Escape from Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur
by Pamela Slim
ISBN-10: 1591842573
ISBN-13: 978-1591842576
PROS: A good, friendly book that covers the process, psychology, and issues of starting one's own business. Many personal and general insights are provided.
CONS: Occasional odd metaphors and "pop-culture" elements can distract. The book does not cover everything about your own business in depth – but does advise where to go for in-depth information.
SUMMARY: An excellent, broad guide mixing psychology, encouragement, and advice for starting your own business.
I kept hearing how I had to read this book. Now at some point in the future I may want my own business, and since I'd known many people whov'e wanted their own business – or wanted to have a fannish business – I figured it was woth a read.
It's actually worth it.
The book is basically a book that mixes advice and guidance on the psychology of starting your own business with the things that you have to address to have that business. The two are really inseparable in this book, which usually (but not always) works to its advantage.
"Escape from Cubicle Nation" starts you where you are (considering your own business) and walks you through breaking out of ruts, conceptualizing ideas, then starting off on that journey. The author maintains a friendly, helpful tone that is neither patronizing nor overly simplistic, walking you through what you'll face.
This approach means the book is a mix of pep talk, motivational speach, advice and guidance, and hard advice. Thus though it covers almost all the subjects you'll be interested in in starting your own business, it in no way covers everything. This book is not the only book you'll read – it just may be the first.
Fortunately, the author is very aware of the limits of one book, and with honesty, directs you to other resources and advises you where else to go to learn more. She NEVER presents herself as a perfect know-it-all guru, and the refreshing lack of self-aggrandizemenet and self-promotion makes the book baggage-free. She's talking to you as a real, helpful person.
I'm putting this book on the must-read list. It's an excellent book for exploring and considering starting your own business, and it helps with both the psychology and business side of such decisions. If you're even considering the idea of your own business, this is a good place to start.
– Steven Savage