not becoming an entrepreneur

      Finding the courage to go for it

      Lessons

      Mentor Session 7 - Make Sure you Take your Loved Ones with You

      Achieving a life of balance

      Mentor Session 8 - Are You Ready to be an Entrepreneur?

      So what are your answers to the ultimate question - do you want to be entrepreneur?

      Top ten ways to answer the ultimate question - do I want to become an entrepreneur?

      Epilogue

      Answer key

      Index

      001

      Copyright © 2008 by Jon Gillespie-Brown

      First published in 2008 by Capstone Publishing Ltd. (a Wiley Company) The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, PO19 8SQ, UK. www.wileyeurope.com

      Email (for orders and customer service enquires): cs-books@wiley.co.uk

      The right of Jon Gillespie-Brown to be identified as the author of this book has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

      All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except under the terms of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP, UK, without the permission in writing of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex PO19 8SQ, England, or emailed to permreq@wiley.co.uk, or faxed to (+44) 1243 770571.

      Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The Publisher is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

      This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold on the understanding that the Publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

      Other Wiley Editorial Offices

      John Wiley & Sons Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA

      Jossey-Bass, 989 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103-1741, USA

      Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH, Boschstr. 12, D-69469 Weinheim, Germany

      John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd, 42 McDougall Street, Milton, Queensland 4064, Australia

      John Wiley & Sons (Asia) Pte Ltd, 2 Clementi Loop #02-01, Jin Xing Distripark, Singapore 129809

      John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd, 22 Worcester Road, Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada M9W 1L1 Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books.

      CIP (TK)

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library and the Library of Congress.

      eISBN : 978-1-907-29342-9

      Typeset by 11.5/14 ITC Garamond Light by Thomson Digital, India

      Printed and Bound in Great Britain byT J International Ltd, Padtow, Cornwall, UK

      Substantial discounts on bulk quantities of Capstone Books are available to corporations, professional associations and other organizations. For details telephone John Wiley & Sons on (+44) 1243-770441, fax (+44) 1243 770571 or email corporatedevelopment@ wiley.co.uk

      WHY YOU SHOULD BUY THIS BOOK

      ‘We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibres connect us with our fellow-men, and along those fibres, as sympathetic friends, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects.’

      Herman Melville

      This book is written in an ‘easy to read’ style designed to help you decide if you want to become an entrepreneur, using you as a starting point. It’s based around a series of mentor sessions, guiding you through the realities of life as an entrepreneur together with an analysis of your life, goals and ambitions. It then helps you decide if this is the life for you.

      Reading it and actively taking part in each of the exercises will provide you with the best chance of succeeding as an entrepreneur, if that’s the path you choose; or it will give you sufficient clarity to decide what other career options are best suited to you.

      Another great reason to buy this book is because all the profits go directly to helping other would-be entrepreneurs less fortunate than you. Imagine that, just by buying this book you will contribute towards launching someone else’s venture - so you will become an entrepreneur’s sponsor even if you don’t do it yourself.

      Personally, I believe in ‘giving back’ and making a contribution as the universal power behind everyone’s success. This could be the first lesson you learn from this book. Start your entrepreneurial journey by giving and you will be more successful that you can imagine!

      Who will you be supporting by buying this book?

      The Grameen Foundation

      ‘I plan to donate the proceeds from the sale of this book to an organization that I feel is making a meaningful difference, the Grameen Foundation. Grameen Foundation is a US-based nonprofit that seeks to empower the world’s poorest people to lift themselves out of poverty with dignity through access to financial services and to information.

      Learn more at www.grameenfoundation.org’

      PREFACE

      ‘There comes a special moment in everyone’s life, a moment for which that person was born. That special opportunity, when he seizes it, will fulfil his mission - a mission for which he is uniquely qualified. In that moment, he finds greatness. It is his finest hour.’

      Winston Churchill

      Dear Reader,

      Welcome to a book that is all about you!

      Unlike many other great books in this field, this book is specifically designed to guide you through a comprehensive, personal thought process, allowing you to come to a decision about whether or not you really want to become an entrepreneur.

      Being an entrepreneur is like nothing else. It is incredibly taxing yet rewarding, stressful and energizing, risky but exciting, and we are going to find out if that’s the life for you.

      When I got my first really serious business going at eighteen, I needed some start-up funds. With my mother’s encouragement I wrote to all my wealthier relatives (the few!) trying to drum up some support. I included one of my favourite people in the world, a close family friend who owned a successfull hat factory. He wrote me a long and eloquent argument as to why not to start in my business and to do something else!

      I was stunned, quite upset and finally indignant. I couldn’t believe this successful businessman who was always cheerful and happy, the most upbeat person I have ever met, would try to crush my dreams. In hindsight I know he was just looking out for me. Despite his cheery disposition, this man had endured a long and rocky road to build his now mighty business. He wanted to save me from that . . . as it happens I wasn’t to be deterred from my ambition.

      While of course I want you to understand what you would be getting yourself into, I don’t want to deter you from your ambition either. Whether you are 16 or 66, people will tell you that you can’t or shouldn’t become an entrepreneur (and for good reason, as most people fail) but don’t be put off by anecdote. Use this book to really test the viability of any decision.

      ‘The entrepreneur is our visionary, the creator in each of us. We’re born with that quality and it defines our lives as we respond to what we see, hear, feel, and experience. It is developed, nurtured, and given space to flourish or is squelched, thwarted, without air or stimulation, and dies.’

      Michael Gerber

      Can a book really make a difference?

      Don’t underestimate how important something as simple as a book can be to shaping the path you will eventually take in life. Like so many other successful entrepreneurs, my own defining moment can be traced back to a book that became the impetus for me starting my first business. The book was ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’, a business motivational and personal development staple nowadays, but back then I had never even heard of it or its author. I didn’t even know any entrepreneurs or people that ran their own businesses.

      The concept of entrepreneurship was entirely foreign to me as a career choice. My father had only ever worked for two companies in his whole life, and the expectation was that I would pursue a future in the sciences or something equally ‘credible’. I certainly wasn’t expected to waste my ‘brains’ in a business start-up. Nevertheless, this book had a profound effect on me; not only did it give me a huge amount of confidence, it also sowed the seed of a burning entrepreneurial ambition. It changed my outlook on life completely and made me realize I could do anything I put my mind to. With the help of this book, my new found confidence grew steadily until I started my first venture at the age of eighteen years. So you never know where a book is going to take you.

      I have designed this book as a series of mentoring sessions, carefully thought out to make you think about, consider and plan your life based on your passions, ambitions, life phase, resources and ultimate visions - even if you don’t become an entrepreneur, your life will be more focused and directed towards happiness and success after

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