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30daythrill's review
5.0
Pithy but punchy; good read to recalibrate views of essential small business philosophy.
girish0731's review
5.0
A beautifully written self help guide for running a business through the heart and for the purpose of serving others needs over your own and a lesson to be better than others by doing something for your ownself and satisfaction, take your time to read this pearl of wisdom as the book might be short but it's value is wholesome
rwarner's review
5.0
Quick read but insightful. The basic premise, as I understood it, is to spend your life doing things that bring you happiness, which is not as straightforward as it seems. Too often, we spend our time doing what we think will make us happy, or what we think others expect from us, or what society dictates that we do. This book isn't a formula for building a multi-million dollar company, although that's what CDBaby turned out to be. Instead, it helps you see what criteria to consider when making decisions about your life, your work, and your company. Inspirational.
ricm's review
3.0
A good, slightly disjointed, story of Derek Sivers' adventures starting a company. Lots of good wisdom, not only about entrepreneurship, but also about life. It's short, and it's fun to read, so why not?
naimaella's review
4.0
So much covered in such a short book. Another case of right time, right book. Sivers reminds us that it’s easy to get distracted by the glossy sides of being an entrepreneur (investment, MBAs, networking) when really it should be whatever you want it to be. The journey is the reward rather than the destination. Recommend!
soroushtorkian's review
5.0
Great book. Author is easy to listen to. Some tips from the book:
1. Make sure your business model has two numbers.
2. Don't pursue business just for your own gain.
3. Make yourself unnecessary to the running of your business.
4. Offer direct sales of products to customers.
5. Care about your customers more than about yourself.
6. Set up a system that won't let mistakes go unnoticed.
7. Empower your employees and let them make decisions on their own.
8. Trust but verify those you delegate to.
9. Don't promise customers something you can't fully control.
10. Make sure your business is a dream come true for yourself, too.
1. Make sure your business model has two numbers.
2. Don't pursue business just for your own gain.
3. Make yourself unnecessary to the running of your business.
4. Offer direct sales of products to customers.
5. Care about your customers more than about yourself.
6. Set up a system that won't let mistakes go unnoticed.
7. Empower your employees and let them make decisions on their own.
8. Trust but verify those you delegate to.
9. Don't promise customers something you can't fully control.
10. Make sure your business is a dream come true for yourself, too.
itskatiekoalafiednerd's review
4.0
“Never forget why you’re really doing what you’re doing. Are you helping people? Are they happy? Are you happy? Are you profitable? Isn’t that enough?”
A concise yet useful take on entrepreneurship from the founder of the original CD baby company. In other words, the birth of the company can be considered the stepping stone for the idea of iTunes as we mostly are aware of today. Whether it is the author’s main intention or not, the book offers quite a genuine and practical approach, instead of deliberately trying to sell business ideas to the readers.
Overall, this is quite an interesting and approachable read.
Actual rating: 3.7/5☆
A concise yet useful take on entrepreneurship from the founder of the original CD baby company. In other words, the birth of the company can be considered the stepping stone for the idea of iTunes as we mostly are aware of today. Whether it is the author’s main intention or not, the book offers quite a genuine and practical approach, instead of deliberately trying to sell business ideas to the readers.
Overall, this is quite an interesting and approachable read.
Actual rating: 3.7/5☆
ditorelo's review against another edition
4.0
Great book about starting your own business. Derek's vision is great and practical. No big business plans or getting stuck on what slows you down. Do what you love and it'll just work.
Book has a huge problem: Resonates to much with my own beliefs and although I learned a lot, I wasn't able to question it to much. :)
Book has a huge problem: Resonates to much with my own beliefs and although I learned a lot, I wasn't able to question it to much. :)