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The Purpose Is Profit: The Truth about Starting and Building Your Own Business
Do you feel the pull to start your own business?
Tired of working for others and dealing with office politics, eager for control and more money, Ed "Skip" McLaughlin certainly felt it. When he left his high-level corporate position to start not one but two new businesses, his colleagues' reaction was disbelief:
People told me I was crazy. "You are going to fail!"
One of his businesses did fail, but the other thrived. Ed bootstrapped it into an Inc. 500 company and later sold it to a Fortune 100 company. Now, you can learn from his experience--what to do and what not to do--to create your own successful startup. The Purpose Is Profit eliminates the mystery of becoming an entrepreneur. You will learn--
why distinctive competence trumps passion where and when to get funding without losing control how to build an entrepreneurial brand that lasts why profit should be factored into every business decision how ethical behavior breeds trust and unlocks profit As a bonus, The Purpose Is Profit includes two manuals: The Startup Roadmap details the 21 steps you should take to build a profitable business. The Startup Funding Guide delivers the tools you need to fund your business.
Tired of working for others and dealing with office politics, eager for control and more money, Ed "Skip" McLaughlin certainly felt it. When he left his high-level corporate position to start not one but two new businesses, his colleagues' reaction was disbelief:
People told me I was crazy. "You are going to fail!"
One of his businesses did fail, but the other thrived. Ed bootstrapped it into an Inc. 500 company and later sold it to a Fortune 100 company. Now, you can learn from his experience--what to do and what not to do--to create your own successful startup. The Purpose Is Profit eliminates the mystery of becoming an entrepreneur. You will learn--
why distinctive competence trumps passion where and when to get funding without losing control how to build an entrepreneurial brand that lasts why profit should be factored into every business decision how ethical behavior breeds trust and unlocks profit As a bonus, The Purpose Is Profit includes two manuals: The Startup Roadmap details the 21 steps you should take to build a profitable business. The Startup Funding Guide delivers the tools you need to fund your business.
328 pages, Paperback
Published July 15, 2016
123 people are currently reading
898 people want to read
About the author
Ed "Skip" McLaughlin
2 books21 followersEd is the founder of four businesses and is currently running Blue Sunsets LLC, a real estate and angel investment firm. He bootstrapped his first business, United Systems Integrators (USI) Corporation, a corporate real estate outsourcing firm, and grew it into an Inc. 500 company. In 2001, Ed earned Entrepreneur of the Year honors from Ernst & Young. In 2005, he sold USI to Johnson Controls, a Fortune 100 company, and at that point, became CEO of JCI’s Global Workplace Business for the Americas. A member of the Board of Governors for Tufts Medical Center, Ed founded its David E. Wazer Breast Cancer Research Fund. He graduated from the College of the Holy Cross, where he is a member of the Board of Trustees. Active in philanthropy, Ed lives with his wife in Connecticut and has three adult children.
Email: Ed@ThePurposeIsProfit.com
Email: Ed@ThePurposeIsProfit.com
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 5, 2018
The 'Purpose is Profit' is a book on entrepreneurship that is written in an interesting manner. As expected, it is a guide on starting your own company as far as what it entails and how to go about doing so. The book is also somewhat of an entrepreneurial autobiography for the author himself, mister Ed McLaughlin. Through his trial and tribulations he speaks from mostly personal experience when he purveys his ideas on the entrepreneurial journey. In this case, his journey and subjective experiences are immensely important. A prospective reader should note what kind of company he started (a real estate B2B service) and that advice coming from the purview of a B2C entrepreneur would likely be different in many aspects. Throughout the book, much of his advice is given hand to hand with his experience except for the end when the author lays out general advise and concepts (the appendixes). Interesting read, perhaps better tailored for a prospective B2B entrepreneur.
December 16, 2023
The first third of this book was autobiographical and described in detail the author's experience starting and growing his own business. While somewhat interesting, if repetitive, it wasn't for me-- this business book goes way beyond my simple goals into multi-million-dollar fortune 500 territory. I am sure the Roadmap and Profit Plan are helpful resources, but I admittedly just skimmed these sections.
I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.
I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway.
December 28, 2017
Part business memoir, part economic history and a strong dose of "learn from my experience."
Ed "Skip" McLaughlin's advice is right on the money. Complete with sports metaphors and comparisons it is an easily readable volume for anyone with an entrepreneurial "bug" or pull.
Whether your journey is down a product or service path, you will discover valuable concepts and necessary actionable steps to have your business idea succeed.
Also included are two invaluable appendices with information on business models, funding sources, creative use of technology (and hiring help) and an abundance of useful information on building relationships.
I did receive this book for review purposes.
Ed "Skip" McLaughlin's advice is right on the money. Complete with sports metaphors and comparisons it is an easily readable volume for anyone with an entrepreneurial "bug" or pull.
Whether your journey is down a product or service path, you will discover valuable concepts and necessary actionable steps to have your business idea succeed.
Also included are two invaluable appendices with information on business models, funding sources, creative use of technology (and hiring help) and an abundance of useful information on building relationships.
I did receive this book for review purposes.
