Starting and Growing a Business in the New Economy:
Successful Career Entrepreneurs Share Stories and Strategies
Edited by Sally Gelardin. 2007.
Broken Arrow, Oklahoma: National Career Development Association .
128 pages, Paperbound, $15 for NCDA Members or $25 for non-members.

Reviewed by Mary Jacobsen, MSW

CAREER PLANNING AND ADULT DEVELOPMENT NETWORK e-NEWSLETTER
Volume 29, Number 4. July-August 2007.
Richard Knowdell, Publisher.

JOURNAL AND NEWSLETTER MANAGING EDITOR
Steven E. Beasley
Tel: (408) 354-7150
e-mail: stevenbeasley@verizon.net

***********************BOOK REVIEW*********************

If you've ever wondered whether or how you could hang up your shingle, set up shop, and attract paying clients/customers to your own consulting practice or small business, this book provides you with tested, systematic, comprehensive methods to answer these and related questions.

In Starting and Growing a Business in the New Economy: Successful Career Entrepreneurs Share Stories and Strategies, editor Sally Gelardin has assembled two books in one. The first part supplies how I did it narratives from some of the most successful and influential figures in the career consulting field: Marcia Bench; Jack Chapman; Robert Chope; Edward Colozzi; Donna Christner-Lile; Ron Elsdon; Dan Geller; Lynn Joseph; Jennifer Kahnweiler, Carolyn Kalil; Richard Knowdell Gail Liebhaber; Randy Miller; Martha Russell; Michael Shahnasarian; and Susan Whitcomb.

This section reads like Po Bronson's What Should I Do With My Life?, but for people who are asking the question, "Is This - Opening a Consulting/Counseling Practice-What I Should Do With My Life?" These sixteen brief narratives inspire and instruct, each according to the distinctive personalities, goals, and values of the authors. Readers are likely to identify with different voices and motivations in the authors' stories of how their businesses were born, grew, and in some cases, were passed along to others. Sometimes the trigger to go out on his or her own was dissatisfaction with a constricting job or institution; sometimes it was a natural next step in professional growth, as organic as a child growing taller; sometimes it was a serendipitous opportunity that cried "Choose me!" What all the authors have in common was that they listened to an inner voice that sometimes doubted, sometimes encouraged, but always led them forward.

Like all good stories, these authors' descriptions of their journeys to becoming entrepreneurs describe turning points in which intentions and opportunities crystallize into plans and commitments. Readers will be led to think about the variety of possible turning points that have happened or may currently be happening in their own lives, ranging from jobs that have grown too small, to a mentor's encouraging words, to an offer too good to refuse, or a meditative moment in which a mysterious voice simply clarifies what you are to do.

Readers will also learn about the different challenges and difficulties each author encountered, and the strategies that enabled them to stay on task, problem solve, survive, and ultimately thrive. Some writers discuss the importance of integrating personal mission or purpose with market driven client needs. Others discuss the difference between business strategy and business planning (and how important it is to have
both). Still others discuss lining up inner and outer supports; finding mentors and coaches; assessing skills and strengths and thereby ascertaining what roles you can play and what type of teamwork you will require from others; still others discuss the importance of believing in your ability and worth as a key to attracting and maintaining clientele (i.e., "If you believe customers are out there who need and will be happy to pay you for valuable services, they will come.") The variety of perspectives and priorities emphasized by each writer is one of the book's strengths.

The second part of the book presents self-assessment exercises covering a range of topics, including personal skills and values as well as business purposes and plans. This tool kit can be drawn from according to individual readers' interests and needs. For example, you may need help with getting started, getting organized, clarifying your competitive advantage, identifying and overcoming barriers to progress, or establishing an action plan. It's easy to scan through and determine which exercises you will benefit from. Each one is clearly defined; each one spells out target audience, outcomes, time needed to complete it, and suggestions on assessing your own results. The authors of these self-assessment exercises counsel and coach people from diverse entrepreneurial backgrounds, so they will be useful not just for people interested in pursuing career consulting or professional services, but any kind of business endeavor. This practical and useful volume, rich in positive examples of individual tenacity and entrepreneurial savvy, is the first monograph in a forthcoming series from NCDA.

Reviewed by Mary H. Jacobsen

Mary H. Jacobsen, MSW, PhD, is a clinical social worker with a private psychotherapy and career coaching practice in Arlington, MA. She is the author of Hand-me-down Dreams: How Families Influence Our Career Paths. She is currently putting the finishing touches on her second book, MONEY: An Intimate Biography.

ORDER NOW! You can order the monograph by postal mail in soft cover or in immediately downloadable format.