Have you considered owning a business of your own? Are you interested in giving it a go, are you committed, ready and willing to take that plunge and risk it all? If so, before you get too much further let me suggest a couple of books for you to read to get you moving along on the right track:
"The Entrepreneur's Guide" by Deaver Brown - 1980
This is a wonderful book on entrepreneurship and starting your own business, written by a Harvard Business School MBA graduate and successful entrepreneur. He takes us through learning if we have what it takes, finding markets, evaluating our choices for products to be offered, deciding if we should get partners or go it alone and where to look for start-up capital.
He talks about business planning, setting up the system and management team, as well as how to market, distribute the products, and when and where to seek professional advice and assistance. The last chapter is when to get out and exit the venture. There are chapters on regulatory bureaucracy, competition and sales also, the book is very complete, and Mr. Brown did not miss a beat.
Well that is definitely the business side of entrepreneurship, but what about the emotional side, the creative side and the need for innovation to propel your venture, is all that lost? I would suggest to you that it is not, Mr. Brown touches on this aspect too. Nevertheless, for a more complete run down on creativity in business, let me recommend yet another worthy book to read:
"Creativity in Business" by Michael Ray and Rochelle Myers - 1986.
This book is taken in part from the very popular Stanford University Course, which is said to have revolutionized the 'art of success'. The book is packed with very interesting case studies and information, in fact just look at some of the titles of the chapters;
Preparation Section I:
- Business as Art
- Faith in Creativity
- Pay Attention
- Ask Dumb Questions
Inspiration Section II:
- Enjoy it or Skip it
- Don't Over Analyze
- Find Balance
- Dump the Stress
- Bring Your Creativity to the Organization
Like I said it is filled with examples and case studies and from the very beginning the authors describe the problem of too many ideas, delivered in a chaotic format and throughout the book suggest how to overcome these and many other problems that will enable the entrepreneur to remain in a creative state of mind. I hope you will enjoy both of these books as much as I have.
