Brilliant Start-Up
The book takes you through the stages of setting up and running a business. It is an inspiring mix of practical information and entertaining writing style. If you’re toying with the idea of setting up a business then this is definitely the book for you. Our business has been going for a few years now but even though some of the book was covering old ground I still found it an interesting read, so I would say that it’s not necessarily just for start-ups. It’s given me a new perspective on parts of our business and I’ve set myself some homework to follow up on some ideas.
The only criticism I would have is the bias towards sales rather than marketing as a whole. There’s a whole chapter which is basically on telesales way before the whole marketing concept is covered, which I found offputting. However, the author began the book with explaining that it would be opinionated and this is an example of that. I can see the point he’s trying to make, I just don’t necessarily agree with it.
My previous book review was, I said, not one for lifting your motivation. This book is exactly that - whether you’re thinking of starting up a business, are in the process of doing so, or (like me) have been running a business for a few years, this book could provide you with the inspiration that you need.
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Inspiring Women: how real women succeed in business
However, what I’m not and have no plans to be is a mother and what this book is screaming at me is that to be a ‘real woman succeeding in business’ I have to have the added challenge of raising a family and spending enough time with the kids etc. Don’t get me wrong, I’m full of admiration for women who do manage to do both, but that’s just not who I am. I find it hard enough getting a decent work/life balance as it is! But, my idea of reading about how women have succeeded in business is more about learning about their experiences running the business, not the children bit.
Overall I did find the book very interesting but I found the focus on being a mother increasingly frustrating and at some points (which I quickly talked myself out of) began to feel inadequate for my lack of offspring. Does everyone have to be introduced as ‘blah, mother of three’ - if it was a book about men in business that wouldn’t happen. It seemed that even the types of businesses covered were fluffy women-friendly ones - maternity clothes, baby food/toiletries, fashion, secretarial. Let’s face it I obviously don’t fit into the target audience for the book - if I was a mother thinking of setting up a business I’m sure I would find the book incredibly inspiring.
How about a book about women succeeding in male-dominated industries … like web design for example? They can be women with or without children, I don’t mind, just don’t make it all about the motherhood.
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How to Be a Complete and Utter Failure
It doesn’t have such a structured approach as How To Be Brilliant, however you could easily note down the various steps and devise your own plan from it. What I really like about it is that it makes you look at things differently and pushes you to try things that you might have dismissed otherwise - I have to own up to being a bit too comfortable in my comfort zone at times, but this book reminds me that I need to push past it.
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Start of another 90 days of brilliance
One of my favourite ’sorting your life out’ books is How to Be Brilliant by Michael Heppell. I’ve mentioned it before and I’ll probably mention it again. The book helps you plan out ‘90 days of brilliance’ to help you achieve or work towards achieving your goals. It’s a brilliant motivator.
Last week I came to the end of a 90-day period, which started well but kind of petered out into unbrilliance - though I did manage to get through my planned reading list, so it wasn’t a complete wash-out. So, I’ve spent the weekend working my goals and planning my next 90 days. This time I will stick to it! Helping me along is my good friend Sparkatrician, who is going to be my ‘brilliance buddy’. He’s also starting out on a 90-day plan so we will egg each other on and generally provide support. Have got our first phone call booked in for tomorrow night.
It’s been quite an intense weekend doing the prep, but I now have 90-, 30- and 7-day plans printed out and in my ‘brilliance folder’. Despite intending to limit my goals to a manageable amount, there’s quite a lot on there. Still, got to aim high! First step will be to get up at 6am tomorrow and do yoga.
Five Star Service, One Star Budget
Some of the advice may seem like it’s common sense in a ‘I already knew that’ kind of way, but as the author points out - it’s not the knowing, it’s the doing that counts. If nothing else the book acts as a reminder of what you should be doing. You can use it to dip into when you feel your business needs a boost, or as a manual for transforming your customer service if you work through it a chapter at a time. Well worth a read.
A truly brilliant business book.
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New article: motivation for home-workers
Another article is now in place: 10 tips for how to stay motivated when working from home. This is a particularly relevant one for me today as I haven’t been feeling brilliantly motivated. Will start tomorrow afresh having reminded myself of the techniques that work for me.
Is there anything that you do differently? A brilliant tip that could make all the difference. Leave a comment below, I’d be delighted to hear from you.
Starting off the resources
I’ve made a start on the resources page. Just three to get us started:
- Flying Startups - as mentioned in the Start Your Business Week by Week review
- Michael Heppell - for some brilliant inspiration
- Business Link - I’ve heard mixed views on Business Link, but what it’s definitely good for is an excellent online resource covering all aspects of running a business
I’ll be filling this out more over time. If you know of any useful business websites give me a shout and I’ll add them in.
How To Be Brilliant
Actually this isn’t strictly speaking a business book as it can equally be applied to your personal life. But I think it deserves the title of a ‘Brilliant Business Book’ on the basis that if I’m brilliant then my business will be brilliant too.
I have to admit I haven’t achieved brilliance yet but I’m following the advice of the book and striving for that brilliant moment. I feel positive that it will come if I work hard at it!
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