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Employee to Entrepreneur by Make the leap and become an entrepreneur today Are you living for the weekend? Are you dissatisfied at work? Are you itching to do something that is important to you? How can you avoid the pitfalls that many first-time entrepreneurs have fallen into? How do you explore whether entrepreneurship is right for you without giving up your day job? Employee to Entrepreneur is your guide to leaving your job behind and building something for yourself. Author and employee-turned-entrepreneur Steve Glaveski, shows you how to navigate the challenges, find the entrepreneurial success that is right for you and become a better person along the way. Employee to Entrepreneur combines storytelling with a step-by-step framework to teach you how to effectively explore and leverage entrepreneurship to gain freedom, fulfillment and financial security. understand what you want to do by first understanding yourself explore if entrepreneurship is right for you without giving up your day job avoid the common pitfalls faced by first-time entrepreneurs fund, test and prioritise your ideas in a fast and cost-effective way develop the mindset to succeed in your business. If you're ready to leave your cushy employee life behind and build a business and a life you believe in, reading this essential guidebook is your first step to making it happen. 
Invent, Reinvent, Thrive by In today's uncertain world of business, one rule stands above the rest: If you want to survive--let alone thrive--you must embrace change. Everything else comes after. In Invent Reinvent Thrive Kellogg School ofManagement Professor Lloyd Shefsky provides the inspiration and insight any entrepreneur or family business needs for long-term success--and he backs it all up with proven models of what works and what doesn't. Shefsky reveals the common thread of all businesssuccess stories: reinvention. He explains not just how to reinvent concepts and ideas from the start, but ways to continuously innovate and reinvent your business to meet today's constantly changing marketplace conditions. In addition to his own expert insight, Shefsky provides firsthand advice through case studies derived from dozens of original interviews with entrepreneurs and family business giants, consisting of the leaders of some of today's most successful companies, including: Howard Schultz (founder, Chairman, and CEO of Starbucks) Jim Sinegal (founder of Costco) Chuck Schwab (founder of Charles Schwab & Co.) Tom Stemberg (founder of Staples) The author also gives special attention to familybusinesses (which account for over half the U.S. GDP) and how to address vexing family disparities, enabling family businesses to last more than two generations. Invent Reinvent Thrive offers all the answers youneed to get your business where you want it to be. You'll learn exactly where new and multi-generational business owners fall short and miss incredible opportunities, why they fail to take the plunge or innovate--and how you can rework, revitalize, and reinvent your business not just to avoid the most common perils but to lead your business tothe apex of your industry. "Entrepreneurship is not a cataclysmic event," Shefsky writes. "It is a constant process." Follow his advice through every step of the process and you will successfully invent, reinvent--and thrive. PRAISE FOR INVENT REINVENT THRIVE: "If you think business books are boring, this is your chance to prove yourself wrong. Storytelling is an art, and Shefsky brings that art to business. Invent ReinventThrive is a treasure trove of valuable lessons." -- STAN KASTEN, President and CEO, Los Angeles Dodgers; former President of the Washington Nationals and the Atlanta Braves, Hawks, and Thrashers "Invent Reinvent Thrive is full of wise and practical guidance for both would-be and continuing entrepreneurs. Shefsky's discussions provide wonderful advice that will aid anyone embarking on or continuing in an entrepreneurial enterprise." -- DAVID RUDER, former Chairman, Securities & Exchange Commission "Our company's direct experience with Lloyd Shefsky . . . inspired us to methodically pursue Brown-Forman's never-ending greatness, and this book can do the same for others. I highly recommend Invent Reinvent Thrive to all businesspeople." -- PAUL VARGA, CEO and Chairman, Brown-Forman Corporation, producer of Jack Daniels, Finlandia, Southern Comfort, and other spirits "Lloyd Shefsky tackles the issues many entrepreneurs face and offers practical advice to defy the odds. If you've had business success, yet need to go to the nextlevel, read this book." -- GINGER GRAHAM, former President and CEO, Amylin Pharmaceuticals, and formerfaculty at the Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship at the Harvard Business School "This is a very serious study of a critical issue, and no one dealing with entrepreneurship or family businesses should make the mistake of ignoring it." -- ISRAEL ZANG, Professor and former Dean of Business School and Vice Provost of Tel Aviv University
Own Your Future by It used to be that if you studied and worked hard, you could be assured of an extremely satisfying career. But in a world of constant layoffs and dying industries, it has become increasingly difficult to "plan" your way to success. So what is the solution? Well, when it comes to dealing with uncertainty, nobody handles it better than successful entrepreneurs. That's why you want to take the same approach they do! Based on extensive research and interviews, Own Your Future shows how to apply the simple model they use - Act. Learn. Build. Repeat - to reinvent the way you maneuver in an unpredictable job market. Here's how it works. Instead of picturing your perfect career and working backwards, simply begin with the direction you want to goand take a small step. Thinking alone will never change your life - you must ACT. Then evaluate the lessons you learn from that first step, build on them, and take another step in your desired direction. Repeat this process until you have achieved your goal. When you consider that your job - perhaps even your industry - may disappear, you have no choice but to take control. Filled with stories of professionals of all kinds who have profited from this proactive approach, Own Your Future gives you the tools you need to succeed - no matter what comes your way. "
The Playful Entrepreneur by A compelling account of how incorporating play into work can help us overcome the uncertainty and turbulence that surrounds work How can we learn to deal with uncertainty at work? The answer, as Dodgson and Gann eloquently portray in this pathfinding book, is to learn from the adaptive behaviors of entrepreneurs. Play, the authors show, is a crucial component of this. It encourages exploration, experimentation, and curiosity while it also challenges established practices and orthodoxies. It facilitates change in people and organizations. Drawing on in-depth interviews with entrepreneurs and innovators, this book explains why we should incorporate play into work, what play looks like, and how to encourage playfulness in individuals and organizations. Dodgson and Gann identify four key behaviors that endorse, encourage, and guide play: grace, craft, fortitude, and ambition, and provide a blueprint for an alternative way of working that fosters resilience and encourages innovation and growth in difficult times.
