The 7 Irrefutable Rules of Small Business Growth

I'm a SCORE counselor and the mission of SCORE is to help wanta-be entrepreneurs and actual small business owners either successfully start a business or maintain/grow an existing business. Typically "clients" come in to the face-to-face counseling sessions with questions, lots of questions. If the client is a wanta-be entrepreneur, then one of my first questions is: Have you written a business plan? If the client is a small business owner and having problems or is interested in growth, then one of my first questions is: How does this relate to your business plan? Interestingly, both types of clients usually answer that they don't have a business plan, or at least they don't have a written business plan. Mr. Little's book covers what I have to tell my SCORE clients when they tell me they don't have a business plan or don't use a business plan. It sure would be nice if I could just hand the clients Little's book and call it an evening. However, the clients probably prefer to hear it from me verbally instead of having to read it first. Wanta-be entrepreneurs and actual small business owners must: 1. Establish and maintain a strong sense of purpose behind their idea or business 2. Research, analyze and fully understand the industry in which their business operates and the market in which it serves and competes 3. Write a sound business plan, and use it to operate the business 4. Be customer-centric, i.e. stay in touch with the customers, their wants and their needs 5. Systematize operations, planning, and use technology whenever possible 6. Build a team of good people to run the business 7. Be something of a visionary so the business can prosper (everything gets old that stays the same for long) By getting this book and reading it you will see the importance of writing a sound business plan and using it to manage and grow a successful small business. The "rules" mentioned are supported by real-world stories and provide insight into what makes business work. This book is an invaluable resource for anyone involved in small business strategy. A must read! Get it, and prosper. I'm not so sure the appendix material was relevant or necessary. I can't say I would have liked the book better without it, but I saw no point in including it. There is a fair amount written about personality types, and which personalities are more included to be entrepreneurs versus being W-2 employees. I think it is a shame that stereotypes are created since those classifications seem to keep many people from ever trying to be an entrepreneur.

Perhaps Covey is to be blamed for the fact that so many authors of business books treat the number seven as sacrosanct. The "rules" which Little offers in this volume could well have been 11 or 21...if not more. All are essential to business success. For example, "Establish and maintain a strong sense of purpose" (#1) and "Attract and keep the best and brightest" (#6). No news there. The great value of this book is derived from what Little has to say about each rule and, more importantly, HOW and WHY all seven are interdependent. At this point, it may be of interest to share information cited by Michael Gerber in his recently published E-Myth Mastery: "Of the 1 million U.S. small businesses started this year [2005], more than 80% of them will be out of business within 5 years and 96% will have closed their doors before their 10th birthday." Opinions vary as to the percentages as well as to the reasons for such extensive failure. However, the fact remains that a substantial majority of small businesses will fail eventually. Now consider the following remarks with which Jack Welch explains why he admires entrepreneurial companies: "For one, they communicate better. Without the din and prattle of bureaucracy, people listen as well as talk; and since there are fewer of them they generally know and understand each other. Second, small companies move faster. They know the penalties for hesitation in the marketplace. Third, in small companies, with fewer layers and less camouflage, the leaders show up very clearly on the screen. Their performance and its impact are clear to everyone. And, finally, smaller companies waste less. They spend less time in endless reviews and approvals and politics and paper drills. They have fewer people; therefore they can only do the important things. Their people are free to direct their energy and attention toward the marketplace rather than fighting bureaucracy." In this volume, Little suggests strategies and tactics to achieve and sustain many of the competitive advantages to which Welch refers. His tone is personal, indeed conversational, and he thereby establishes a direct rapport with his reader; moreover, he anchors his observations and recommendations within a real-world context, mercifully free of theories and hypotheses; also, he addresses how and why as well as what to do; and finally, following his rigorous analysis of each of the seven rules (to each of which he devotes a separate chapter), Little then provides a suggested Next Steps section which reiterates key points concerning implementation. I also appreciate Little's inclusion of hundreds of personal anecdotes which add some seasoning to an already lively narrative. This book offers a practical, cohesive, comprehensive, and cost-effective program by which all organizations (regardless of size or nature) can achieve and then sustain profitable growth. It will be of greatest interest to decision-makers in smaller organizations...and perhaps to decision

Since we are mentioned in the book several times I felt it was imperative that I read the book as soon as it came out. I was not disappointed in the book at all. Even working with Steve on many occasions there was still much information to be gained by reading this book. In my opinion it does not matter if you already own a business or looking to start one this is a must read. Like many business owners I like key information in usable form and not theories and concepts that do not apply to the "real world". In addition to the sound information contained in this the book what I found best was that I was able to complete the book during a recent brief travel excursion. The stories make for real life comparisons. William R. Binder, III President, Candlewic

I saw Steve speak at an industry trade show recently and came away with plenty of information I could use right away. I've been looking forward to this book coming out and was not disappointed. Like his keynotes, this is entertaining, but also crammed full of interesting insights and examples. There aren't a lot of books I would recommend to others trying to grow companies. For those of us in the trenches, most of the advice we see from so-called "experts" is bunk. It's obvious that Little has lived in the real world and that he knows what he is talking about. I recommend this as both a pleasure to read and as a "how to grow" manual.

An excellent book for all those involved with small businesses. Even though the book attempts to narrow it's readership to those already planning on growing an existing business I feel there is enough wisdom in here for people who don't have a business, but are planning on one. This book relies on the authors experiences as well as interviews with other successful business owners and because of this Little is able to distill a lot of information into 7 key points. Many of these points are not unique to this book, in fact if you do a lot of reading many of them might sound familar. However, what this book does is compile them into one volume. And that right there is worth the price.