small business and entrepreneurship

"The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship" is a very thorough introduction to the entire process of entrepreneurship and business formation. New entrepreneurs will find articles by various entrepreneurs and scholars of entrepreneurship that cover marketing, finance, venture capital, writing a business plan, and many other topics.

"The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship" also notes many interesting aspects of entrepreneurship as it relates to the broader economy. It is pointed out that throughout the 1980's, for example, that only 5% of all the companies accounted for 77% of the new jobs in the U.S. Such information is interesting and it helps us understand the broader issues of entrepreneurship.

Although much of this academic information about entrepreneurship is not practically useful to new entrepreneurs who are building and growing companies, it does make for some interesting reading. Nor is "The Portable MBA in Entrepreneurship" a thorough analysis of successful businesses. It is not a business case study book.

The chapter about Market Opportunites and Marketing by Gerald E. Hills is especially good reading for people contemplating starting a business.

While this is a very good book, if I were going to teach a class in entrepreneurship (and assuming students wanted a more hands-on introduction to building a company), I'd use "The Entrepreneur's Fieldbook" by John Vinturella.

Peter Hupalo, Author of "Thinking Like An Entrepreneur"

I think this is book is used in many Universities of developed countries. I would like to know more about new editions also.

I bought this book to help me get started on my own service business. It is helpful in many ways, and not so helpful in other ways. THE GOOD: 1) There is a load of information about entrepreneurship. This book takes you from getting started, to finding the capital you need, to tax and legal issues, to franchising your business. 2) It gives good definitions and explains words that you may be unfamiliar with. Ex... What is a sub chapter S corporation? You'll find the answer to that and many other questions in this book! 3) A great reference. It tells you where you can go to find the information that you will need. It lists journals, books, and government sites that will help you. THE BAD: 1) It reads like a text book. There is a lot of information crammed into this book, page after page after page... 2) Is this guy really an entrepreneur or just a teacher? There are a lot of theories and charts in this book... it makes you wonder. 3) It is a reference book. There was no way that I could read this book straight through, so it sits on my shelf and every once in a while I pull it down to look up words, find references to more information or read one chapter that is applicable to my life right now. OVERALL: If you are looking for an encyclopedia-like reference book for everything you wanted to know about entrepreneurship then this book is for you. If you want motivation, real world examples or unconventional techniques to help you in your business then I would suggest Harry Beckwith or Ries & Trout.