The $100 Startup

Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future

By: Chris Guillebeau

Narrated by: Chris Guillebeau, Thomas Vincent Kelly

Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

In The $100 Startup, Chris Guillebeau tells you how to lead of life of adventure, meaning and purpose - and earn a good living.

Still in his early 30s, Chris is on the verge of completing a tour of every country on earth - he's already visited more than 175 nations - and yet he’s never held a "real job" or earned a regular paycheck. Rather, he has a special genius for turning ideas into income, and he uses what he earns both to support his life of adventure and to give back.

There are many others like Chris - those who've found ways to opt out of traditional employment and create the time and income to pursue what they find meaningful. Sometimes, achieving that perfect blend of passion and income doesn't depend on shelving what you currently do. You can start small with your venture, committing little time or money, and wait to take the real plunge when you're sure it's successful.

In preparing to write this book, Chris identified 1,500 individuals who have built businesses earning $50,000 or more from a modest investment (in many cases, $100 or less), and from that group he’s chosen to focus on the 50 most intriguing case studies. In nearly all cases, people with no special skills discovered aspects of their personal passions that could be monetized, and were able to restructure their lives in ways that gave them greater freedom and fulfillment.

Here, finally, distilled into one easy-to-use guide, are the most valuable lessons from those who’ve learned how to turn what they do into a gateway to self-fulfillment. It’s all about finding the intersection between your "expertise" - even if you don’t consider it such - and what other people will pay for. You don’t need an MBA, a business plan or even employees. All you need is a product or service that springs from what you love to do anyway, people willing to pay, and a way to get paid.

Not content to talk in generalities, Chris tells you exactly how many dollars his group of unexpected entrepreneurs required to get their projects up and running; what these individuals did in the first weeks and months to generate significant cash; some of the key mistakes they made along the way, and the crucial insights that made the business stick. Among Chris’s key principles: if you’re good at one thing, you’re probably good at something else; never teach a man to fish - sell him the fish instead; and in the battle between planning and action, action wins.

In ancient times, people who were dissatisfied with their lives dreamed of finding magic lamps, buried treasure, or streets paved with gold. Today, we know that it’s up to us to change our lives. And the best part is, if we change our own life, we can help others change theirs. This remarkable book will start you on your way.

©2012 Chris Guillebeau (P)2012 Random House

Critic reviews

"Thoughtful, funny, and compulsively readable, this guide shows how ordinary people can build solid livings, with independence and purpose, on their own terms.” (Gretchen Rubin, author of the number-one New York Times best seller The Happiness Project)

"The $100 Startup is a twofer: It's a kick in the pants to get started on your dream and a road map for finding your way once you begin. If you're not ready to launch your own business after reading this book, you need to go back and read it again!" (Daniel H. Pink, New York Times best-selling author of Drive and A Whole New Mind)

"In this valuable guide Chris Guillebeau shows that transforming an idea into a successful business can be easier than you think…. You are in charge of which ideas deserve your time, and this book can help you wake up every morning eager to progress to the next step." (Tony Hsieh, New York Times best-selling author of Delivering Happiness and CEO of Zappos.com)

1-13 was great, end dips off.

Enjoyed first 13 chapters but felt the end was weak and became more of filler topics and stories to add pages and time.

Great

It's a great read! 😆 I loved the book. This will help me in very valuable ways. In my near future...

simple and worthy

simple language
great samples
good stories
aspiring startups
inspiring successes
thanks for the book .

a perfect no budget business guide

What did you love best about The $100 Startup?

It contains no fancy BS Apple or CocaCola stories. It talks about real small businesses - their journeys, their wins and fails; about simple people with no special skill or talent who have done it - who REALLY HAVE start-up business out of their room/basement - so why shouldn't you?!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

all it did - was make me go out and DO what I was supposed to, not plainly ponder on thought about what life would be like if I wasn't tied to someone else's business in 9am-5pm office gig, but my own!

Excellent book

Excellent book for small business owners to get motivated and see past the obstacles to moving forward. Listened to it three times the last few weeks to get as many nuggets of wisdom and advice I can take from it.

Great, easily digestible, easy to implement advice

Would you listen to The $100 Startup again? Why?

Yes

What was one of the most memorable moments of The $100 Startup?

The realization that the barriers to starting a small business are completely surmountable and the moment I had a fully realized business plan while listening.

Have you listened to any of Chris Guillebeau and Thomas Vincent Kelly ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Even you can be your own boss.

Any additional comments?

Listening to the performer read through worksheet templates is a little dull. Perhaps audible formats could include a "skip to [time stamp] and refer to [page number] in the paper copy for this document" edit. Perhaps include a download of the worksheets?

Motivational

The information within is very motivating. Showing many stories of how the roadblocks between you and having a business are not as big as you would believe.

great book

excellent info and very informative for someone looking to start a business. loved it . g

Interesting cases

I enjoyed listening to the stories of the different micro-entrepreneurs. Its always interesting hearing about other people's lives!

Great Book

Great book. As a person diving into entrepreneurship this is book motivational and offers sound advice and examples for small and micro businesses. Highly recommended.