An instant classic, this revised and updated edition of the phenomenal bestseller dispels the myths about starting your own business. Small business consultant and author Michael E. Gerber, with sharp insight gained from years of experience, points out how common assumptions, expectations, and even technical expertise can get in the way of running a successful business.

Gerber walks you through the steps in the life of a business—from

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• Thousands of Africans head to China each year to buy cell phones, auto parts, and other products that they will import to their home countries through a clandestine global back channel.
 
• Hundreds of Paraguayan merchants smuggle computers, electronics, and clothing across the border to Brazil.
 
• Scores of laid-off San Franciscans, working without any licenses, use Twitter to sell home-cooked foods.

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""Reading Originals made me feel like I was seated across from Adam Grant at a dinner party, as one of my favorite thinkers thrilled me with his insights and his wonderfully new take on the world." --Malcolm Gladwell, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Outliers and The Tipping Point "Originals is one of the most important and captivating books I have ever read, full of surprising and powerful ideas. It will not only change the way you see the...

A guide to the early decisions that can make or break startup ventures
Often downplayed in the excitement of starting up a new business venture is one of the most important decisions entrepreneurs will face: should they go it alone, or bring in cofounders, hires, and investors to help build the business? More than just financial rewards are at stake. Friendships and relationships can suffer. Bad decisions at the inception of a promising

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A guide to launching a profitable entrepreneurial venture in less than a month shares practical exercises and inspiring stories about how to plan, launch, and refine a side business with minimal revenue and without having to quit a full-time job.

3D Robotics co-founder and bestselling author Chris Anderson takes you to the front lines of a new industrial revolution as today’s entrepreneurs, using open source design and 3-D printing, bring manufacturing to the desktop. 
In an age of custom-fabricated, do-it-yourself product design and creation, the collective potential of a million garage tinkerers and enthusiasts is about to be unleashed, driving a resurgence of American...

"When re-imagining, re-thinking, and re-writing entrepreneurship in this book, the authors have come to the conclusion that the concept that describes it most precisely is one that signifies a process that includes imagining, seductively describing, playfully organizing, political agility in navigating common sense, and business sensibility before possible commerce. This book develops a process theory of entrepreneurship by exploring how key concepts...

"More than 100,000 entrepreneurs rely on this book for detailed, step-by-step instructions on building successful, scalable, profitable startups. The National Science Foundation pays hundreds of startup teams each year to follow the process outlined in the book, and it's taught at Stanford, Berkeley, Columbia and more than 100 other leading universities worldwide. Why? The Startup Owner's Manual guides you, step-by-step, as you put the Customer Development...

Publisher Annotation: Steve Case, cofounder of America Online and Revolution and New York Times bestselling author of The Third Wave, shows how entrepreneurs across the country are building groundbreaking companies, renewing communities, and creating new jobs - in the process reimagining the American landscape and bringing people together around a shared future. 272pp., 150K

"There's more small-business funding out there than you realize -- and Target Funding shows you how to find it, land it, and use it to launch, stabilize, or grow your business Target Funding is a strategic guide to funding opportunities aimed at specific types of businesses and business owners. You'll learn about all the options available to you -- including conventional, alternative, and diversity funding -- and how to access them based on your needs...