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Book
Review
Making
a living — and a life
By
Mark Henrick
Reviewed
by Stephanie Swilley
The subtitle of Mark
Henricks' new book (“Not Just a Living”) is irresistible: The
Complete Guide to Creating a Business that Gives You a Life. Isn't
that what we all want? Sure, fabulous wealth would be nice, but experts
agree that 90 percent of small business owners aren't hoping to become the
next Bill Gates. Instead, Henricks says in Not Just a Living, most
are "lifestyle entrepreneurs." BookPage turned to the author for
a definition of this term and advice on making your start-up dream a
reality.
BookPage: What is a lifestyle entrepreneur?
Mark Henricks: Lifestyle entrepreneurs are people who have gone into
business primarily for lifestyle reasons, as opposed to a desire to get
filthy rich. They become business owners so they can live where they want,
work when they want, spend time with the people they want and do the kind
of work they want. They work hours that let them tend to children or aging
parents, indulge in hobbies or social causes or simply relax.
How is Not Just a Living different from a typical business
start-up manual?
How-to books for entrepreneurs generally assume that the primary goal of
the entrepreneur is to grow fast and grow big. Lifestyle motivations for
business ownership are presented as scarcely legitimate, if that—it's
often suggested that owning a business means you don't have a life outside
work. Not Just a Living dismantles those myths and reveals what the
overwhelming majority of business owners are really after, and how to get
it.
What's the biggest fear holding people back?
The ultimate nightmare is that the business will go bust and leave them
unemployed, broke and humiliated. That's not a pleasant scenario, to be
sure, but it's not as likely as it seems either. Most businesses, contrary
to popular perception, survive for several years and leave their owners
richer than when they started.
With the current economic upheaval, is now a good time or
a bad time to become a lifestyle entrepreneur?
Business start-ups generally increase during slow economies. The main
reason is that people start businesses because it's harder to find a job
in those times. But there are advantages to starting during down times.
Rent is cheaper and good employees are easier to find, for instance. A
business employing just a few people can prosper in good times and bad.
The real issue is personal: You get one life; when are you going to start
looking for a way to live it the way you want to? As far as I'm concerned,
the best time for that is right now.
Published with permission from www.Book Page.com
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