The Girl's Guide to Starting Your Own Business: Candid Advice, Frank Talk, and True Stories for the Successful Entrepreneur

by Caitlin Friedman, Kimberly Yorio

“This fun and informative book shows aspiring young women how to build their own businesses from the ground up...and stand as tall as a Manhattan highrise.” —Barbara Corcoran, author of If You Don’t Have Large Breasts Wear Ribbons in Your Pigtails   “This book will do for business what The Joy of Cooking did for the culinary world.” —Ella Brennan, owner, Commander's Palace   The Girl’s Guide to Starting Your Own Business is a must-read guide for any woman who wants to ditch the cubicle and join the growing ranks of aspiring female entrepreneurs. Revised and updated to reflect a post–financial crisis and Twitter world, this essential business handbook by Caitlin Friedman and Kimberly Yorio offers candid advice, frank talk, and true stories that will help every woman with a great business plan achieve her dream.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Reference, Self Help, Unfinished, Entrepreneurship, How To

272 pages, Paperback

First published December 23, 2003

Reviews

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not a bad overview of the main pieces of what it takes to run a business. However, this definitely serves more as an introduction than it does of any decent details. The examples were of successful businesswomen/entrepeneurs, which were inspiring and comforting. However, the chapter on "The Scary Stuff" - aka the legal, financial, etc. pieces - simply gave advice to hire someone to do it. Bootstrapping seemed an entirely unfamiliar concept to the authors, especially on the cheap. Also, there are many websites today (e.g. legalzoom.com)that weren't in existence when this book was written. It'll be time for an update soon.

Again, though, if you're looking to familiarize yourself with a comfortable intro/overview of what it will take to start your own business, this is a pretty good one. Regardless of gender.

[Lyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative but the last half seemed to not connect. It was a good read. I would like to see them write a new book related to 2015 and the business world.

[Kassel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book starts off strong and covers many different topics in detail. Unfortunately, as is the case with every non-fiction book that tries to be current, the book has become outdated (especially the technology section). That doesn't mean it's not worth reading for encouragement and good advice.

The book, although informative, sometimes gets too girly while trying to maintain an objective professional image. At times, the authors forget that their target audience are likely newbies at entrepreneurship and don't have much money or resources to cull from. Such tips as "Spend money to make yourself feel better!" and "Get personalized, expensive gifts to thank clients!" are geared to businesses that are already successful and established. Those tips aren't good advice for the business owner who doesn't know when the next paycheck is coming.

Women who are involved in partnerships will get the most mileage out of this book because that is the area of expertise for the authors. Entrepreneurs looking to start a small business with one or more employees get the next best mileage out of this book. Solopreneurs (such as myself) will get some good advice, but find themselves skimming some parts.

Strength of the book: Real-life testimonies from women-preneurs and an emphasis on strong marketing (the authors are PR consultants)

Weakness of the book: A small sub-section on failure. The truth is 50 percent of small businesses fail, and it would have been great if the authors had decided to discuss this in more detail.

[Lindsey Font · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually read the updated version of the book, but I couldn't find it on goodreads. The version I read was a simple, yet informative and helpful guide to starting your business. I got the most use out of it when I was writing my business plan.

[Kristyn Redahan]

might pick it up again later, but it lost me when i was reading it and they used you're instead of your. I'm going to base business decisions on these women? no thanks...

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

had some pretty good information but because of the amount of info it got kind of boring and a lot of the information was common sense. I also don't really see how it was a "girl's guide".....

[Katie Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good overview with solid advice, but terribly outdated. Never write about technology in a medium that can't be changed - your book will be outdated in less than a year after being published.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very informative book. Having been published in 2003 and read in 2014, it's obviously a bit outdated, but there is some sound advice in here along with a good peek into the daily workings of business. As others have mentioned, this seems to be directed more at people who have a large amount of capital in the form of loans or saved cash, etc, but I thought it was still informative-- especially if a small start-up is thinking of eventual expansion. Loved the delving into the nitty gritty information (taxes, laws, employee info, etc); however, I was very much unhappy with the the gender stereotyping and putting down. For example, the two authors mentioned that we women are naturally more emotional and need to cut it out so that people take us seriously. The implications throughout the rest of the book about women got on my nerves. I'm hoping that the revised edition will be a little less sexist in nature. I should point out, however, that while these occurred, the authors did go out of their way to gear the entire book toward women, encouraged women to empower themselves, and interviewed only women whenever possible. I also appreciated the standard use of the pronouns "her" and "she" throughout the text. Overall, worth reading! Just grit your teeth through the icky descriptions and focus on the empowerment through business ownership.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is some sound advice provided in the first half of the book, which is valuable to anyone starting their own business. The one glaring thing that did stand out is that this book is out of date and panders to the notion that women have no technology know-how and have no idea how to dress the part, which is disappointing given The Girl's Guide to Starting Your Own Business is written by two successful women. Is it really necessary to have a chapter titled, Acting Like an Adult?

