Book Description

Learn how to successfully manage a small business -- through good times and bad -- with award-winning entrepreneur Steve Gottry.

Do you own your own small business? Have you ever wanted to? Perfect for both budding and seasoned entrepreneurs, this book shows business owners how to manage a small business through every phase of the small-business life cycle, keep their businesses afloat during tough times, and make the most of their assets. On every page, Gottry identifies winning solutions to the questions and problems common to everyone who owns or dreams of owning a small business.

With candor and humor, Gottry also tells his story about making, losing, and rebuilding it all on the battleground of small-business life. Providing a unique window into what it is really like to own a small business, Common Sense Business guides readers through overcoming the financial and emotional challenges that make the difference between failure and success.

From Publishers Weekly

Joining the unofficial club of marketing communications experts who write books after years of running their own business, Gottry- coauthor of The On-Time, On-Target Manager-presents a practical, confessional volume of advice for small business management. The twist: readers can learn from mistakes Gottry made running his Minneapolis-based ad agency and video production firm, which failed spectacularly after a 22-year run. (He now heads another business, a "content creation" company called Priority Multimedia Group.) Gottry's analysis of his earlier failure, against the backdrop of what he did right when founding and building his business, distinguishes this volume from the pack. In clear, direct prose with an inspirational tone, Gottry's advice is as well organized as it is well intended. From implementation to growth, to preservation and evolution, to downsizing, he includes specific how-to's, which explain, for example, ways to prioritize bills for payment when cash is tight (e.g. pay the lawyers last). But as he periodically revisits his big fall from grace, he dwells a bit too longingly on his personal losses (the 'corporate' Mercedes, boat and plane). Though the occasional preachy sermon against bigotry and materialism also distracts from his practical advice, Gottry still effectively communicates his main message: watch your receivables, not the instrument panels that guide your expensive toys.

From Booklist

In 1993 Gottry's award-winning advertising company was on a roll, when suddenly clients started falling away in droves. As his professional and personal life crumbled around him, his business failed--but rather than declare bankruptcy, Gottry worked for eight years to pay back his debts. The lessons he learned were formulated into the basis of this book, which can help the small-business owner set his or her priorities and avoid the pitfalls that many young entrepreneurs make. Gottry guides the reader through the six stages of the small-business "life cycle," from dreaming and planning through the practical stages of implementation and growth. He advises on how to capitalize on your own personal strengths in relation to employees, customers, and vendors. He also shows how to structure your day, remain sane, and keep your business alive without drowning in it and becoming a workaholic. There are lots of books on starting a business out there, but few that are this concise and straightforward.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　David Siegfried

Book Dimension

length: (cm)20.5 　　　 　　　　　 　　　　　 width:(cm)12.5