Synopses & Reviews
As a result of the uncertain corporate job market, entrepreneurship is flourishing. Advice for start-ups is everywhere, in books, websites, newspapers and magazines and it constitutes a body of received wisdom. Journalist Jonathan Moules, who has devoted six years to interviewing and reporting on successful entrepreneurs, turns some of this advice on its head. His is a model of "rebel entrepreneurship" that defies conventional views about how new entrepreneurs should behave in order to make their businesses successful.
Some of Moules' alternative opinions will startle: He challenges the need for bank loans to start and grow a business, the need for a business plan, and offers the contrarian view of increasing prices in tough times.
His case studies address not only how entrepreneurs can succeed but also how they might fail or fail to achieve full potential and include centuries old companies as well as young stars of the internet age such as Twitter, Gilt Groupe, Criteo, celebrity entrepreneurs James Dyson, Richard Branson and Steve Jobs and companies big and small.
Moules' point is to take alternative opinions on some of the main area of concern in a business. His aim is to show that not following the crowd can be a better way of managing a business and make it grow bigger and faster.
Review
Jonathan Moules is the Enterprise Editor for The Financial Times, where he has profiled hundreds of companies and their owners. He has written extensively on successful entrepreneurs. Moules spent 5 years in the FT's New York office, where he held numerous positions, including technology, media and telecoms news editor. He wrote specifically about the US mobile phone industry and new media businesses, and he covered the dotcom bubble and its aftermath.
"If you are thinking of starting a business, if you are already working in a fledging enterprise or if you just need clear, uncluttered, practical advice and guidance on how to operate and improve things, this outstanding book should be your close companion. It is a book for these troubles times and beyond. Buying the book could be one of the best entrepreneurial investments you will ever make. Rebel and prosper." --Retail Confidential Book
"[O]ffers a wealth of information, insights, and counsel that have substantial practical value...[I recommend] this book to those who are preparing for a business career or have only recently embarked on one as well as to middle managers in large organizations." --Robert Morris, Amazon Top 50 Reviewer
"[I]nterweaves intriguing stories, validated advice, and statistical evidence in an easy-to-read narrative style to make its points...The reader will learn not only why entrepreneurs succeed, but also how they fail totally or fail to achieve full potential...[a] valuable resource for those wanting to know about starting a business venture based on unconventional wisdom." --Alex Hapka, New York Journal of Books
"[O]ffers new readers a glimpse into an alternative way to go about their business, and likely one with a higher chance for success." --800 CEO Read
"Moules writing style is the real refreshing element of the book...a solid read that's entertaining and enlightening." --David Burkus, LDRLB
"[C]ontains nuggets of advice and practical information that most people building a business would be grateful to hear." --Financial Times
"[P]acked with examples of successful entrepreneurs who have done things differently and offers many contradictions to standard business tradition... [A] powerful guide highly recommended for any business collection." --The Bookwatch
"Jonathan Moules…draws on the wins and losses of dozens of entrepreneurs to summarize their collective wisdom through illustrative cases from the past decade or so. He explains why failure can be a meaningful step on the road to success. [A] thoughtful, succinct and practical presentation. getAbstract suggests it especially to budding entrepreneurs." --getAbstract
Synopsis
Everyone wants to start their own business and there are many of books telling you how to go about it. The only trouble is that many of them are simply wrong. The Rebel Entrepreneur by Financial Times journalist Jonathan Moules explains why, in many cases, the received wisdom on entrepreneurship just isn't the best way of doing things.
Full of examples of successful entrepreneurs, who've made the grade by doing things differently, this book will show you:
- Why you don't need to stick to a business plan;
- There's nothing wrong with learning from the ideas of others;
- Why, if things get tough, you should put your prices up;
- How cutting costs can kill your business.
The Rebel Entrepreneur is the alternative guide to starting your own business and succeeding that no entrepreneur can afford to be without.