My other issue is that this book was also written assuming that most women looking to start their own business are married and have families of their own. I realize that this book was copy written in 2003 and women have been shattering the glass ceiling like nobody's business but I have a hard time believing that young, single women in the early 2000's weren't driven to start their own business or have common sense on how to dress professionally or know the basics of tech gadgets.

With that said, the nuts and bolts about what is needed to start planning a business, building your network and your business plan, etc. is all there. If you have no clue what you're getting into and need information to kick start your new business, find this book at your local library and read the first half of this book. That's all you need.

[Maliades · Rating 2 out of 5]

My sister loaned me this book, and I mostly skimmed through it... the information might be more valuable to someone who is opening a large business, or has a large amount of capital to start their business with. I didn't get a lot of new tips or ideas from this book. Of course, my 'business' is small - I make and sell hand-crafted jewelry - and fortunately these days, you don't even need a website to sell online. Starting a little business on a shoestring budget doesn't call for hiring the logo designers, lawyers, accountants, advertising pros, and so on that this book discusses. If I was opening a large store, this book's advice might be more appropriate.

[Kat · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book definitely seemed geared toward people who have a lot of start-up capital, and also who want to start more PR/consulting/writing/editing type companies (which is understandable, since that's what the authors do). It was a good overview, and got me looking into resources and figuring out what questions I need to start asking. However, I didn't like that a lot of their advice was "hire someone to do this for you" and that they didn't really look at people who want to start fairly small.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really helpful, and very encouraging. I don't particularly enjoy being called a "girl," but since it's in the title, I knew what I was getting into, and its use wasn't too excessive.

This book was a really good starting point in that there was a lot of helpful motivation and self-evaluation, as well as more practical information. I also really appreciated the stories and advice from real women entrepreneurs.

[Tatiana Jimenez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very witty and helpful. The authors provided a lot of advice and insight about starting your own business. I enjoyed reading the "girl talk" segments, where they would interview women business owners who would share their stories. I will definitely be referring this book when I start my own business... someday. :o)

[Kelli Koehler · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is good for someone who needs the very basics of starting a business. For someone who has a business degree, it was a little bit too basic with very few tidbits of information I didn't already know. It also lacked the motivation/encouragement voice that you would typically expect in a self-help book.

[Ebprl7 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was right on time for me as I am in the early stages of starting my business. It's frank talk and advice of interviewing service providers were some of my favorite parts of the book. Regardless of the size of a business, I think these ladies provide very valuable information and tips, especially for those of us who have not run a business before.

[Doreen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Broke down the process of starting a business into very manageable pieces, with illustrative examples and common sense advice. A lot more approachable than most of the books on the market, while presenting the exact same information in an easier to read style of writing.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helped me think about many startup aspects I wasn't aware of, and is written in a fun, easy-to-read style. However, it seems a little dated because much of the information is setup for traditional brick and mortar style businesses and not online-only companies.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very, very helpful! I loved how almost every chapter gave links to programs and resources that are definitely important for any start-up business woman. I referred (and continue to refer) to this book as a reference guide when launching my own business.

[Gabrielle S · Rating 3 out of 5]

With these kinds of books one takes what is useful to you and disregards the rest. The vast majority of this book was not relevant to me but it was still there was some good information. The technology stuff was out of date but that is always the case.

[Feliza Casano · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was unfortunately not as helpful as I would have liked, though it was very accessible and easy to read. However, the book seems better for women in a different stage of life and a different career stage and therefore may be appropriate for someone else.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great resource book. The easy-going voice and overall tone appeals to the 30-something women who are interested in starting their own business. Most business books are too intense and insulting.

[amy cale peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read. Basic facts. Very helpful. Asks the right questions if you are considering setting up shop.

[Carly]

This was a wonderful motivating book with some great tips and insight!

[Alyson · Rating 3 out of 5]

i've learned that i'm not ready to face the tough decisions that come with starting a business. let's post-pone this dream for a bit.

[SmarterLilac · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this a lot, but the talk is frank indeed. Made me question if I could ever have the stones to think about my potential employees like the authors of this book do (ie; as disposable).

[Alisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Things that I need to consider before starting my own business & quiting my job.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read the updated version and picked up some helpful tips.

[Marjorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of good tips to help you start your business. Very informative.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good. Lots of thought starters and I appreciate how they identify resources. Dated but that's a function of when I found the book -- not the authors. Would love an updated version.

[Kaley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boring but I got a few things from it