| Title | : | Level Up: Rise Above the Hidden Forces Holding Your Business Back |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0593539826 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780593539828 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 240 |
| Publication | : | First published February 22, 2022 |
Like many business owners, renowned politician and activist Stacey Abrams didn’t start a business because she dreamed of calling herself an entrepreneur. Her part-time post (and its $17,310 annual salary) as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives necessitated striking out on her own as a consultant—her first small business. Then, Stacey and her friend Lara Hodgson launched an infrastructure advisory firm—named Insomnia Consulting because they did their best thinking at 3:00 a.m.—and then another business, and then another.
Fifteen years into their entrepreneurial journey together, they have tackled the obstacles that many business owners face: how to grow sustainably, hire thoughtfully, and keep up with the Goliaths in your industry.
Now, for the first time, Stacey and Lara share their inspiring and relatable personal story and lessons learned the hard way to show how every business owner can confront the forces that conspire to keep small businesses small. Lauded for her “resilient, visionary leadership” (Barack Obama) and celebrated as a “passionate advocate of democracy” (Madeleine Albright), Stacey now brings her fierce sense of justice to the challenges that America’s business owners face. Level Up arms readers with the confidence, know-how, and savvy to overcome the obstacles that hold their businesses back.
Level Up: Rise Above the Hidden Forces Holding Your Business Back Reviews
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As a business (or entrepreneurial) book, move on. There are much better books in starting a and growing a business, such as
The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future,
Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable,
The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur: The Tell-It-Like-It-Is Guide to Cleaning Up in Business, Even If You Are at the End of Your Roll,
The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It, and even
Rich Dad, Poor Dad and many, many more.
This book is written in both the third person as well as the first person, sometimes adding confusion where clarity is required. Furthermore, the authors are largely pushing two agendas in this book: 1. their own business ("Now" or "NowAccounts") which is a business that they are unashamed to market to the reader directly and 2. the liberal bias is so repetitive that it becomes tiresome. I'm an Independant who votes for Democrats and Republicans, and they have stepped WAY beyond the bounds of being non-partisan.
As an example, here's a quote:
If you are a white male founder and you make a mistake, it’s often treated as a dress rehearsal, and you’re given the chance to try again.
This is one of many such slams on how "the white man" is putting everyone down in the context of building a business.
Wrong, wrong - and wrong and I'm personally sick of this narrative! I'm a white male founder of a number of businesses, and I have had business partners and co-founders of all different ethnicities and of both genders. In the United States, right now, the table is slanted towards the ethnic minorities in terms of having the best availability for capital, the mandated spots at the table given by many in the Fortune 500 and many other benefits. But it's not easy for anyone. As
Peter Drucker pointed out years ago, business is an art, not a science ; as such, the only single requisite to becoming successful is to be creative.
Furthermore, to paraphrase
Felix Dennis, building a business isn't itself difficult ; it's working on yourself that is. The business is a mirror of it's owner(s) and manager(s), and it runs on a supply of cash. All of those have to be in sync in order for it to run successfully and grow. It's both extremely easy and extremely difficult. It's a puzzle with many solutions. But most importantly, it's valued by no-one more than the person who owns or is the founder of the business. Elsewhere, nobody really cares and you can't take it with you when you are dead.
Many people start a business for the thrill of the hunt. Many start a business to get rich. Others too find that it's a means to get more free time into your life. But it's also quite achievable to start a business to benefit the world. People can, and should, start a business to clean up an ocean (or two)... or start a business which will begin peace.
The Prosperity Paradox: How Innovation Can Lift Nations Out of Poverty describes exactly why this is a superior approach to having a government try and do it. In the end, Business is a set of new power tools while governments only have leftover nails and and second hand hammers.
Beyond that, the authors should be ashamed of themselves by writing a book that also peddles their services. That's not good form. But it's also not a good book, and most of the advice is recycled with buzzwords spread out ("pivot," "flywheel," "bootstrap," - it has all of the buzzwords as decoration throughout this tome). If you read anything else in this topic you'll come away with better ideas than what the authors tried to present here. -
If you are a fan of Shark Tank or if you have ever thought about starting your own business, this book is definitely for you. These inspiring women talk you through all of the steps it takes to build a successful business. There is a LOT that goes into it. If you think the entrepreneurs on Shark Tank have a lot of numbers and information in their heads, you won't believe how much more goes into developing a business and getting it off the ground. I love how the book is broken up into the chapters, and at the end of each chapter they review the most important key items to take away with you.
Thanks so much to Portfolio books for the gifted copy! -
This book helps explain what it took for Stacey Abrams and Lara Hodgson's small business. This also gave a look at how Abrams juggled her political career with her business career. It was slow in some parts, but inspiring to those who feel like owning a business is their goal, but don't know how to obtain it.
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I really wanted to love this book because Stacey is so fascinating as a person. However, this book was terribly bland and the writing was dry. Not a lot of business information unless you’re growing a business that requires investors.
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Thanks to PRHAudio for this complimentary audiobook! Great book on making success out of challenges! Eye opening as a business owner who has dealt with similar challenges.
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A fascinating look at small business in the United States from the inside.
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Interesting to read about the trials and tribulations that start ups have and to hear some of Stacey Abrams background.
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I can't speak to how good the business advice is, but the personal stories are fairly interesting.
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Solid 3.5 stars.
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A useful book for new entrepreneurs, but I had a hard time slogging through it. I was a bit bored.
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Required reading for any small business owner!
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3.5
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They had some good ideas for businesses, but failed due to financial issues with payments and not enough cash flow. Then they tried again. End (and beginning) of story.
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I had no idea that Stacey Abrams is a serial entrepreneur, writer, and politician. This book co-written with her business partner details the trials and tribulations of several of their business forays. It also provides tips for entrepreneurs that are trying to grow their business and take it to the next level.
