Birthing the Elephant: The Woman's Go-For-It! Guide to Overcoming the Big Challenges of Launching a Business

My wife is currently in school to obtain her doctorate in Physical Therapy. I thought this would be an ideal book to help her understand the "ins" and "outs" of running her own business. Now I can barely pry the book out of her hands! What an ideal gift...She loves it.

I really liked this book not just because it had good information and made me re-think some of my business strategies, but because the successful women the authors interviewed had such inspiring stories that they inspired *me* all over again. Starting any sort of a business is tough, as I am finding out, and sometimes you just need to be reminded that success is not just possible, but likely if you go about it the right way. Highly recommended.

I liked this book a lot. I regularly keep my eye out for new books for women entrepreneurs. Many of them I don't particularly like. However, this one is a good one in my humble opinion. It has the following chapters: 1. Design your destiny 2. Real stories behind real startups 3. Substitute brains for bucks 4. Take the leap 5. Stage 1 - Start your startup 6. Stage 2 - Run your own show 7. Stage 3 - Turn breakdowns into break throughs 8. Stage 4 - Find your business rhythm 9. Avoid the 10 biggest pitfalls 10. Welcome to the new life This book includes pointers and actions items to help the woman entrepreneur succeed in business. It also includes the following list of 10 regarding pitfalls women (and men) tend to fall prey to when starting their own company: >>Romanticizing being your own boss <br />>>Not getting the right help early <br />>>Not understanding how to network <br />>>Running yourself ragged <br />>>Spending money for the wrong reasons <br />>>Not valuing your time highly <br />>>Not pricing properly <br />>>Spending too much on advertising <br />>>Not trusting your gut <br />>>Not thinking enough about the big picture <br /> <br />Most of these things can be avoided if the entrepreneur does the necessary research and planning BEFORE attempting to start their business. The author makes it clear that she believes that writing a sound business plan is a necessary step for any businessperson to do before they start their business. Since I am a firm believer in business plans, I highly recommend women entrepreneurs add this book to their reading list. 5 stars!

This book is great because it helped inspire me to get motivated to start up my new business venture. The book has useful concrete examples, quick tips and pitfalls to avoid for new startup entrepreneurs. Well worth the small investment for good startup advice and advice while running the show!

"Birthing the Elephant" captures the essence of starting a new venture - that roller coaster ride of emotions and the exhiliration of being one's own boss. The stories that these women tell are striking in their similarity. I never realized that there was a blueprint and timetable in entrepreneurship. I wish I had had this information when I started.