Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Book Review: The $100 Startup By Chris Guillebeau

The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future

 
Publisher: Random House Digital, Inc.
 
Date: May 8, 2012 
 
 

About The Author
Chris Guillebeau is the New York Times bestselling author of The $100 Startup and other books. Chris travels the world and writes for a small army of remarkable people at ChrisGuillebeau.com.

Follow Your Passion and Create a New Future
How much money do you need to start a business?

Chris Guillebeau believes that borrowing money to start a business is now completely optional. The quest for personal freedom lies in the pursuit of value for others. The author advises entrepreneurs "to focus on the point of convergence between what you love to do and what other people are willing to pay for".

This book is about people who start their own microbusinesses without investment, without employees, and often without much of an idea of what they're doing. They almost never have a formal business plan and they often don't have a plan at all except to "try this out and see what happens." The new entrepreneurs think carefully about all the skills they have that could be helpful to others and then take action.

My Thoughts
This book has been on my "want" list for several months so I was very pleased when I found a digital copy at the public library. I have read both favorable and unfavorable reviews of the book so I was anxious to read it myself.

Many of the "unexpected entrepreneurs" in this book lost a job or left a job and were forced to start a small business from scratch to pay their bills. They say "necessity is the mother of invention" and that was definitely the case in many of the stories in this book. These people have turned their passion into profit while creating a more meaningful life for themselves.

The primary lesson that I learned from this book is the importance of mindset. You really have to be determined, persistent and dedicated to making your business work. That means your entire life must revolve around this business 24/7. The case studies in this book are NOT get-rich-quick schemes. The owners of these small businesses had to work very hard to achieve success. The startup cost might be $100 but the amount of work, sacrifice and perseverance that is required is tremendous. I am afraid the author makes it look a bit too easy.

This book offers inspiration for readers who have lots of passion but little money to invest in a startup.

My Rating: 4 Stars Out Of 5

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