1-Sentence-Summary: Boss It is a hands-on guide to entrepreneurship and what running business implies, from motivation, to hard work, consistency, great time management and a series of practical skills that are needed to fully succeed in this environment.
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Ever thought about opening up your business, quitting your nine to five job and finally fulfilling your dreams? If the answer is yes, you’re in the right place! Running a business is not an easy feat. But with the right mentorship, planning, and a load of determination, it becomes possible.
Living a better, more fulfilled life starts with an investment in yourself. You are your biggest asset at any given time, so it is particularly important to listen to your gut and chase your goals. Maybe you feel stuck in a rut at your current job. Perhaps you are dissatisfied with your professional life for any reason. So if you feel like opening up your own company is what you should do, go for it!
People like you have already started to become self-employed or work as freelancers, creating a notable trend in this direction. Essentially, people prefer being their own bosses, having a flexible schedule, and more time for themselves. However, being an entrepreneur is not all sunshine.
For a business to succeed, its owner needs to have a strong foundation of knowledge and the willingness to put in the work and be open to new perspectives always. Boss It by Carl Reader teaches you exactly how to do that by offering a series of valuable lessons.
Among them, here are my three favorite ones:
- Dream big, but also be willing to work hard.
- Taking in debt can be a good thing for your company.
- Customers are the most important factor for your business’s success.
While you think you know these lessons already, there are certain things that even I didn’t know that caught me by surprise. Let’s explore them in detail and get a little technical!
Lesson 1: Aiming high is only reasonable when you’re determined to work hard.
Growing up, we were always told to dream big and be whatever we want to be. Aiming high is a healthy approach to your goal setting process, as it can motivate you to raise the bar for yourself. Therefore, the first thing you should do is create a vision for your business.
When doing so, it’s important to dream big and not limit yourself from the start. Conventional rationality can inhibit remarkable ideas, so make sure to leave that aside and think outside the box when it comes to your business. Have your goals align with your values and your strategies.
However, customers need to relate to your company as well. For that, you need to anchor the core aspects of your future business in reality. Decide on your company’s ‘’why’’ and keep it simple. Maybe you want to be the cheapest offer on the market, or maybe you want to be the most customer-centric company in your country. Whatever your vision may be, define it clearly from the start.
Then, the masterplan follows. Make sure to include actionable steps, performance reviews, and specific targets in it. You can change or review it afterwards, but have a draft before you start your business. Also, make sure to include a SWOT analysis in it to define your company’s core competencies and weaknesses.
Lesson 2: Loans and credits can keep your company floating, so don’t be afraid of them.
Throughout your life, you will hear a lot of negative reviews on bank loans and credits so high that they ruined someone’s life. However, personal loans and company loans are two separate things. Usually, most start-ups require some funding to get going, as without it, they cannot start operations and generate profits.
To start with, let’s categorize: there’s good debt and bad debt. Bad debt is when you take out a loan at an interest rate too high, and you cannot repay it. Good debt is money that can help you generate cash-producing assets. This is the type you should be aiming for.
Moreover, there’s two types of funding: debt and equity funding.
Equity funding allows people to invest in your business. While it may not imply a bank, it can get a little complex when you have to pay back the investors according to their contribution. Bank loans, on the other hand, are more structured, so they make this part easier for you. You have to decide which of the two is better for you.
To raise the chances of receiving such funding, you’ll have to present your investors or the bank a business plan. It should include a forecast of profits, the anticipated cash-flow for a given period of time, and the balance sheets. Lastly, you’ll want to deliver the best pitch for your business, if you want to grab their attention.
Lesson 3: The ability to find and retain customers is crucial to your company’s success.
Always remember that, as a general business rule, it is more expensive to bring in new customers than to retain the old ones. Recurring buyers are a great source of income, so you’ll want to make sure that they are treated excellent, in order to maintain them. Moreover, loyal customers allow you to plan and forecast better.
To get customers, you have to stand out. A good website, a strategic location, or even a top-quality product won’t be enough to compete on the market. Instead, you will have to conduct market research first and understand your customers and who you’re targeting. Establishing your buyer persona is a top priority.
As you define who your group of buyers is, it will become easier to create targeted strategies to attract them, such as online ads. Figuring out the age, income, hobbies, educational background, and other details about your target persona will help you get into their head and offer exactly what they’re looking for.
The easiest way to do that is by conducting market research and positioning yourself within a niche. Once you’ve done this, you can find out who your ideal customer is from there. Lastly, you’ll want to build a strong online presence through a website and social media profiles, so that you can reach your audience easier.
Boss It Review
Boss It is your go-to guide for everything related to opening up and running a business, from the idea, to the business plan, and effective marketing practices to retain customers. This book will give you all the information needed to open up a thriving company from scratch and run it successfully.
The authors managed to compress extended knowledge from fields like business administration, finance and marketing, under the form of a hardcopy filled with practical tips.
Who would I recommend our Boss It summary to?
The 25-year-old aspiring entrepreneur who wants to start his own company, the 35-year-old who has a small business and wants to learn how to scale it, or the 30-year-old corporate employee who is looking to quit their nine to five job and start their own company.
Last Updated on May 19, 2023