Press release

IT’S YOUR BIZ

The Complete Guide to Becoming Your Own Boss

Pragmatic Advice and Solid Business-Building Practices for the Millions ofAmericans with Entrepreneurial Dreams

Facing a bleak job market in a precarious economy, droves of people are ditching the traditional career path to follow their passion and go into business for themselves. Sadly, most are in for a rude awakening. More than half of all small businesses fail within the first three years of operation. The problem isn’t our recessionary climate. Many of today’s major corporations—Hyatt, HP, Burger King, and Microsoft among them—started as start-ups in a down economy. The problem is that most eager entrepreneurs aren’t prepared for the world of differences between being a W-2 employee and being their own boss. To aggravate matters, most don’t know what really makes small businesses work.

“What you don’t know about running a small business can and will hurt you,” says noted small business expert Susan Wilson Solovic, speaking from decades of experience and persistence as a serial entrepreneur. In her new book, IT’S YOUR BIZ: The Complete Guide to Becoming Your Own Boss (AMACOM; October 11, 2011; $22.95 Hardcover), Solovic provides the information and reality checks every aspiring entrepreneur needs to make smart business decisions, from the moment of a start-up’s conceptualization and all through its development and growth to an owner’s exit from the business. “Success in your own small business venture greatly depends on your willingness to learn, to work hard, and to focus on getting it right,” Solovic tells readers upfront. “That’s what this book is all about—getting it right!”

“A small business is more than just a way to make a living; it’s a way of living,” Solovic stresses. She starts by urging readers to examine their motivation for starting a business and assess whether they have the personality traits—self-confidence, resilience, and persistence among them—for the calling. Then, for anyone with the right reasons and the right stuff, she offers a wealth of practical advice, as well as the strategic and tactical keys to business success.

Going beyond motivational calls to “pursue your passion,” IT’S YOUR BIZ prepares aspiring small business owners for the market challenges, the tough choices, the personal sacrifices, and the hard work ahead. Step-by-step, readers will learn how to establish a firm foundation for building a sustainable and profitable business. With an emphasis on core business principles and best practices, Solovic presents critical lessons in why and how to:

* Treat developing a business plan as a highly valuable, ongoing process, not a task.

* Clearly define and continually reinforce the cornerstones of every successful business: purpose, promise, and principles.

* Get a grasp of marketing basics and apply “massive amounts of common sense” to maximizing the most effective and least expensive marketing tools.

* Choose the people every growing business needs—advisers, coaches, investors, partners, an attorney, an accountant, and employees—wisely.

* Protect their business, their ideas, and themselves.

* Find the best and affordable location for their business, determine the perfect price for their product or service, and leverage technology for a competitive advantage.

* Get the financing to take their business from humble beginnings to a great enterprise.

Packed with business-building tools—worksheets, checklists, resources, and more—and words of wisdom from the trenches, IT’S YOUR BIZ is the real-world ally every determined entrepreneur needs to succeed.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Susan Wilson Solovic is owner and co-founder of ItsYourBiz.com, a highly successful video news and information site for entrepreneurs. She is a weekly small business contributor to ABC News, host of her own radio show, and a featured blogger on AllBusiness.com, Fast Company, and other websites. The author of several books, including The Girls’ Guide to Building a Million-Dollar Business (also published by AMACOM), Solovic has served on the National Women’s Business Council and the Women’s Leadership Board at Harvard University. She lives in St. Louis, Missouri. Ellen R. Kadin is Executive Editor at AMACOM Books. She lives in New York City.