Product Description: Entrepreneur's Notebook propels you on a whirlwind tour of the start-up process. It is an invaluable reference for new and experienced entrepreneurs that includes chapters on a wide range of topics, from entrepreneurial team building to business plans to financing. This excellent book provides an incredible amount of practical information that will help you make smarter decisions and avoid costly mistakes. The author, Steven K. Gold, is an accomplished entrepreneur who has co-founded and led five early-stage ventures. As an investor and mentor, he also advises many entrepreneurs and young companies. He earned his B.S.E. in Entrepreneurial Management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and his M.D. from Brown University Medical School.
A must read for any budding entrepreneur! As an engineer that wants to work my idea into a successful business, I need all the help I can get in non-technical areas. This book was the first I read to try and get a better understanding of the business world. It did not disappoint! Steven does an excellent job of getting his knowledge across to people in a manner easy to understand and follow. My venture is still in the development stages but I am going to utilize the knowledge I gained from this book to project my idea upwards!
Terrific Launching Pad Every budding entrepreneur should know and implement strategies and concepts found in this book. As a second opinion on the same brand of practical advice found in my own book, "The Expert's Edge," this book offers a terrific launching pad. Get it, read it, study it... do it!
Very good book for a beginer Very nice book for the first timer. Explains in detail about the ABCs of starting a new business.
It was very helpful and enlightening about how to start a business. A must read for anybody who wants to know what is needed to start a successful business.
It talks more about starting a startup company rather than starting a small business like a store.
Great, fun, easy read, but... This book is a great overview for someone just beginning to think about starting a business venture, but it seemed to be more focused towards the needs of a large venture, rather than a small business. It covered a lot that I thought would not be applicable to the type of business I want to start -- a small town retail shop where I plan to run the business myself and will not hire executives or get funding from investors (other than probably a local bank or the SBA). Perhaps this just shows my ignorance of what owning a small business is about, though!
I also have to express my disagreement with his comments regarding attorneys. (Disclosure: I am currently an associate at a big law firm.) It sounds like he happened to get some bad attorneys. For what it's worth, my thoughts, based on my own observations of attorneys at large and small firms (my own firms and opposing firms), are this: (1) I don't think his experiences reflect the services provided by all large law firms -- I think the quality of services you get depends on whether you hire a good INDIVIDUAL attorney, not law firm, (2) you are much more likely to have someone "learn on your dime" at a small firm than a large one simply because attorneys at large firms do a lot more business and specialize in certain areas and therefore become more experienced with matters that arise in those areas, (3) most small firm attorneys will NOT be as great as the ones he found, and (4) most partners are so distracted by bringing in business and a million other things that associates are much more likely to focus on your deal, keep things moving quickly, and actually pay attention to the details. I think the ideal arrangement for a small business owner is to find a good associate who has a good partner to ask for guidance on big issues when needed. I just don't think it's fair to generalize that all big firm attorneys are terrible and negligent with small clients, or that associates are all clueless and learning on your dime. (I can provide proof in the form of reviews from my large and small business clients!) That all being said, there are some fantastic attorneys at small shops and if you find one, you will pay much less for their services. My best advice on finding a good attorney (whether at a large firm or a small firm) is to get referrals from other business owners.
Very good, but needs more depth The Entrepreneur's Notebook by Gold offer an enthusing reading for anyone interested in knowing the fundementals of starting a new business venture with the least amount of mistakes. This is why I liked this book: 1. Uses real life examples from the author's own experience to explain entrepreneurship and the mistakes not to make when starting a new business. 2. Uses very simple analogies (I love the chapter on cash flow). 3. Very easy to follow and explains the different entrepreneurial personalities in great detail.
I did not like this book for the following reasons: 1. This book is not universal and most of the chapters apply to entrepreneurship in the US only. Although the first chapters are applicable to any entrepreneur, the ending chapters are rigid and US specific.
Final Verdict: Still a valuable buy but more applicable to US entrepreneurs rather than Entrepreneurship in general.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Tailipoe
Trevor
