The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business: Make Great Money. Work the Way You Like. Have the Life You Want. PDF
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“Read The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business to learn strategies you can start using now to build a high-revenue business that gives you the freedom to lead the life you want. Pofeldt will convince you that you have more power to do so than you think!” —STEW FRIEDMAN, author of Total Leadership and Leading the Life You Want, practice professor of management at Wharton, and director of Wharton Work/Life Integration Project “In an era when freelancing, small office/home office, and one-person businesses are exploding, Elaine Pofeldt has written a definitive guidebook for any would-be entrepreneur who is looking to brainstorm, grow, sell, and succeed.” —GENE MARKS, CPA at the Marks Group PC “Elaine Pofeldt not only knows her subject as a business reporter, she has lived it, too, running her successful business for ten years. If you are looking to change your life, you couldn’t have a better guide.” —SUSAN CRANDELL, author of Thinking About Tomorrow and former editor in chief of More magazine “The best businesses are those that give us independence and financial security. In this excellent book, Pofeldt applies her investigative journalist’s skills to discovering how to build a million-dollar business while avoiding the headaches that typically plague small companies. Read it and be liberated!” —MURRAY B. LOW, PhD, professor, executive education, and founder of the entrepreneurship program at Columbia Business School “Elaine Pofeldt helped me have the courage to create the life I wanted, with practical, funny, and wise advice. With clear examples and compelling research, she shows what’s possible if you decide to go into business for yourself, and helps you figure out how to get there.” —ELIZABETH MacBRIDE, international business journalist, freelance contributor to CNBC and Forbes, and single mom “Elaine Pofeldt shows how people from all walks of life are hitting the million- dollar mark, sharing candid stories of entrepreneurs who have achieved the financial freedom to live the way they want. A must-read for anyone who dreams of quitting their job and starting a business.” dreams of quitting their job and starting a business.” —RON CARSON, CEO and founder of Carson Wealth Management Group “There is no one who knows more about the freelance economy—or can credibly illustrate the rewards of entrepreneurship—than Elaine Pofeldt. The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business is a useful and inspiring guide to every would-be self-starter.” —TOM POST, former managing editor of Forbes and coauthor of Unleashing the Innovators “Running a high-revenue one-person business isn’t just about the money—it’s about gaining the freedom to live your life in a way that matters to you and to give back to others in meaningful ways. In The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business, author and veteran small-business journalist Elaine Pofeldt draws on the stories and strategies of real entrepreneurs to create a highly readable and instructive roadmap for achieving these goals.” —ANNE FIELD, journalist and author of the Forbes blog Not Only for Profit “Free agents have unprecedented opportunities to earn a great living and create the lifestyle they really want. The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business unlocks strategies that will help solo entrepreneurs achieve more than they ever thought possible.” —MATT BARRIE, CEO of Freelancer.com “The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business is proof that you can have the life and career you desire if you dare to dream big.” —SASAN GOODARZI, executive vice president and general manager of Intuit Small Business “Traditional, hierarchical careers are no longer the best path for many. Breaking free is incredibly empowering and can exponentially increase earnings for savvy professionals. This book is an excellent source of guidance for people carving new paths to help them through the many choices they face.” —STEPHANE KASRIEL, CEO of Upwork “Pofeldt’s book is the first stop for any entrepreneur who wants to make a real go of it.” —HANK GILMAN, owner and editor of High Water Press and former deputy editor of Fortune magazine To my husband, Bob, for your love, support, and encouragement through all we have experienced together. To my children, Anna, Emily, Sarah, and Robert for constantly inspiring me with your energy, enthusiasm, curiosity, and joyfulness. And to my parents, Francine and Walter, for never discouraging me from pursuing the impractical career of writing. CONTENTS Foreword Acknowledgments Introduction 1 THE MILLION-DOLLAR, ONE-PERSON REVOLUTION 2 WHAT MAKES MILLION-DOLLAR, ONE-PERSON BUSINESSES WORK 3 WHAT BUSINESS COULD YOU START? 4 MAKE IT HAPPEN 5 KEEP GETTING SMARTER 6 REALIZE AND RESET YOUR VISION Appendices What Really Matters? Defining Your Expertise Business Idea Brainstorm Market Research Crash Course How to Stay Excited About Your Business Should You Sell? Making It Happen At a Glance Useful Resources Suggested Additional Reading Index FOREWORD By Verne Harnish, Founder, Entrepreneurs’ Organization Running a business is ultimately about freedom and independence—and there has never been a better time to go after that dream. New technologies have made it easier and more affordable to start a business than ever before. In a global marketplace, even tiny, home-based businesses can reach a vast, international audience of customers. The challenge for many small business owners is scaling their revenues and profits in an ultra-lean operation. The vast majority of small businesses in the United States are one-person firms. In many cases, the owners struggle to build a sustainable business that can support them and their families. They don’t have anything left over to invest in growth. That is because of a knowledge gap. Many owners have never learned how to create a high-revenue, high-profit business without adding a lot of overhead. It’s not something you’ll learn in school or even from other business owners. The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business closes that gap. It offers a road map to creating a seven-figure, ultra-lean firm by sharing the strategies of entrepreneurs who have approached and hit $1 million in revenue before adding employees. From their experiences, you’ll learn how to come up with the right business idea, how to develop concrete strategies you can use to turn your vision into reality, and how to scale your revenues and profits once they start rolling in. Once you know how to create a million-dollar, one-person business, you’ll have many possibilities in front of you. Some owners choose to keep their businesses small, building them around a lifestyle they love. Others decide to follow the path outlined in my book, Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0), and create fast-growing, job-creating firms. No matter which route you choose, you’ll have exciting options. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Writing a book requires a great team, and I am grateful for the many individuals who contributed to The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business. This book would never have been written without my dear friend, environmentalist Byron Kennard, who encouraged me to put the words on paper, week after week. I am grateful to my agent, Leila Campoli, for seeing the potential for this idea and making it possible to bring it to a wide audience. Thank you, also, to my editor, Lorena Jones, for believing in the book and for your great insights in editing it, and to copyeditor Kristi Hein for the many smart and subtle improvements you made. I also owe gratitude to Ten Speed designer Lizzie Allen, production manager Heather Porter, and marketer and publicist Daniel Wikey. Thank you to every entrepreneur who shared stories with me for this book and to the experts who contributed their knowledge. Thank you to Sol Orwell for helping me connect with many of the million-dollar entrepreneurs I have profiled. I’d like to thank editors Xana Antunes, Glenn Coleman, Susan Crandell, Diane Harris, Loren Feldman, Yasmin Ghahremani, Lori Ioannou, Scott Medintz, Peggy Northrop, and Tom Post for giving me many opportunities to explore the potential of the one-person business in my journalism. I’d also like to express my appreciation to Verne Harnish for showing me, in many ways, how entrepreneurship can pave a path to freedom. Writing can be a lonely endeavor without community. I’d like to express my appreciation to my long-time writing buddies Elizabeth MacBride, Anne Field, and Eilene Zimmerman for their input, advice and support and for being there all of these years. Thanks, too, to my friends June Avignone and Gregory Van Maanen for inspiring me with their passion for creating. Thank you, as well, to
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