Product Description

Popular and current subject in the media following Dragons' Den, The Apprentice and The Big Idea. For thousands of people who have ever had an idea for good business - but have never acted on it.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #37756 in Books
• Published on: 2007-06-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Features

• New
• Mint Condition
• Dispatch same day for order received before 12 noon
• Guaranteed packaging
• No quibbles returns

Review
'I certainly wish we'd had this book when we were starting innocent' --Richard Reed, joint founder, innocent Drinks

'Although in business there is no substitute for making the leap and getting started, there is much to be learned from entrepreneurs who have been there and done it. Live the highs and lows for yourself, but read this book first!' --Lord Bilimoria, founder & Chief Executive of Cobra 'Although in business there is no substitute for making the leap and getting started, there is much to be learned from entrepreneurs who have been there and done it. Live the highs and lows for yourself, but read this book first!' --Lord Bilimoria, founder & Chief Executive of Cobra 'I certainly wish we'd had this book when we were starting innocent' --Richard Reed, joint founder, innocent Drinks

'Although in business there is no substitute for making the leap and getting started, there is much to be learned from entrepreneurs who have been there and done it. Live the highs and lows for yourself, but read this book first!' --Lord Bilimoria, founder & Chief Executive of Cobra

From the Publisher
What is it that made these entrepreneurs succeed? Our
research, including a series of insightful and honest interviews with the
founders, reveals how each of them overcame the immediate, daunting hurdles
they faced. Could you do the same?

From the Author
I am posting this note in response to a few of the reviews of this book. The purpose of this book is to tell the story in reasonable detail of how a number of businesses went from being just an idea to becoming a successful business. Through startups.co.uk, the website I founded 10 years ago, I have met thousands of people who want to start businesses, but either don't know if it is right for them, or how to go about it. I have also met many more people who don't want to start one themselves, but are fascinated by the topic and want to know how it is done. How They Started is aimed at all these people. The result is a book which has far more detail about how people turned ideas into businesses than any other book on the market, other than a specific biography all about one business. How They Started is the result of a substantial amount of research, almost always involving extensive discussions with the founders of each business, and several times we include detailed information we had to work hard to persuade the founders to give us! I am so passionate about the need for better small business information for UK entrepreneurs that I set up a company to provide it, with a particular focus on startup businesses. Our experience with thousands of people visiting our websites or attending our events has shown that most people want answers to the same core questions. Our understanding of business (I am an entrepreneur, not a writer) has enabled us to drill down to make sure we found good answers to these questions with all the businesses profiled in How They Started. I believe that this has resulted in a book which will help all the people who we think will be interested in the book. Two reviews here on Amazon suggest that the profiles are "copy and paste jobs" from easily available information. I am sad that any reader might think that, but can categorically state that it is not true. You will not find all the information we have for any of our profiles easily available on public websites. Many people have found the book inspiring and enjoyable, and some have found it also really helpful while setting up a business. But please note that this is NOT a manual about how to start a business (I have written one of those separately, which you can look at here on Amazon if that is what you want) though I believe anyone who is starting, or thinking about, their own business will still find this useful. Some of the cynical reviewers here are justified in being cynical; too many business books are not written with passion and commitment to quality. How They Started is not just another book rushed out; it has been designed and researched and written by people who care very much about delivering on the book's promise-- which is why we want to make this statement here. I hope this brief statement is helpful to you in deciding if this is the right book for you or not. And I look forward to your comments. Thank you for taking the time to read this. David Lester