The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants

by Tom Gegax, Phil Bolsta

Your shoes are charred from stomping out brush fires. You have nightmares about UFOs-Unreachable Financial Objectives. All-star interviewees turn into duds. Meetings cause more problems than they solve. The office is a ghost town at 5:01 p.m. Does this sound familiar?

Tom Gegax knows what that is like. Years after running his Tires Plus franchise by the seat of his pants, blissfully unaware of how little he knew about getting the most out of people and managing a world-class organization, Tom was faced with a cancer diagnosis and a business at the brink of disaster. Resolved to change things around, he improved his mental clarity, health, and relationships and noticed that the more he profited on a personal level, the more his company profited. Tires Plus grew into a $200 million business with 150 upscale locations. He had learned the first lesson in Enlightened Leadership 101: Focus on the well-being of your employees and customers-as well as your own-and success will follow naturally.

In The Big Book of Small Business, Tom shares his hard-earned lessons on how to become an enlightened, effective leader, and on how to do the small things right so the big decisions work. This all-in-one toolbox for small businesses is jammed with warm-hearted, tough-minded practices and street-smart tips, covering every aspect of a growing business:

Starting, funding, and getting your new business off the ground
Crafting a mission and growing a corporate culture that works
Hiring the best people and maximizing their potential
Communicating and negotiating with your employees, customers, and suppliers
Creating processes for continuous innovation and growth
Protecting your business from unforeseen dangers
Planning for growth
And much more . . .

As thorough as a textbook and as lively as a news magazine, The Big Book of Small Business is the most comprehensive and practical book on how to take a small business to the next level, and an indispensable slingshot for the million

Genres: Business, Self Help, Management

448 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This seemed like a thorough run-through of how to start/run a small business from the start to finish, covering all bases. It wasn't really what I was looking for so I skimmed over it once I realized that.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Answers a few questions about owning small business, but mostly talks in 'business' language, of which I know nothing about.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has feels like a textbook in your hands and by the time you are done reading it, the book becomes one. I bought this book several years ago and constantly skim it for advice. I have read it twice and also pick up something new each time. Highly recommended!

[Ben · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't know it was possible to put this many cliches in one volume. Perhaps it is the source of all of them?