Synopsis
Financial Times journalist, Jonathan Moules, explains why, in many cases, the traditional wisdom on entrepreneurship isn't necessarily the most effective. Full of examples of successful entrepreneurs who've thrived by doing things differently,
The Rebel Entrepreneur provides iconoclastic advice for entrepreneurs, including:
- don't rely on bank loans to start and grow a business
- a business plan isn't always necessary
- there's nothing wrong with copying someone else's idea
- in tough times, increase prices; cutting costs can kill a business
Moules addresses not only how entrepreneurs can succeed, but also why they might fail or fail to achieve their potential. There are case studies of successful companies that rejected the majority opinion - including GILT Groupe, the New York-based luxury goods e-retailer and Criteo, the online advertising company, a 2005 Paris start-up now Silicon Valley-based which in 6 years has set up offices in 20 countries - but Moules talks about challenges these entrepreneurs faced not just "good news" stories.
Synopsis
Entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs, startups and business owners
About the Author
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Advice is timely: 16 of out the 30 corporations that make up the current Dow Jones Industrial Average started during a recession.
- Focuses on personal interviews with entrepreneurs that are still growing and developing
- Full of case studies of successful and emergent entrepreneurs, such as Jack Wills ["University Outfitters. Fabulously British"] the retailer who opened their first US stores in 2010 in and now has 11 stores in the USA. — and still expanding
Table of Contents
Prologue: The importance of being a rebel 01 Funding is for fools
The case for bootstrapping
Small is beautiful, at least to begin with
The value of having no money
Have you tried the alternatives to the bank?
Pull yourself up by your bootstraps
If you cant get a loan, get a grant
Timing can be everything
We are all dotcoms now, thank goodness
No man is an island when it comes to funding
The conclusion 02 Dont innovate, imitate
An imitator in action
The original
Every action has a legal reaction
You cant keep a good idea down
First movers do not necessarily have the advantage
Copying is as old as the hills
It is all about execution
Attack of the clones
Imitation can be the salvation of a company
Timing is everything
You do not have to settle for second best
The conclusion
03 Dont be a hero
The problem of letting go
Most people find good leadership hard
Size is everything
Take a trip from the good parenting guide
Confessions of a meddler
An exception to the rule
When do you step back?
External factors are important too
The conclusion 04 The high price of success
Less can be more
Do the mathematics
What your prices say about the value of your offering
Why you need to keep prices up
The difficult relationship between price and value
In a recession, the need to raise prices only increases
The art of maintaining a high price
How do you get people to pay more?
Price is a matter of economics
To cut, or not to cut
Cutting your costs is not the same as raising your prices
What about cross-border trade?
How do you maintain high prices?
Warning: you can raise prices too much
Being low cost does not mean you cannot raise your prices
Being the best is always better than being cheapest
The conclusion 05 Dont get hung up on the business plan
The only constant in (business) life is change
Ryanair as an example of a company that changed
Imitate, dont innovate (reprised)
There is no shame in starting all over again
Testing, testing
Once the business plan works, write it down
The concept of the pivot
Pivoting once is never enough
Pivoting and foreign markets
The conclusion 06 You cannot cut your way to success
How do you react to the bad times?
Do you really need to make those cuts?
Sell on the savings your company can provide
Spend some money on yourself
Be confident
Do not rush to cut jobs
Find the opportunities to grow
Remember to pivot as well as invest
The conclusion 07 Do not waste your time selling
Tips for accelerating the sales process
Teamwork is key to sales
Good customer service can be a sales strategy
A few sales tips
Beware of overtrading
Squeezing the lemon
Opportunity is never far away
The conclusion 08 Failure is not failure if you learn
Why the fear of failure can be so damaging
Failure can be your own stupid fault
Common mistake 1: treating the bank like a cashpoint
Common mistake 2: putting your eggs in one basket
Life can be cruel so you have to deal with it
The random nature of entrepreneurial success
Remember, it may be second time unlucky
Remember, the darkest moment is before the dawn
Insolvency is often not the end
The conclusion Index