April 10, 2018
I received my copy of “The Purpose of Profit” through a goodreads giveaway.
This was a fascinating book that I see appealing to potentially 2 different types of reader. It is obviously intended to benefit folks looking to start their own business, especially a services-based B2B type of business, as that’s the major example used throughout the book. But it might also appeal to folks interested in biographies of people and businesses. The first part of the book reads like an autobiography of the author as he transitions from working for companies to starting his own and eventually selling that company to another. I found this very interesting. Throughout this section he also includes advice for someone wanting to start their own business, using his own experiences as examples.
The book also contains 2 appendices. The first is titled, “The Startup Roadmap,” and includes 21 steps to improve the probability of startup success. The appendices are less personal than the core of the book. They’re far more down to business, so to speak. The 2nd appendix is titled, “The Startup Funding Guide.” It details the various ways to fund a startup business, talking through the pros and cons of each method.
This was a fascinating book that I see appealing to potentially 2 different types of reader. It is obviously intended to benefit folks looking to start their own business, especially a services-based B2B type of business, as that’s the major example used throughout the book. But it might also appeal to folks interested in biographies of people and businesses. The first part of the book reads like an autobiography of the author as he transitions from working for companies to starting his own and eventually selling that company to another. I found this very interesting. Throughout this section he also includes advice for someone wanting to start their own business, using his own experiences as examples.
The book also contains 2 appendices. The first is titled, “The Startup Roadmap,” and includes 21 steps to improve the probability of startup success. The appendices are less personal than the core of the book. They’re far more down to business, so to speak. The 2nd appendix is titled, “The Startup Funding Guide.” It details the various ways to fund a startup business, talking through the pros and cons of each method.
October 26, 2018
I received a copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway.
The book is written as an autobiographical guide to starting a business. The style of story telling makes it easy to read and keeps it interesting, while conveying a lot of information that would be useful to any entrepreneur.
It contains two appendices written in more of a direct, proccess guideline style that admittedly I skipped, as I don't have any near term plans to start a business.
The book is written as an autobiographical guide to starting a business. The style of story telling makes it easy to read and keeps it interesting, while conveying a lot of information that would be useful to any entrepreneur.
It contains two appendices written in more of a direct, proccess guideline style that admittedly I skipped, as I don't have any near term plans to start a business.
August 3, 2020
Though some sections may seem a bit repetitive as they explain the whole story behind the author's success on how he build his startup, this book is essential for any entrepreneur on the making as it vividly explains the difference between funding a business on a sole passion and doing so based on your competencies. For me, it was truly insightful and made me reflect a lot about my approach to future business.
January 15, 2021
Starting the USI Way
After 25 years in business - most in private equity backed or small private companies, the foundational advice in the book is solid, broadly applicable and worth the read. The tougher segment of the book is the relatability of the author to most readers given his background, startup point and the USI story. That doesn’t diminish the sage advice and the litany of questions that he implored you to answer. A good book for the “established” entrepreneur.
After 25 years in business - most in private equity backed or small private companies, the foundational advice in the book is solid, broadly applicable and worth the read. The tougher segment of the book is the relatability of the author to most readers given his background, startup point and the USI story. That doesn’t diminish the sage advice and the litany of questions that he implored you to answer. A good book for the “established” entrepreneur.
September 8, 2016
I have no doubt this book will help my mother start up want she wants to. I also have some ideas I want to get off the ground. Thank you for this book.
October 12, 2016
I received this book as part of the Goodreads First Reads Program for the purpose of a fair review.
Overview: If you are thinking about starting your own business, Mr. McLaughlin would like to help you succeed if he can. See, he has started many of his own businesses, and he thinks he found the key to success.
Likes: It’s good to see someone who is willing to help the next guy in line without viewing that person as a potential competitor. Mr. McLaughlin also included a couple of start-up guides that might help you out.
Dislikes: Some of the terms went over my head. Such is the way of learning new terminology.
Conclusion: It can’t hurt to take the advice of those who’ve gone before you. I hope you learn something from this book.
Overview: If you are thinking about starting your own business, Mr. McLaughlin would like to help you succeed if he can. See, he has started many of his own businesses, and he thinks he found the key to success.
Likes: It’s good to see someone who is willing to help the next guy in line without viewing that person as a potential competitor. Mr. McLaughlin also included a couple of start-up guides that might help you out.
Dislikes: Some of the terms went over my head. Such is the way of learning new terminology.
Conclusion: It can’t hurt to take the advice of those who’ve gone before you. I hope you learn something from this book.
October 31, 2016
A great guide for a business at any stage or to those that aspire to start a new business. Excellent "the Ten Commandments of startup profit" what a great value.
April 4, 2017
a Great book. Many good nuggets here. So be ready to write down what to do and what not to do.
Want to read
April 13, 2018I this book for free from the author/publisher in response for an honest review of the book. I have not had the opportunity to read this book at this time. I will add my
review of this book once I have read the book. Thank k you for allowing me the optometrist review your work. I look forward to reading this book.
review of this book once I have read the book. Thank k you for allowing me the optometrist review your work. I look forward to reading this book.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews