Down to Business book review

If I were going to start a business tomorrow, I would have started reading books probably a year ago. I believe in being prepared. I didn’t do that, and that’s why I want you to be better than me.

Today we are talking about Down to Business by Fenley Scurlock and Jason Liaw. The genre of the book is non-fiction. The theme of the book is entrepreneurship and business ownership.

This book is written by high school students who are about to go to college. It’s essentially saying to young entrepreneurs, here’s what you should do, here’s some advice.

I knew that going in. I still judged the book a little. I was looking for advice in a different way. I was thinking, “I’m in this pickle, where is my return on investment? Help me.” So I picked up Down to Business expecting that.

It’s not written for someone who is 40 years old. It’s not written for someone who has been interviewing people for years. And that’s okay. That’s probably not the point.

My biggest issue with the book is actually something small. I wish they asked the same questions to every single person they interviewed. If they did, they didn’t list them clearly.

You’ll read one interview and think, wow, if you had one piece of advice for a young entrepreneur, that’s so great. Then you get to the next person and that question isn’t there, and you kind of want that advice again. You start wondering where the consistency is, where the theme is.

That’s not the point of the book, but it stood out to me.

One of my favorite things about this book is how they categorized every entrepreneur they interviewed into about seven different types of business owners:

• Disruptive

• Visionary

• Champion

• Innovator

• Creator

• Investor

• Strategist

I thought that was really intriguing because as I was reading, I kept asking myself, what category would I fit into?

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In one of my roles, I am definitely a strategist. I am also an innovator. Overall, I would probably call myself a visionary, but I’m really an implementer. You can spark an idea and I’m already moving on it. I’ve got the website started, I’ve got the domain name, I’m already creating the things.

There were a couple of quotes in this book that I absolutely loved.

Everything takes longer than you think

This one is by Deepal Gandhi, and I love it because it’s so true. When you are an entrepreneur, when you are an innovator, when you are a visionary, it’s roadblock after roadblock. Things pop up from the side. You just want to make the thing, and there’s all this extra stuff in the way.

By far, one of the first things that will slow down your time is your motivation. You will be your biggest hurdle. Life is always happening, and things are going to disrupt you.

The next quote that stood out is by Simhar Aria:

It isn’t the idea that makes you a successful entrepreneur, it’s your ability to do anything and all the work required.

What I love about this is that it’s not about thinking about it. It’s about doing any and all of the work.

To me, that means resilience. Everything takes longer than you expect. And when it does, what do you do next? You have to recognize that it’s just a moment, and then keep going.

It’s not about getting a business card that says “entrepreneur” and calling it a day. It’s your ability to actually do the work and keep it going. If you’ve created something and you’re maintaining it, you are the entrepreneur. It’s bigger than the title.

There’s also a section that talks about different paths. Some people create their own businesses. Some people become high-level leaders in established companies. That part was really fascinating to me.

I don’t feel like books like this existed when I was younger. I don’t even know if I would have been interested in them at the time. But the fact that young people are writing about entrepreneurship and sharing what they are learning so others can start the right way is something I can appreciate.

I would read this again, and I would recommend it to other people, especially if you are early in your journey. Every book is for a different audience, and this one has its place.

If you are interested in entrepreneurship and want to hear a variety of perspectives, this is one to add to your list.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0irQL2nX2RA

Until the next book review, 

Kyla