Entrepreneurship for the Rest of Us

Starred review from January 26, 2015
New York Times columnist Brown (Creating a Winner) examines what makes entrepreneurs successful in this excellent business guide aimed at helping readers improve their own companies. A 30-year student of entrepreneurship, he distills the knowledge he has amassed into a series of lessons for employees and management at any company, with a particular focus on larger organizations. Instead of emphasizing what entrepreneurs do, Brown studies how they think and the similarities in how they go about creating their companies. He reduces their actions into a simple formula—“Act, Learn, Build, and Repeat”—deliberately omitting a planning stage. Instead, he states, businesspeople should start with a small step and see how the world reacts. This allows them to get started quickly with a minimal amount of resources and to respond quickly to market needs. Aiming to debunk common myths, Brown explores typical questions entrepreneurs ask themselves. He also stresses the importance of beginning from a market need instead of a great idea, staying ahead of the competition, creating lifelong customers, and building a team. Brown’s writing style is focused and succinct, much like the process he describes, and his advice is truly insightful. Anyone looking to start a business or expand a current one should take a page from this outstanding book.

December 1, 2015

Brown advocates a down-to-earth, user-testing approach to small-business development. The entrepreneur is urged to get the product out the door quickly and be willing to change the business completely if necessary. Brown suggests business owners listen to customers, seek advice, look for a need before starting, make changes, and take only calculated risks.

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