Sunday, September 9, 2012

Less Work, More Money Tells It Like It Is

Less Work, More Money Tells It Like It Is:
Less Work, More MoneyIf you’re a fan of biographical entrepreneurship stories, then you’ll really enjoy Less Work More Money: The Entrepreneurial Life Plan by Matt and Kristen Hawkinson (@moremoney) and Maxie McCoy.
This start-up business book tells the story of Matt and Kristen Hawkenson and their journey from corporate employees to successful entrepreneurs.  I received a review copy of the book a few weeks ago and have been reading through it during the weekends.
Have you been daydreaming about MORE?
Less Work, More Money is a business book targeted to the person who finds his life as an employee fundamentally unrewarding.  If this sounds like you, then you will feel like the authors are talking your language and telling your story.  The book starts with Matt looking back on his days at GEICO and watching the guy with the coffee kiosk outside his office building:

“He stood outside in the courtyard in his sandy flip flops for just a few hours every morning.  Handing cappuccinos and coffee to the men and women making one last stop before bustling into work….day in and day out I watched.   From behind the glass of the insurance company office window, I saw him pack up the cart and roll it away around 10 o’clock.  Then he headed to a day that was all his.”

This Is The Everyman’s Entrepreneurial Story
I think that what I enjoyed most about this book is the overall scrappiness and messiness of it all.  This isn’t some elegant story about the foundation of some huge chain or conglomerate or mega-brand.  It’s a story of a regular guy, setting a goal and then going about the messy, clumsy and obstacle riddled path to get there.  That’s what makes this book worth reading.
Hawkinson writes the way you or I would tell a story; sharing the day-to-day journey that moves you from his epiphany about owning his own business, to the story of how he met his wife, the death of his best friend and the entrepreneurial roller coaster that he still calls his life.
As you read the stories, you’ll see the familiar themes of perseverance, hard work, relationship building, and constant innovation.  The book isn’t meant to persuade or dissuade you – it’s meant to inform and educate you so that you can make a good decision about what’s waiting for you outside the corporate office window.
Stories, Lessons and Resources
You can probably read this book in a leisurely weekend.  It’s only about 200 pages and practically reads like a novel.  Each chapter starts with a slice of entrepreneurial life and then gives you the lessons that Hawkinson’s learned from that personal experience.  The final part of the chapters includes actual bootstrapping resources that they used and how they applied them to their business.
The Title Isn’t Exactly Right
While I have to admit the title is irresistible, I’m not sure that it’s all that accurate.  Especially after reading the stories and experiences that the authors shared.
Less Work, More Money might be a noble goal, but I wouldn’t say that the authors worked any less at building their business than they did at their corporate jobs.  In fact, like so many others – they invested their share of blood, sweat and tears.  The only difference is that the stakes were higher and the rewards more meaningful because they were working for themselves rather than someone else.
If The Hawkinson’s Can Do It, So Can You
The most inspirational aspect of Work Less, Make More are the authors themselves.  After reading so many books about “extraordinary entrepreneurs”, the Hawkinson’s show us that the only extraordinary that matters is how committed you are, how persistent you are and how resilient you are.
You don’t need to be the next Steve Jobs to enjoy the fruits of owning your own business.
This book is ideal for anyone who feels like another cog in the wheel of the corporate machine and is looking for inspiration to go off on his own.
The post Less Work, More Money Tells It Like It Is appeared first on Small Business News, Tips, Advice - Small Business Trends.




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