Entrepreneurs often struggle with many aspects of business: planning and financing company growth, creating a company vision, recruiting, leading, and managing people, as well as personal costs. In this book, more than fifty business owners and entrepreneurs offer a wealth of real-life stories—in their own words—that provide rare insights about keeping a company healthy and growing. Here is a unique collection of first-person accounts by entrepreneurs, who describe their mistakes in business and the lessons they have learned as a result. The stories cover a wide range of experiences, from the ... More

Entrepreneurs often struggle with many aspects of business: planning and financing company growth, creating a company vision, recruiting, leading, and managing people, as well as personal costs. In this book, more than fifty business owners and entrepreneurs offer a wealth of real-life stories—in their own words—that provide rare insights about keeping a company healthy and growing. Here is a unique collection of first-person accounts by entrepreneurs, who describe their mistakes in business and the lessons they have learned as a result. The stories cover a wide range of experiences, from the trials and tribulations of partnerships, to the loss of key customers, theft, finding and retaining employees, and the personal cost of living on the edge. The authors have drawn on interviews with more than 50 entrepreneurs, all of whom are under forty-five years of age and are founders or presidents of companies with revenues over $1 million and growing rapidly. They volunteered to share their stories, describing why they lost or almost lost their companies, what they did wrong, and the lessons they have learned. Their narratives are full of mistakes, failure, courage, moments of realization, and timely moves that saved the day.