Synopses & Reviews
When small- and medium-sized business owners first hear George Cloutier's rules, they often think he's a madman. His controversial rules for doing business—rules that aren't taught at Harvard Business School—include:
The best family business has one member.
Weekends are for working, not playing golf or coaching.
Never pay your vendors on time.
Wear your control freak badge with pride.
Quit denial: if your business is failing during a recession, it's your fault.
As the founder and CEO of American Management Services, Cloutier has emerged as "the leading advocate for small business" (Reuters), having spent over thirty years guiding business owners through the tough choices that line the road to profitability. He and his company have worked with more than six thousand companies, averting certain ruin for some and generating seemingly impossible growth and profitability for others.
Cloutier graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Business School, but the lessons in this book aren't from there. Unlike his classmates, most of whom headed straight to Wall Street, Cloutier has been on the docks at 2 a.m. counting heads of lettuce for food distributors to make sure nothing would disappear without a waybill. He's spent long, overnight hours in truck stops, making sure sticky fingers stayed out of the tills. Cloutier and his colleagues at American Management Services become personal pitt bulls to the CEOs who hire them, doing whatever it takes to bring their clients' businesses back into long-term profitability.
Profits Aren't Everything, They're the Only Thing is the long- overdue wake-up call for 23 million small- and midsize business owners across America. This book serves up the hard-boiled, unadulterated truth to aspiring and established entrepreneurs, without apologies. His no-nonsense advice may be hard to hear at times, but it works.
Review
“George Cloutiers new book is based on his experience with thousands of small businesses in hundreds of industries. It is a candid, “tell it as it really is,” hard-hitting book… A must read for all small and midsized business owners.” Tom Cochran, CEO and executive director, The United States Conference of Mayors
Review
“Packed with client examples and a no-nonsense attitude. Many of his regulations will amaze, shock, and awe small-business owners... Harsh ways to work? Yes, yet all his principles are founded on a success thats hard to argue with.” Booklist
Review
“This slim but forceful debut by turnaround management expert Cloutier serves as a wakeup call for small business owners who have been hit hard by the recession… Cloutiers book is loaded with valuable advice on how to get back on track and stay in the black in any economic environment.” Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
Small-business guru George Cloutier offers the controversial message that
Profits Aren't Everything, They're the Only Thing in this book of wisdom for entrepreneurs everywhere in these tough economic times. With advice such as "forget teamwork" and "micromanage like crazy,"
Profits Aren't Everything, They're the Only Thing is the reality check that will help small-business owners stay afloat and stay profitable.
Synopsis
Cloutier offers tough love for entrepreneurs and a controversial message that's perfect for these tough economic times: profits aren't everything; they're the only thing.
Synopsis
Small-business guru George Cloutier offers the controversial message that Profits Arent Everything, Theyre the Only Thing in this book of wisdom for entrepreneurs everywhere in these tough economic times. With advice such as “forget teamwork” and “micromanage like crazy,” Profits Arent Everything, Theyre the Only Thing is the reality check that will help small-business owners stay afloat and stay profitable.
About the Author
George Cloutier is the co-chairman of Partner America, a partnership between Cloutier's company and the nation's mayors. The U.S. Conference of Mayors has twice named him Small Business Advocate and Entrepreneur of the Year. Tulane University named Cloutier Social Entrepreneur of the Year for his work bringing back small business in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. He is also the CEO of American Management Services,a consulting firm that specializes in small- and midsize businesses, where he has brought over six thousand small businesses across four hundred industries from the brink of bankruptcy to double-digit profits through a hard-working, no-nonsense approach. He is a coach, lecturer, speaker, and regular commentator on national television. He has been seen on FoxBusiness News, ABC's 20/20, CNBC's Squawk Box, MSNBC, and Bloomberg Television, most recently as a pundit on the economic crisis. Called the "Turnaround Ace" by BusinessWeek, he has been profiled by the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, USA Today, and Fortune Small Business.