EJ2 – Prologue Excerpt

Bootstrapping: Weapon of Mass Reconstruction Now Available on Amazon

Prologue Excerpt:

Much of this book was written in 2008, as Barack Obama ascended to the White House and Wall Street descended to the poor house. While Obama called for hope on billets in our shop windows and front lawns, on seemingly every bumper of every car on Bay Area roads – our financial market simply collapsed.

“What Next?” was the question at the top of my mind. And as a result, readers will find this volume laced with political nuance, as well as a genuine attempt to understand what might deliver America, and the world at large, from its dire present day.

So, what next? Where to from here? From my perspective it is clear that small business must be a top policy priority. There are approximately five million small businesses in the United States with fewer than 20 employees. Another 20 million mom and pops endeavor day in and day out without employees. Let us hope that in the coming decade those numbers will double, then triple and quadruple. For here is the most powerful engine of economic growth and sustenance. Here is our way back.

If the next Google is to emerge and bring with it thousands of new jobs, it must first start over some kitchen table where not only hope, but opportunity is readily available. Where entrepreneurs not only start businesses at a higher rate, but also survive and thrive at a higher rate.

To achieve this we must answer several questions: Why don’t more businesses get off the ground? And, once up, why do so many fail?

Through much discussion, writing, and brainstorming on each topic, I arrived at a core thesis: Not just entrepreneurship, but bootstrapped entrepreneurship is the true weapon of mass reconstruction.

Businesses often fail to take flight because they cannot raise funding. Well, start with the assumption that funding will not be available until the business is substantially further along, if ever, and that bottleneck is removed.

Additionally, most businesses should not look to raise money. As true small businesses – in the eyes of venture capitalists, even a $5 or $25 million business is considered a small business – they do not really fit the framework of professional venture capital. That does not, however, mean these businesses are not worth building. In fact, a $12-million-a-year company fully owned by the entrepreneur is a wonderful situation. Full control. Loads of cash. And true independence. Heck, even a $300,000-a-year business has many of those same attributes, and is more than worthwhile.

Now, why do so many small businesses fail? Undoubtedly there are many complex reasons, but a primary one is that they run out of cash. They use whatever resources they have imprudently, and end up destitute. The offices empty through rounds of lay-offs. Boxes are packed, projects shelved. A final liquidation, and the un-erring quiet of failure.

This though is not the inevitable end. In this volume, we explore a dozen stories of entrepreneurs who have mastered the art of doing more with less, creating a great many options in the process. And making clear for the world over that prosperity and independence are not mutually exclusive. That in fact they go best together.

Press Contact:
Maureen Kelly
908-953-0602
mkelly@bizbookpr.com