Fired Up!: The Proven Principles of Successful Entrepreneurs - Softcover

Gill and Paterson formerly worked in advertising, and their background is apparent here in the persistent underlining of certain themes and the insistence that all entrepreneurs develop a brand identity and a "USP"?a unique selling proposition. The book sets out to be a guide to what you can expect to experience from being self-employed. The results of many interviews with independent business people, ranging from owners of one-person services to proprietors of large manufacturing plants, are scattered anecdotally throughout the text. Chapters take readers through the psychological need for internal rather than external validation; how constant worry (distinguished from fretting) makes winners; the many handicaps of the home office; and how to choose those vital professionals?bankers, lawyers and accountants. Perhaps the most important chapter details how to write a mission statement and make a strategic road map defining your own business. At the end of the book is "The Ultimate Test," which consists of 11 questions to determine whether you have the right stuff to become an entrepreneur. If, at the end, you can answer definitely either yes or no, this guide will have served its purpose for you.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

What sets Gill and Paterson's book apart from other entrepreneurial how-to guides is the focus on the emotional and psychological aspects of being one's own boss or working (and sometimes living) with a partner. Considering both those who leave corporate life because they are unhappy and those who are "forced out" because of downsizing or restructuring, the authors suggest ways to make smooth the transition to running one's own enterprise, provide tips on financing and finding professional assistance, and offer advice on mission statements and marketing. Gill and Paterson use numerous real-life examples to drive home their points and illustrate their caveats. The two of them have "been there, done that." Both worked in corporate marketing positions before leaving to form their own separate consulting practices. David Rouse