Zero to Maker by Zero to Maker is part memoir and part how-to guidebook for anyone who is having thoughts like these: I feel like all I can do is write emails. I wish I had more hands-on skills even though I don't know what I would build... I have this one idea I've always wanted to make, but I don't know how to build it... I keep hearing about the "maker movement" but I'm not sure what that means or how I can join in... The book follows author David Lang's headfirst dive into the maker world and shows how he grew from an unskilled beginner to be a successful entrepreneur. You'll discover how to navigate this new community of makers, and find the best resources for learning the tools and skills you need to be a dynamic maker in your own right. The way we make things has changed. A new generation of tinkerers have emerged through online communities and powerful digital fabrication tools, and their creations are changing the world. This book follows the author's personal journey of transformation into a maker-entrepreneur. It is everyone's guide to combining inspiration and resources to effectively navigate this exciting new world. Lang reveals how he became a maker pro after losing his job and how the experience helped him start OpenROV, a DIY community and product line focused on underwater robotics. It all happened once he became an active member of the maker movement. Ready to take the plunge into the next Industrial Revolution? This guide provides a clear and inspiring roadmap. Take an eye-opening journey from unskilled observer to engaged maker Learn how to join this community, get access to tools and experts, and pick up new skills Use a template for building a maker-based entrepreneurial lifestyle and prepare yourself for the careers of the future This book is for everyone who dreams of becoming a successful maker-entrepreneur. It not only satisfies the aspirational aspect but shows newcomers to the maker movement exactly how to join in. First published in 2013, this new edition features full-color photos and shares David's latest insights and experiences as he continues to grow as a maker entrepreneur and citizen scientist.
The Economy of You by The biggest trend in business is the microbusiness! Handcrafted jewelry, artisanal eats, life coaching, app development, you name it—entrepreneurial side ventures are everywhere. Weary of pink-slip anxiety and the endless money squeeze, millions of people are taking the leap. They’re adding to their incomes and creating safety nets in case the ax falls at work. In the process, they’re unlocking their creativity and finding a sense of fulfillment they never dreamed possible. Financial columnist Kimberly Palmer illuminates the everyday faces behind this growing movement, starting with her own journey. Recognizing that journalism offers little job security these days—and with a baby to provide for—she decided to develop a series of financial planners. This supplemental business was soon providing a reliable income stream. The Economy of You recounts story after story of people who—like Kimberly—are liberating themselves from financial strain. A deli employee who makes custom cakes at night. An instrument repairman who sells voice-overs on his website. A videographer who started a profitable publishing house on the side. Interwoven in the profiles are concrete guidelines for readers looking to launch rewarding businesses of their own, including: • Tips for figuring out the ideal side gig • Ideas for keeping start up costs low • Advice on juggling a fledgling enterprise and a full-time job • Strategies for finding your “tribe” and building a social network • Branding and marketing basics that bring results • When and what to offer for free • And much more Companies guarantee nothing but today’s wages. It’s up to YOU to build stability by becoming a money-making engine. It’s empowering, gratifying, and easy to do with The Economy of You.
The Entrepreneur's Guide to Risk and Decisions by Becoming a successful entrepreneur is impossible without accepting risk - the question is which risk to take and at what time. Expert authors Thomas G. Pittz and Eric W. Liguori draw on years of working with and in early-stage ventures to provide guidance for managing the risk associated with these decisions. Throughout this book, they offer practical, no-nonsense advice for marketing and financing your business, bringing on partners and employees, networking with key connectors, and launching your business as inexpensively and aggressively as possible. Following lean startup logic, The Entrepreneur's Guide to Risk and Decisions: Building Successful Early-Stage Venturescuts through to the strategically important - and emotionally charged - decisions that separate the successful entrepreneurs from the unsuccessful. It is designed to help entrepreneurs move quickly, rapidly iterate their business models based on customer feedback, and provide guideposts for managing the risks inherent in all startup ventures.
Feminine Capital by Today, there are over 200,000,000 women business owners around the world. Many of these entrepreneurs are not doing business as usual, nor are they simply leaning in. Rather, they are tapping into feminine capital--the unique skills and sensibilities that they have cultivated as women--to create enviable successes. Drawing on four decades of award-winning research, Feminine Capital reveals how women are harnessing different approaches to doing business. Barbara Orser and Catherine Elliott detail the pillars of feminine capital and offer new insight into the ways that gender can influence entrepreneurial decision-making. They find that leveraging feminine capital can help women to create distinctive brands, build new markets, and drive profits--all while leveling the playing field in business. In doing so, women are changing our social and economic landscape, one venture at a time. Dispelling myths and misperceptions that can undermine women-owned ventures, this book takes a fresh look at how female entrepreneurs can leverage their skills, knowledge, and values. Case studies of women entrepreneurs bring key concepts and lessons to life, while learning aids, diagnostic tools, and checklists help readers to construct innovative business models, refine start-up plans, and hone growth strategies.