The One Minute Entrepreneur by Blanchard, Hutson and Willis – Book Review

Title and Author: The One Minute Entrepreneur by Ken Blanchard and Don Hutson and Ethan Willis

Synopsis of Content:

This book about starting one’s own business is a story format about a young man who soon marries and together they form a company. The story covers their growing pains and problems and the solutions. At the end of each chapter are some One Minute Insights and most of them are below. The book uses both real and imaginary people to create mentorship situations and teach basic lessons.

Readability/Writing Quality:

Well written and very easy to read.

Notes on Author:

Ken Blanchard has made his mark writing on business management with his One Minute Manager series of books. He is well respected and invited to lecture and instruct Fortune 500 corporations around the world.

Three Great Ideas You Can Use:

One Minute Insights (ok, more than three – this is good stuff, what are we going to take out?)–

1. Associate with people you admire and can learn from.

2. Keep a notebook of wisdom you read, hear, and learn, and distill that learning into One Minute Insights.

3. A good life is built on strong, solid values such as integrity, love, honesty, and purposeful work.

4. You never need to cheat to win.

5. What is right is more important than who is right.

6. You will be the same year after year except for the people you meet and the books you read. (Zig Ziglar).

7. You can get what you want in life if you help other people get what they want.

8. Success occurs when opportunity and preparation meet.

9. It is not who you know that counts; it is who knows you and what they think of you.

When you feel moments impacting your destiny, seize the opportunity.

10. Humility helps you to be open to learning and growing in your field of expertise.

11. Take care of your numbers and your numbers will take care of you.

12. To create a successful business, you must first master the basics.

13. For a mentor to be effective, you have to be an enthusiastic and committed protégé.

14. Always visualize your desired outcome ahead of time.

15. In sales and in every other business, you are constantly on stage — so act like it.

16. Ambition is the fuel that can drive life-changing events.

17. Identify what you are passionate about doing. Look to do more of it.

18. Don’t be afraid to dream big.

19. Don’t quit your day job until you have got some success under your belt.

20. If nobody will pay you to do what you love, you have a hobby, not a career.

21. On the entrepreneurial path, few people come into your life without a reason.

22. Becoming a successful entrepreneur and having a spouse are not mutually exclusive.

23. When it comes to finding a life partner, character and values trump personality and looks.

24. To build a great marriage, especially if you are an entrepreneur, make sure you commit to spending time together outside of meals and sleeping.

25. You and your spouse are a team. Act like one.

26. Too many people dream too small. You will never achieve more than you think you can. So create a big dream.

27. When opportunity knocks, seize it.

28. Never let your expenses outstrip your revenue.

29. Don’t be a banker for your customers. Timely collection of invoices is crucial.

30. Your customers are a company’s lifeblood-they pay the bills.

31. Nurture your people. They make it all happen. Without them, you have no company.

32. Unless you want to do all the work, you have to think of ways to come up with new sources of revenue.

33. If you focus only on managing costs, your business will never grow.

34. Don’t be afraid to seek advice when your business goes to a new level.

35. Making a profit is always a necessity if you want to stay in business.

36. As an entrepreneur the secret to success is generating CASH, CASH, CASH.

37. Without good cash management, you will never make it as an entrepreneur.

38. Profit is the applause you get for taking care of your customers and creating a motivating environment for your people.

Publication Information:

Copyright: 2008 Blanchard Management Corporation, Don Hutson and Ethan Willis

Published by Doubleday

General Rating:Fair, Good, Very Good, Excellent