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| What's Stopping You?: Shatter the 9 Most Common Myths Keeping You from Starting Your Own Business | 
 enlarge | Authors: Bruce R. Barringer, R. Duane Ireland
Publisher: FT Press
Category: Book
List Price: $18.99
Buy New: $10.00
You Save: $8.99 (47%)
Buy New/Used from $9.50
Avg. Customer Rating:  (2 reviews)
Sales Rank: 104971
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7
ISBN: 0132444577
Dewey Decimal Number: 658.11
EAN: 9780132444576
ASIN: 0132444577
Publication Date: May 26, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 information-packed and no nonsense August 28, 2008
Given all the personal, social and economic advantages that small businesses offer, why don't more people start them?
Unlike some books of this type, authors Barringer and Ireland aim to be realistic rather than inspirational. They don't proclaim that "everyone" has the aptitude or qualities needed to run a business. But they do argue that far more people could be successful entrepreneurs than actually take the plunge. Along with practical advice, *What's Stopping You?* addresses topics such as motives for starting a business and "determining what you want out of life." In calm, logical style, the authors explain why passion is so important, how major decisions can be triggered and why we fear taking risks.
But for the most part, *What's Stopping You?* is a practical, level-headed guide that is packed with useful resources, especially online websites and directories. Each chapter presents topics that could fill whole books on their own, such as getting financing, utilizing the Internet, promotion ("getting noticed") and strategizing how to compete in the marketplace. But *What's Stopping You?* provides scores of websites, books and other sources of information for exploring each topic in greater depth.
This is an excellent book for people who think rationally and mistrust the more colorful pitches so common to the "motivational" genre. The authors are passionate about entrepreneurship, and *What's Stopping You?* presents their expertise in a highly accessible form. If you're wondering just what the "nine myths" are, buy this book. It's worth the price!
 Are you toying with the idea to start your own small business? If so, then this is a good book to help convince you to do it! June 7, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I liked this book a lot. Its target audience is anyone who is currently earning a salary working for someone other than themselves or a company they own, but who are considering whether entrepreneurship is something for them. It is fairly well written and organized. Chapter 1 provides a nice introduction to the book and Chapter 2 is the meat of the book. The remaining seven chapters flow directly from what is covered in Chapter 2.
This book is not a how-to book. It is a book for wanta-be entrepreneurs who think it is risky to start their own business and cannot find the motivation to transition from their W-2 setup to one of self-employment. The authors explain in chapters 2-9 that there are 8 myths about making the transition to self-employment that simply are not true. Take a look at the Search Inside material the authors have provided Amazon. You will find the titles to the chapters. They succinctly layout what the book is about.
I like to view the book as one that explains that starting a small business is not particularly risky. Sure, any unknown has a certain amount of risk involved with it. But starting a business doesn't have to be like visiting Atlantic City and shooting craps at one of the gambling tables. With the proper research, skills, and planning, anyone can start a small business and be successful.
You might be saying now: What about the money needed to start a small business? Well, every business costs some money to start. Some cost more than others. And some don't cost much at all to start. The book points this out in Chapter 3. My favorite chapters in this book were chapters 1-5 and 8. I wish the authors had more fully developed them and left out chapters 6, 7 and 9, since those chapters did not do much for me.
I would have liked the book better if it had three other chapters included regarding myths as follows:
6. You have to be good at sales if you plan to be successful as an entrepreneur.
7. You have to be a people person if you plan to be successful as an entrepreneur.
9. You have to be good with numbers if you plan to be able to run your own business.
The message in this book is that if you get advice from experts and informed people you will be headed in the right direction to start a small business. If you gather information about an opportunity to start a small business, then you will be well on your way to starting a small business. And if you take all the advice and research and prepare a sound WRITTEN business plan, then you will probably be successful in starting and running your small business.
I found chapters 7-9 to be less-than. Chapter 7 could have included more advice on marketing techniques. And Chapter 8 could have talked a lot more about Internet marketing techniques. Chapter 9 would have been better if business plans had been tied into the discussion and strategic planning had been explained.
In sum, if you are toying with the idea to get out of the rat-race and start your own small business, then this is a good book to help convince you to do what it takes to make the jump. 4 stars!
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