The Entrepreneur Next Door : Discover the Secrets to Financial Independence

by William F. Wagner

Discover if you have what it takes to join the ranks of successful entrepreneurs In this interactive book,William F. Wagner can shape your destiny. He can tell you which of your traits will catapult you to success, what type of business will let you excel, and which traits will lead to failure if left unchecked. His accurate insights come from years of meticulous research of thousands of successful entrepreneurs. Now he uses that data and an amazingly simple yet accurate online personality test to tell you about yourself--and what you can do to be successful. You can take the test available on the companion website to discover how they stack up against model entrepreneurs. Additionally, quizzes are included throughout the book for immediate feedback. You’ll learn how to mimic the behaviors of thriving millionaires and avoid the mistakes of those who've failed.

320 pages, Paperback

First published May 8, 2006

Reviews

[Tami · Rating 5 out of 5]

The idea of having your own business and being your own boss sounds like a fantasy come true. Unfortunately, although many individuals have the dream, not everyone actually follows through on entrepreneurship. Furthermore, off those people who do start their own businesses, many fail within the first three years simply because the entrepreneur doesn't have the skills, the know-how, or the right personality to do the job at hand.

The Entrepreneur Next Door primarily looks at personality types. The book identifies seven different personality types: Trailblazers, Go-Getters, Managers, Motivators, Authorities, Collaborators, and Diplomats. These groupings are based upon levels of dominance, sociability, relaxation, and compliance. The first four personalities in this list are labelled generalists and tend to be natural entrepreneurs while the final three categories include specialists that tend to be more successful when they find a particular entrepreneur opportunity that matches their area of expertise.

I found these personality categories very interesting and helpful. At first, it didn't seem like the category closest to my personality actually suited me. However, after going through the chapters on how each personality type leads, learns, sells, and what ticks them off, I realized that the information was quite insightful and useful in my business planning and strategies.

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book that tries to categorize you based on four different categories with two contrasting characteristics each (just like the Myer's Briggs Personality test). Therefore, there could be a total of sixteen different combinations. However, only seven are suitable for entrepreneurship. I kept wavering between different characteristics, and I'm not sure I fall into just one category that he specified. However, it's somewhat interesting to see the qualities of different personality types and what type of business would be most suitable for your personality type to start.