[Roosh]

This book just came out:

The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future

It's getting a big push from its publisher, already with more than 200 positive reviews in less than a month.

Anyone check it out?

[WanderingSoul]

I've had the blog post about it opened all day. Well, since 1AM when I woke up, but I am too hungover to read it. I've just been fucking off on here all day instead.

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/201...s-learned/

[deathtofatties]

Interesting, considering that Tim Ferris, the author of the 4-hour work week, endorsed this book and its author in his own blog

[Cincinnatus]

(05-26-2012 08:39 AM)deathtofatties Wrote:  

Interesting, considering that Tim Ferris, the author of the 4-hour work week, endorsed this book and its author in his own blog

Perhaps not a competitor then, but a complement to 4HWW.

I'm probably the only forum member who has yet to read 4HWW. Maybe I'll pick that up first, then read $100 Startup.

[Neo]

Let me know if you guys pick up a copy. I like the concept of these type of books, but I take them with a grain of salt. I'm finding it's difficult to really follow anyone elses blueprint when it comes to entrepeneurship. With that said the blog post was very informative. I've finally started to make a small amount of cash doing some freelancing and working with some of my ideas while working full time. It's slow going, but I'm just not going to give up.

A lot of my friends don't give a shit about any of this type of stuff. Neither does the vast majority of the population. When you're living day to day in the states you really realize how rare this type of thinking is. Hence I gain all my inspiration from this forum

[Andreas]

Millionaire fastlane - MJ Demarco is by miles better than the 4HWW.... Better than anything else out there. The only problem with it, is the terminologies like "NECST" or "SUCS". Other

[Biz]

I read the guys first book - 'the art of non-conformity'

was OK, was mostly about how grad school is a complete waste of time and money...

[pazzesco]

(05-26-2012 05:06 PM)Biz Wrote:  

I read the guys first book - 'the art of non-conformity'

was OK, was mostly about how grad school is a complete waste of time and money...

he started out selling an ebook about frequent flier miles. friend of mine read this one and said it was just alright, nothing really new.

[Vacancier Permanent]

Funny you post about this book Roosh as I just picked it up a few days and I'm going through it now (the $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau). It's an enjoyable read. Once I'm done with it, I'll do a review of it.

[qazwsx]

I used to read his blog: http://chrisguillebeau.com/3x5/. It has some interesting content.

I didn't read the book, but as long as I know it covers some kind of people's stories like the one of himself or the one of Roosh. People who quitted their boring jobs to follow their passions and sometimes ended up creating sites/blogs (or other things that require little to start) that gave them good profits and a new life.

[NuMbEr7]

This guy is a less well known version of Tim Ferris.. I know quite a few bloggers who used his guides to create an income

[FitAsFuck]

I have ordered the book, but not received it yet. I plan on reading it, as soon is it arrives. So in a little while, I should be able to give a short review.

[WanderingSoul]

Anyone know if it is mostly about blogging/making money online? Or is it about other types of startups as well?

[Walnuts]

(05-27-2012 02:29 PM)RioNomad Wrote:  

Anyone know if it is mostly about blogging/making money online? Or is it about other types of startups as well?

Is making a blog worth the effort when compared to a regular job?
I mean money-wise. I have the idea that it's very hard work blogging to generate a substantial primary income to live off. Anybody know about this? Am i right or wrong?
in this case substantial means at least 40 or 50k USD annually.

[delineator]

I actually just read this book last week. Much of the book is short case studies of individuals who have successfully started very small businesses of 1-5 employees with little money up front ($100-$5000). The author really encourages you to figure out your deepest passion (besides picking up lizards) and figure out how to turn it into a profitable business that will get your ass out of the soul sucking 9-5 corporate lifestyle and give you the freedom to travel and work on your own terms. The businesses he discusses are of this type: there is a snowboarder who makes $300k/yr by producing and selling snowboarding videos, a guy who makes $120k/yr off a reference book he published for complicated software that previously had no reference book, an architect/web designer who makes $100k/yr on his own, etc. etc. etc.

The book is good for inspiration, but a lot of these people happened to be in the right place at the right time so keep that in mind. And the logistical business tips he gives are very amateur and worthless. They made me laugh while I was reading. Check out "The Lean Startup" if you want to start learning the science of entrepreneurship. That book divulges a lot of technique that is taught in the Stanford entrepreneurship program which is one of the best.

[Rah]

His post on Ferris' blog was all fluff -- is the book any different? Seems like he's mostly focused on being a cheerleader for entrepreneurship rather than talking about tactics or strategies. The 4HWW has its share of cheerleading but also has concrete shit you can use and apply.

[delineator]

Well he is a publishing entrepreneur so he wrote this book to sell and make more money for himself, not for academic learning purposes. The title makes that obvious - it's very gimmicky. Most people enjoy reading stories of success but don't enjoy reading text book style methodical research, so he is catering to this larger audience of people who probably don't currently have any business experience. Most people who already have an MBA or a lot of business experience would find this book worthless. I enjoyed it because of the stories and I'm in a point in my life where I'm making bank at my corporate job but I'm bored with the lifestyle and it's nice to hear examples of how people got out of their 9-5.

If you are considering starting a business, search for academic work on product-market fit and start studying. We are in a fortunate time that pursuing product-market fit can be done with very little overhead due to technology. A profitable business model can be started with very little risk.

