The $100 Startup [Versión Kindle]

This is an inspiring book. At least a couple times while reading it I took a pen to jot down some ideas.

My problem with the book is that there are too many success stories but no real detail on the struggle for that success. I think this book would have been more successful if the author had chosen one or two examples per chapter to really dig into. I agree with one reviewer who said that most of the examples are in the form "got an idea, started a website, made money". How did they do it all? That what I like to know. It's great to know that people have started businesses with so little capital but I want to know the struggles, the low points and how they persevered.

Toward the end of the book I just skimmed. I wanted someone to cheer for and I didn't find that in 1/2 page examples.

Well I am disappointed in this book. As a top selling book, I was expecting perhaps too much.

First I would say the target audience of this book are probably those people who never ever read any other book on business, or never even thought about starting a business. Almost every advice is very basic.

When I read author had interviewed so many businesses, I was hoping he would have included more "technical" details about them. For example, the photographer in Spain, how she was advertised, how much she invested in her gear, did she take any classes, how she hires assistants, if any etc. Or coffee shop guy, how did he get money for coffee shop, how many hours he works at coffee shop, how did he gain experience for running it etc (I am pretty sure starting a coffee shop is not exactly $100 startup).

Or that single mom who became marketing consultant, exactly how did she land her first client? How did she dress, and gained their respect? How did she learn about marketing? How did she convince companies that she was a real deal not a joke? (At our company, we had experiences with so-called Social Media Marketing experts. It seems most of them just know how to update their Facebook statuses or send a twitter update.)

For good parts, the book is easy to read. It will inspire many people to do what they enjoy. It does provide a starting point. It repeats general knowledge but it is good to have all that knowledge in one place.

In the end, don't expect anything revolutionary from this book. In my opinion, if you are already inspired to do your own thing then try to find a book on that thing. If you want to start a photography business then you might be better served by a book on starting photography business than this book.

In The $100 Startup, Chris Guillegeau (author of The Art of Non-Conformity) accomplishes something unique. Instead of discussing how to grow, scale, leverage, and sell a new business--typical of much of the entrepreneurship literature--he focuses entirely on "microbusinesses": tiny, one- or two-person operations that maximize freedom and generate roughly $50,000 per year.

Much of Chris' advice will benefit solo creatives who rely upon strong online presences. (Chris himself makes a living from writing, blogging, and selling digital guides.) But the stories that he culled from hundreds of interviews with entrepreneurs satisfied my need for a diverse proof-of-concept. Product- and service-based--online and offline--freelance, partnership, and employee-hiring: all such business are represented in this book.

As a serial microbusiness entrepreneur myself, I especially appreciated Chris' discussion about the benefits of staying small, serving a tiny niche, and avoiding the hassles of hiring and managing employees. And his discussion of self-marketing, a.k.a. "hustling," felt refreshingly ethical.

Most importantly, The $100 Startup demonstrates that you do not need to go into debt to start a profitable and meaningful business. If more people took this advice in the realm of schooling--realizing that you don't need to go into debt to give yourself a higher education--then our world would benefit from an incredible boost in the number of creative entrepreneurs ready to tackle our problems, both big and small.

I highly recommend this book to teenagers, young adults, recent graduates, and transitioning adults who are eager to begin crafting a tiny yet profitable business, right now.

-Blake Boles
Author, Better Than College
Founder & Director, Unschool Adventures