[Noemon]

I have ordered the book and expecting it - but I have read 3 previous books by him. Since after reading the 4HWW i created 2 mini-businesses that take 1-2 hours per week to run and give me 5,000$ per month to fund my travelling - I am very open to ideas that can help me eihter fine-tune my businesses or create new ones .
Guys - for those of you who care...
1) This is DOABLE
2) This is NOT easy - you will fail a few times - I did too
3) This will be TIME-CONSUMING while you are building the businesses - especially finetuning procedures
4) Eventually - if you did your homework and chose a good idea - it will get MUCH easier
I used to have to work 4-6 hours per week until 2-3 months ago - as i said, now i am down to 90' to maybe 2 hours max.
get it started and do not give up

[WestIndianArchie]

(05-28-2012 09:51 PM)Noemon Wrote:  

I have ordered the book and expecting it - but I have read 3 previous books by him. Since after reading the 4HWW i created 2 mini-businesses that take 1-2 hours per week to run and give me 5,000$ per month to fund my travelling - I am very open to ideas that can help me eihter fine-tune my businesses or create new ones .
Guys - for those of you who care...

What are your 2 mini-businesses?

WIA

[WestIndianArchie]

(05-26-2012 06:02 AM)Roosh Wrote:  

This book just came out:

The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future

It's getting a big push from its publisher, already with more than 200 positive reviews in less than a month.

Anyone check it out?

I read it the day it came out.

http://youtu.be/xbwBboFr3fQ

This is the trailer for it.

It's a nice idea, but less practical and hands on than the 4hww.

WIA.

[Neo]

(05-28-2012 05:42 PM)delineator Wrote:  

I actually just read this book last week. Much of the book is short case studies of individuals who have successfully started very small businesses of 1-5 employees with little money up front ($100-$5000). The author really encourages you to figure out your deepest passion (besides picking up lizards) and figure out how to turn it into a profitable business that will get your ass out of the soul sucking 9-5 corporate lifestyle and give you the freedom to travel and work on your own terms. The businesses he discusses are of this type: there is a snowboarder who makes $300k/yr by producing and selling snowboarding videos, a guy who makes $120k/yr off a reference book he published for complicated software that previously had no reference book, an architect/web designer who makes $100k/yr on his own, etc. etc. etc.

The book is good for inspiration, but a lot of these people happened to be in the right place at the right time so keep that in mind. And the logistical business tips he gives are very amateur and worthless. They made me laugh while I was reading. Check out "The Lean Startup" if you want to start learning the science of entrepreneurship. That book divulges a lot of technique that is taught in the Stanford entrepreneurship program which is one of the best.

Thanks for "The Lean Startup" recommendation, it sounds like the type of book I would read. Once again the issue I have with these types of books is that many just repeat the same things over and over again, without giving any real type of breakdown.

It's like giving a a barbell set to someone who knows absolutely nothing about weight lifting and saying "Well I got huge with this barbell set, you can too. BTW I'm just going to tell you stories about guys who got huge lifting, but make no mention about what exercises, program, or diet they followed." Or some of the guys on this board who are constantly snagging 8+ and above every week at all these venues.

As G would say break it down. No need to lay out the entire business plan and attract competitors, but something more than "You can make 4000 a month working one hour a week'" Also it seems that the niche a lot of these guys are in is writing guides on how to make money online.

I'm just going at it by trial and error and figuring things out for myself at this point.

[AntiTrace]

(05-28-2012 05:42 PM)delineator Wrote:  

Check out "The Lean Startup" if you want to start learning the science of entrepreneurship. That book divulges a lot of technique that is taught in the Stanford entrepreneurship program which is one of the best.

I have actually had the new post page open twice, to bust out some info on this book, and then realized as I started typing that the post the length would be insane.

I strongly recommend this book. I have read it cover to cover twice, and am now going back and re-reading slowly while applying the lessons to my start-up. The book provides a process for developing your ideas, testing them, and improving them. I am dropping more green on my start-up than most Americans make in a year, and this book has been an essential guide to help me a long the way.

Get away from the "promises" of the 4HWW, $100 start-up, or freedom business blogs. Books like that sell a dream, not a process.

If I had to recommend a starting entrepreneur any book to read, it would be The Lean Startup with Millionaire Fastlane a close second.

Pick it up and feel free to PM me with any questions on the material or my experience with it. I always love talking business.

[Vacancier Permanent]

Just ordered the Lean Startup and Millionaire Fastlane after your recommendations here. Having reached half of the 100 startup, I tend to agree with the comments made here that it's pretty basic and covers only basic case studies without much applicable step by step but more a feel good type of thing. Can't wait to receive the 2 books I just ordered.

Thanks for the recommendations guys on the Lean Startup!

[bface]

+1 for Lean Startup and Millionare Fastlane.

How to get rich by Felix Dennis is also a good read.
And Rework by 37signals, but non IT people might not find that as applicable.

Is there a thread about businessbooks? I read a lot of them and could recommend a long list of good books to people who are interested.

[AlphaTravel]

A lot of people told me the 4HWW 'changed their life' but it seems more like something people just say because they heard other people say it. It might be a worthwhile read but every time I pick it up I put it back down again shortly after, it just doesn't hold my attention. Might check out some of the others recommended in this thread and see if they are more suited to me.